Skip to main content

Min Jin Lee's Writing Style

 Min Jin Lee's writing style in Pachinko is incredibly unique. I can't remember the last time I encountered a novel told from a third-person omniscient point of view. This allows Lee to write about all of the characters effectively and give the reader a more intimate perspective of each character. I really enjoy this writing style choice because I like knowing what each character is thinking and doing so I can understand everything in its context as best as possible. In terms of writing style, Pachinko reminds me the most of Tommy Orange's There There. In his novel, Orange weaves in multiple different characters in the storyline which allows the reader to understand the thoughts of each character. Lee does this in Pachinko, too. However, one main difference between the two novels is that Pachinko uses third-person omniscient while There There has multiple narrators since each character talks in first person in their respective sections. Also, the events that take place in Orange's novel are happening simultaneously. In Lee's novel, the story takes place over multiple generations. 

Comments

  1. HeatherLFebruary 26, 2023 at 4:26 PM

    Hey James! You make a good point about the moments in There There happening simultaneously while events in Pachinko move in chronological order. To me, these strategies gives Orange's novel the theme of cohesion and things slowly coming together, and Lee's novel an almost domino-effect pacing of one choice tumbling to another one all in a sequence.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jalen PaigeFebruary 27, 2023 at 12:28 AM

    I agree, James! The shifting perspectives allow every character to contribute their own thoughts and feelings, which makes the story feel like more of a web of people and their opinions. Like There, There, though, this has made our main character(s), Sunja (and Hoonie and Yangjin?) a bit less central. I think it does benefit the story, but I also think it leaves us a bit out of the loop when it comes to Sunja, who I feel like I barely know, despite her status as the protagonist.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Biblical Names in Pachinko

I am a Catholic, but I haven't gone to Church in many years. I wouldn't be able to tell you about anyone in the Bible! However, after some research, I notice many similarities between Isak in Pachinko  and Isaac in the Bible. I chose to examine Isak's similarities to Isaac because I admire Isak for his refusal to conform to societal expectations. In the Old Testament of the Bible, Isaac is the only son of Abraham. Abraham nearly sacrificed his only son due to God's command. In Lee's Pachinko , Isak is not sacrificed against his will, but sacrifices himself for what he believes is right. He sacrifices his honor by marrying Sunja, a woman pregnant outside of wedlock. He also sacrifices himself for his religion when he chooses not to recant his Christian religion in favor of the dominant Shinto religion. 
3 comments
Read more

End of Literatures of the World

 I really enjoyed being in this class for the last two quarters. Originally, I was nervous and scared to be writing as much as we have because writing is not my strong suit. I was afraid I'd fall behind. While there was definitely plenty of initial struggle in the transition from high school writing to college writing, I feel like I have improved a lot as a writer. In particular, I have improved on writing research papers, something that was a serious endeavor for me in high school. Aside bettering my writing skills, I appreciated this class for all of the time periods we learned about. I also really enjoyed doing projects such as Neatline which incorporated map-based research. Learning about cultures from different time periods and different physical locations really widened my scope of the world. I was born in the United States when it was already considered one of the most powerful countries in the world. For that reason, my perspective is very limited and it is easy for me to b...
3 comments
Read more

Gender in Pachinko

 It is clear to me that gender plays a large role in Pachinko. Sunja has many social pressures that consume her life. Most of these social pressures are a result of her being female. For example, when she gets pregnant while being single, she is pressured to leave her life in Korea behind to find a man to marry and provide for her so that she is not judged by society. This demonstrates that society is not supporting women to live independent lives and/or pursue an education. The only expectations for women include being good mothers and good wives.  Another example of gender roles playing a big role in Pachinko  is women as part of the workforce. In Japan, it becomes apparent that women aren't encouraged to work. In fact, Yoseb takes it as a hit to his ego as a man when Sunja and Kyunghee tell him they wish to work. He is insulted because in Japan, a man is supposed to provide for women. 
3 comments
Read more