Brian Reager April 6, 2011 Writing 102: Cultural Narratives of NYC Jennifer Cho Native Speaker: Reflection

Native Speaker tells the story of Henry, a man who is having problems coping with issues in his life such as the recent death of his son, the estrangement of his wife, and his colorful job investigating companies for a secret intelligence agency. Whilst telling the story, Henry also comments on social problems such as love, culture, family values and the ever-popular theme of finding ones identity. Already I can say that I like Native Speaker significantly more than Drown. Chang-Rae Lees writing style is so effortless and powerful. I enjoy the bouts of humor that he includes. Hes not explicably funny but he sometimes includes very dry humor to his dull or dramatic situations. From the first line, The day my wife left she gave me a list of who I was. I could already tell that I was in for something far different than Drown. What I enjoy most about this novel is that we dont learn the character of Henry is Asian until it is brought up in his wifes letter to him. I think this was something Drown lacked; the humanity behind it. Were people first, where we are born and how were brought up is second. Drown focused, in my opinion, too much on the poverty of the Dominican Republic and how proud he was of being one. Native Speaker just seems to acknowledge that Henry is Korean but doesnt droll

upon it to the extent that Drown did. It helps his character, but not the core messages behind the novel per say.