So Far from the Bamboo Grove: by Yoko Kawashima Watkins-Response 2 [chpts 4-7]

In chapters 4-7 of the novel So Far from the Bamboo Grove, the event that made the deepest impression on me was when the Korean Communists came barging into the factory in which Hideyo was working in. If I had been him, I probably would have not thought of diving into the box so quickly. I would probably be very scared, especially when Hideyo sees his own classmate Yasou shot before his very own eyes. I might have just about thrown up right then and there. But, he used his quick thinking, and quickly smeared some blood on himself so he could pretend he was dead, and the Korean Communist soldiers hopefully wouldn’t actually kill him. I thought that maybe he just had a natural instinct on what to do when he was in trouble. I also thought that it was pretty amazing that Hideyo’s three friends, Makoto, Soichi, and Shinzo, weren’t found hiding in the bathroom. It might have been the Korean Communists own fault for not searching so thoroughly in the bathroom, but because that happened, Hideyo, Makoto, Soichi, and Shinzo still survived the invasion.
After Hideyo escapes from the factory, he runs back to his house only to find that his house has been ransacked, and his two sisters and mother were gone. Since it was the most logical that the Korean Communists had ransacked his house, he concluded that his two sisters and mother had been killed by them. That was what he thought: at first. Then he finds himself looking upon a strange site. The Korean’s had taken everything that was valuable in there house, but then why was the sewing machine left? When he looks closer, he discovers that there is a rice bowl on top of the sewing machine and in the rice bowl is a note from his mother explaining that she and his sisters had to leave, and would wait for him at the railroad station in Seoul. He also discovered his family’s savings book, and took it with him, along with some food and supplies for the journey.
While Hideyo is preparing for the trip to Seoul, Ko, Yoko, and their mother living in harsh conditions at the train station in Seoul. Yoko and Ko’s mother had the job of taking care of all their belongings, Ko had the task of finding food, and Yoko helped with her mother. Later on, Yoko became more cooperative and helped Ko along with the task of digging through trash bags in order to find some food. Plus, when Ko saw a Korean man raping a girl, she warned her mother and Yoko. So instead of going to the bathroom in the normal way they did, they had to do the way boys did for fear of being raped.
Ko, Yoko, and Hideyo’s mother sends a message to her parents, but a few days later, is told that the message wasn’t able to be delivered. After pondering over whether to bring Ko and Yoko along with her to Aomori to see her parents, she concludes that her daughters need to continue their education and she would go alone to Aomori. Her choice might have been based on some Confucian rules where education was the most essential thing. It also might have been because since she heard about the bombings in that area, she knew inside that her parents were already dead, but didn’t want to show it and didn’t want her to daughters to face that sorrow. Better to not know for now, then to know and distract them from what they needed to do.
Mrs. Kawashima has many good values about, and her daughters generally have her values. Mrs. Kawashima is a kind woman, very thoughtful of others, and her gratefulness towards those who help her and/or her family. Ko and Yoko generally show her values throughout the novel. During the walk to Seoul, Ko always scouted ahead when they got lost. Also, when Yoko felt dizzy while in the middle of crossing the railroad “bridge”, she put her bag down on the other side, ran over, and piggy-backed Yoko across the rest of the way. She also takes the time and effort to go through smelly trash bags to find some food to feed her mother, Yoko, and herself. As for Yoko, she shows kindness and thoughtfulness when she gives some and water to the patients on the train. Most of all, to the pregnant woman, Yoko gives her a fair amount of food, considering that the woman was carrying a baby and everything. In addition, when Yoko was given a bottle of milk from the medic, when she was at the “hospital”, she also asked for two more bottles: one for her elder sister, and one for her mother.