Date of Award

Fall 2025

Thesis Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Honors Bachelor of Arts

Department

English

Sponsor

Dr. Martha Cheng

Committee Member

Dr. Andrés Romero

Committee Member

Dr. Paul Reich

Abstract

This paper explores how two authors with Korean heritage use similar metaphors to write about the same historical traumas. I engage close readings of two novels—Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko and Yu Miri’s The End of August—to interrogate how each author uses images of food/food preparation as well as images of sexual encounters to draw links between exploited bodies and exploited land. Ultimately, I find that the differences in these two authors’ approaches reflect their distance from modern centers of empire. This reminds us of the importance of having a diverse literary and historical canon that centers on authors who have proximity to the issues that they are writing about.

Rights Holder

Jack Kelly

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