On the Topic of Pachinko's Lessons...

Pachinko is a moderately lengthy novel, and many themes could be derived from its layered characters and ideas. That being said, the most prominent message, which is reflected through nearly every significant character, is to push through difficult circumstances. Odds are, for the majority of people, life does not view us in an endearing manner a majority of the time, giving us lemons and whatnot. When ordeals are presented without a moment's respite, people may change in order to weather the storm, but it's important to remember who you are and where you came from, just as Sunja and her family, even Noa who estranged himself, visited Isak's grave, mirroring how Yangjin cleaned Hoonie's grave decades prior.

Now, in a more abstract sense, I believe that Pachinko is an argument against organized religion, particularly Christianity. It is through this subtle argument that I find that some of the odd choices in the novel can be explained.

Firstly, the Biblical names. Being raised a Christian myself, the religion for which I was christened, I did not believe that any of the characters in Pachinko mirrored their Biblical counterparts outside of the names themselves, which I believe served as satire. 

Going down the list, Isaac's most notable role in the Bible is not any role of his own; he was to be sacrificed by his father, Abraham, to God in a show of piety. Of course, being that it was merely a test, Isaac was spared at the last moment, and he then went on to live a lengthy life, regarded as one of the "patriarchs of the Israelites." On the flipside, Isak is not sacrificed by his father, but willingly sacrifices himself in a societal sense to marry Sunja, and, as mentioned in class, was extremely sickly, dying at a young age. The connection between the two is their piety, and though Isaac was granted extended life for his piety, Isak receives no such favor.

There are a couple Josephs in the Bible, but being that the rest are Old Testament figures, I believe Yoseb to parallel Joseph son of Jacob. Joseph is known for being sold into slavery in Egypt by his jealous brothers, then receiving favor from the Pharaoh due to his God-given prophecies; he enters into a position of governing power in Egypt, meets his family with their roles of power reversed, and forgives them. Yoseb, like Isak, is much the opposite of his Biblical counterpart. He willingly enters into Japan, which is the oppressing body like Egypt, and by no influence of his brother. In fact, Isak is brought into Japan by Yoseb, and Isak is not jealous at all, being kind and generous. Finally, Yoseb never attains a lofty position, remaining overworked and miserable until he is engulfed in flames performing work that he loathed. Where Joseph was rewarded for his foresight from God, Yoseb actively picked the wrong choice in going to work in Nagasaki, and burdened his accommodating family for it.

Noah's tale is known even by non-Christians: he was warned by God of an impending world-cleansing flood, and so he built an ark to carry his family and a pair of every animal species, repopulating the Earth. Noa in Pachinko does not fare as well in weathering the storm. Even when he tries to escape from his past and his blood, it eventually catches up to him, leading him to commit suicide and leaving his wife and children alone. 

Moses is also a well-known Biblical figure. Born a Hebrew but raised as Egyptian royalty, Moses learns of his bloodline and leaves on a nomadic journey, eventually being commanded by God to free the Hebrews from their Egyptian captors, and finally bringing them to Canaan, the land of milk and honey. Of course, because Moses hit a rock to draw water instead of tapping it one time, he was not allowed to enter into Canaan despite leading his people to it. Moses also etched the Ten Commandments unto rock twice, and is regarded as one of the most pious individuals in the Bible. Contrary to this is Mozasu, who has no such wish to leave the land of his oppressors; his income is based in pachinko, which he cannot simply uproot and move to America, much to the dismay of his wife Yumi. Mozasu does not lead anyone out of Japan, being that even his son, Solomon, is determined to take up his father's work in Japan at the end of the novel. This completely goes against the God-given order Moses received and carried out to free his people.

Finally, we have Solomon, son of David and king of Israel, known for being an incredibly wise ruler. This was shown when God asked Solomon what he wished for, and Solomon asked only for wisdom--a wish that was granted. In Pachinko, Solomon doesn't necessarily exude any such wisdom. Even disregarding his questionable actions, Solomon just seems to lack a savviness or general awareness, which was indicated through his conversations with his boss.

It's simply odd that Lee would choose to name her characters after Biblical figures only to have all of them seem to be the exact opposite of their Biblical counterparts, particularly with regards to the outcomes of their respective interactions with God.

Now, I would like to make the argument that Hansu's role in Pachinko is meant to be a stand-in for God. Now, I came across this line of reasoning by wondering why a character with such a pivotal role in the story was neutered off twice. For all that Hansu puppeteers every action and whim of Sunja's family, after the realization that Hansu had been doing all this puppeteering, he just shows up every once in a while with very little presence. Through Sunja's monologue at the end of the story, we are made aware that Hansu is alive, but no information is known about his actions or influences.

So I reconsidered Hansu's actual role in the story. He was a guiding force that seemed to dictate every action that Sunja and her family took, but eventually, his influence waned and it became apparent that he was just a man, succumbing to prostate cancer. The reason that I believe that Hansu is an allusion to God is, again, due to his omniscient, all-controlling persona that is built up after Sunja meets him again in the farm. As time passes, Hansu's "power" becomes less abstract, and much more human, being that he is unable to locate Noa. 

Overall, I do believe that the two combine to make an argument against organized religion. That being said, I do not think that Lee's intent was to make that argument in a general sense. It is my belief that Lee is arguing that, going back to the primary takeaway, is that religion will not help you in a pinch. Religion will do nothing for you outside of whatever you attribute to it, and that's okay. Lee does not argue against the concept of religion, nor does she contest its practice; Isak is not downplayed for his piety, but neither is Noa chided for his doubts. It is simply a reinforcement of the primary theme, in that a higher power will not deliver anyone from difficulties.