Discussion Questions/ Rhee So Hyun/ ISS2017

Reading 2, Question 6: Comparison of being oppressed in "In the Land of the Free" with "The Ingrate"

In both short stories, the characters Josh and Lae Choo are both being oppressed by the government. Though Josh and Lae Choo come from vastly different backgrounds, they both face very similar oppressions where they are denied their rights- Josh, his freedom that should have belonged to him the moment he was born, and Lae Choo, the rights to her son the moment she gave birth to him. Josh is being oppressed through slavery while Lae Choo is being oppressed through immigrant laws. As a result of these oppressions, Josh is denied his freedom whilst Lae Choo is denied the rights to her child. Both Josh and Lae Choo do everything that they can in their power to overcome their oppression. Josh outsmarts his master, Mr. Leckler, by playing the role of an uneducated and submissive slave while secretly earning money to buy his freedom through the skills taught to him by Mr. Leckler. Lae Choo, on the other hand, sells most of her precious jewels to regain her rights to her child.

Reading 1, Question 5: What do you perceive to be the significance of the story's title?

The significance of the story's title, "The Ingrate", is to show the irony of the story. In the story, Mr. Leckler labels Josh an ingrate as Josh manages to escape from Mr. Leckler through the skills taught to him by Mr. Leckler. However, the title serves as an irony as readers, after reading the story, will know that Mr. Leckler and not Josh, is the real ingrate. Though Mr. Leckler is described throughout the story as a kind, benevolent man with high principles, he is in fact a scheming and selfish man who is only looking out for his own gains. To appear kind and benevolent, he offers to teach Josh to read, write and cipher to supposedly protect Josh from being cheated. However, Mr. Leckler's real reason for teaching Josh is undoubtedly for his own monetary gains. The author uses the title as an interesting and smart way to subtly mock Mr. Leckler's character.