Snow Hunters chapters 7, 8 & 9

It has already been revealed in a previous chapter that Peng had died. It is interesting how Yoon chooses to show these flashbacks in different orders. The end of chapter 7 has very beautiful words. It says, “From across the distance men watched from their beds. And that faint melody, a song, came to them as the nurse he had danced with, that winter, lit a lantern and reached over the graves as if grew dark.” I am not quite sure if Yoon is referring to what happened after Peng lost his eyesight. Maybe this sentence foreshadows his death. On the previous page, Yoon writes how Peng uses a shovel to dig up the earth (89). Maybe he is referencing to Peng’s burial. On page 87, Yoon writes about how Peng and Yohan had the nickname of “snowmen,” This is because the Americans knew who they were. If Yohan’s nose hadn’t been sticking up in the snow, they would have been left there to do. Yohan comes across many near death experiences but still manages to survive. The Americans basically saved his life. There were found not too far away from the wreckage of the bomb. Yohan seems to be present during tragedy, but the physical harm is never directed toward him. The upcoming chapters are very sad because Kiyoshi dies. Santi and Yohan both take the death very hard. Since Yoon mentions Peng’s death and then writes more memories Yohan has with him in following chapters, I assume he’ll write more of Yohan’s memories with Kiyoshi.

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One thought on “Snow Hunters chapters 7, 8 & 9

  1. Good work. Yes, it is interesting how these flashbacks are nonlinear, told out of order. Perhaps Yoon chooses to structure them this way to make the very connections you’re making in this chapter, such as connecting what is otherwise a seemingly pleasant moment, dancing with the nurse, to Peng’s death via that reference to darkness. He didn’t have to put both of these moments in the same chapter, so if he does, we must ask why he’s positioned them together.

    “Yohan seems to be present during tragedy, but the physical harm is never directed toward him.” <– Interesting observation. Obviously he is injured — his broken nose, for one, but there are other references to him being beaten, on p42 with the guards — so is it that "no physical harm is directed toward him", or is it that he seems not to feel it or dwell on it? He is more aware of the suffering of others as opposed to his own.

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