Chapter 11- So Far From the Bamboo Grove

A major theme that I notice in So Far from the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins was that most people tend to go out of their way to help others, even people that they don't really know. For example, Yoko and her family helped that pregnant woman on the train to Seoul. Thet gave her food and water, and Yoko even shared her blanket with the woman. I don't think they even knew that lady's name! Then, shortly after Yoko's and Ko's mother dies, a woman by the name of Mrs. Masuda help them with the burial process as well as offer them living quarters in her family's empty warehouse. Even though Yoko and her family could have saved their food, or Mrs. Masuda, could have ignored them, they chose to be kind and lend a helping a hand.