The Windup Girl

Choose one of the following characters: Emiko, Hock Seng, Kanya, Jaidee, or Akkarat, and discuss this character’s duty (damma) and karma (kamma). 

How does Hock Seng’s past in China influence the way he conducts himself in Thailand? Is he still a prisoner of his past?

How does Anderson’s role as calorie company man influence his business dealings at the SpringLife factory? Are they compatible, conflicted, or something else? 

Why is Emiko so despised by the Thai? Does her Japanese origin have anything to do with this hatred? Explain how her background determines what she does and what she becomes.

Compare and contrast Emiko and Hiroko as windup girls. How are they similar, and how they are different? 

Is Jaidee a hero, a bully, or both? 

Does Kanya escape punishment for her role in betraying Jaidee? In other words, does her ultimate heroic act in assassinating Elizabeth Boudry and reinstating the white shirts in the North wipe her karmic slate clean?

Describe the worldview of the brilliant but quixotic Gibbons. What are his beliefs, what do they say about him, and how do they influence the actions of the novel?