Our Twisted Hero
... mercy. During this time, Han found out the huge misdeeds of Om, manipulating the tests. Han started to think about going against Om, but he decided not to because of the comfort under Om’s rule. However, the new teacher appeared and everything faced in a new way. The new teacher felt odd from the class monitor election so he traced back what was wrong. He found out that the core was Om through the tests. Om’s kingdom was fallen apart with getting punished by the teacher. The classmates confirmed that Om’s power was no longer exist and they soundly betrayed and ignored him. All the Om’s bad behaviors were exposed by his followers. After Om’s kingdom collapsed, the class started to elect new class monitor and other leaders with having a lot of conflict. However, this process effected finding their rights and freedom. When they went trough the hardship of setting a new system, convenience of Om’s power came across their mind. Han reminded Om after so many years with having hardship of his life in real society. He had a longing for Om’s kingdom with convenience. However, he met Om at the train station captured by police officers and felt pain of reality. In this novel, each character, space and event has unique meaning. There are Om Sokdae, class monitor who controlled the classroom with his authority and power, Han Pyong’tae, the self-perspective person who were trying to be against the class monitor and renovate the system but became assimilated later and apostatized classmates who changed their mind to follow the new teacher. There is Han Pyong’tae’s father who encouraged Han to become a class monitor and rule the class like Om. There are also two different types of teachers. The fifth grade teacher was idle and accommodated himself to reality but the sixth grade teacher was revolutionary and democratic person. Also, there is a space of all these characters’ conflicts being issued, the classroom. Each character in this novel is symbolized as historical men and different types of people in Korean society. Om Sokdae could be substituted as the first president of the Republic of Korea, Rhee Syngman. Even though he used to work on independent movement in early time, he created “Liberal Party” and many more dishonest acts to extend his presidency. For example, “he had no prospect of being reelected by the National Assembly. He supported a constitutional amendment, introduced in November 1951, to elect the president by popular vote… In the subsequent popular election in August, Rhee was reelected by 72 percent of the voters. The constitution, however, limited the president to only two terms. Hence, when the end of Rhee's second term of office approached, the constitution again was amended (in November 1954) by the use of fraudulent tactics that allowed Rhee to succeed himself indefinitely.”1 Even though he was “reelected to his fourth term in 1960, Rhee was accused of rigging the election… Rhee was forced out of office and into exile in Hawaii.”2 In addition, the happening of class monitor election in this novel symbolized the election of Rhee because; both Rhee and Om manipulated the results and took the people’s freedom away. Also, when Han saw a grown-up Om who captured by police officers at the train station, it represented the dead power of Om and Rhee who exiled and died in Hawaii. Han Pyong’tae would be symbolized as the people who fought against irrationality but deteriorated. They lost their identities and fell into confusion. In the historical event, student-led demonstration, April 19th Movement would be what Han wanted to do before he was assimilated with other classmates and settled down in comfort place under Om’s absolute power. The c...