Ha Jin's Saboteur

In Saboteur, the author Ha Jin tries to make the reader believe that because Mr. Chiu was falsely charged with sabotage, he becomes a saboteur by causing a hepatitis epidemic in Muji to satisfy his immediate need for revenge (Jin 271-280). He purposefully spreads hepatitis to several restaurants around the police station in hopes to infect some policemen and their families. The build up of anger, frustration and feelings of helplessness are in part responsible for Mr. Chiu's irrational decision to commit such an act. By challenging the accuracy of the story, there is a possibility that although Mr. Chiu felt a strong need to retaliate against the police, he may have unknowingly infected the police station with hepatitis. (Jin 45-120) Mr. Chiu's retaliation was unnecessary and with evidence from the story it is medically possible the disease was unsuspectingly spread throughout the police station.

The information about Mr. Chiu's acute hepatitis is correct as well as the information about his conditions and symptoms while he was recovering from hepatitis Acute hepatitis in Mr. Chiu's case, is a milder form of hepatitis A. (Luckmann and Sorenson 1131). People recovering from acute hepatitis usually have a swollen liver, feel exhausted and are “afraid [they] might have a relapse.” (Jin 185). While Mr. Chiu was in prison, he began to sweat, shiver and develop a fever because he was experiencing a relapse of acute hepatitis (188). By having a relapse of hepatitis, he was becoming infectious again.

A person infected with hepatitis A is infectious from three weeks before developing jaundice to three weeks after (Luckmann and Sorenson 1131), meaning he definitely was infectious while he was in prison, since he showed his jaundice when he was released. Fenjin describes Mr. Chiu as being “an ugly man…[with a] jaundiced face covered with dark puckers” (Jin 192). Mr. Chiu was infectious three weeks prior to his visit to the police station, and must have been extremely careful on his honeymoon to avoid giving his bride the disease since it can be easily spread. Hepatitis A is spread by fecal-oral transmission (Luckmann and Sorenson 1131), meaning that by not washing his hands properly or using unsanitary washroom facilities, Mr. Chiu could have unconsciously been spreading the disease while in prison or elsewhere if he used public washrooms. There is no evidence in the story that specifies that Mr. Chiu's jail cell was properly sanitized or that the police were even concerned with him infecting the police station with hepatitis, so it is possible that it was infected while Mr. Chiu was there. (Jin 271-280)

Because Mr. Chiu was infectious, many precautions must be taken in order to avoid an epidemic. According to Luckmann and Sorenson, all dishes and utensils used by a hepatitis patient must be disposed of, toilet facilities must be disinfected after each use and bedding and clothing must be washed separately to prevent the spread of the disease. (1131). These necessities were not specified in the story, so they more than likely did ...