The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan is a fictional novel that is closely based on recorded history. It is a depiction of the brutality that Australian soldiers endured in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Siam, Thailand during World War II. At this time Japan was in dire need to find a more efficient route to use to resupply its army fighting in Thailand. Using water routes in the Pacific Ocean was too risky, putting supplies in danger of being destroyed by the enemy. The emperor of Japan ordered that a railroad be constructed through the jungle between Thailand and Burma to become the route used to supply his army. The idea of building a railroad through the jungle was thought to be impossible by many engineers; however, …show more content…
Flanagan’s style of continually jumping back and forth to different time periods was hard to follow. He did, however, do an excellent job in presenting a vivid picture of the inhumane conditions of the Japanese prison camps. Not being familiar with the events of World War II, this story gave me a very clear understanding of the atrocities these men endured serving in the military, fighting to protect the freedom of others. It also reminded me to be thankful for today’s veterans who are still fighting in Afghanistan and to appreciate the struggles our veteran’s face coming home and coping with terribly debilitating injuries and memories. Works Citied Flanagan, Richard. The Narrow Road to the Deep North. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. Print. Mayo Clinic Staff. “ Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).” Mayoclinic.org. Mayo Clinic, 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2015. Robson, D., E. Welch, N.J. Beeching, and G.V. Gill. “Consequences of Captivity: Health Effects of Far East Imprisonment in World War II.” Oxfordjournals.org. Oxford University Press, 14 Oct. 2008. Web. 28 Mar. 2015. Reply, Reply All or Forward |
It can be said that the poor conditions and living styles of Japanese-Canadians were unsafe and unadaptable. A 22-year-old named Tom Tamagi proclaims, “I was a 22 year old Japanese Canadian, a prisoner of my own country of birth. We were confined inside a high wire fence of Hastings park just like caged animals”. Specifically, it is shown that many internees were just thrown into livestock buildings and expected to farm and produce resources, where they were also treated like animals as they were not given any attention and any assistance. This lack of personal care for Japanese-Canadians eventually led them to develop countless diseases, including pneumonia and skin infections, which impacted numerous families as many died. This atrocity of living through poor conditions had a worsening effect on Japanese-Canadians internees physical state. June Fujiyama, an ex-internee, recalled, “[w]hat a shock [it was] to arrive and find the Park surrounded by a high barbed-wire fence and guarded by soldiers who were dressed in khaki and carrying guns. I was incredulous. ‘Those guns are for us?’” To illustrate, Jane is subjected to a view of confinement as she is surprised that such protection and safety precautions are needed for her people, which demonstrates that her race is that much of a potential risk to others, and have to be under control and looked after at all times. Also, the
As Inada points out with his analogy to a constellation, the United States government had constructed many camps and scattered them all over the country. In other words, the internment of Japanese-Americans was not merely a blip in American history; it was instead a catastrophic and appalling forced remov...
Beginning in March of 1942, in the midst of World War II, over 100,000 Japanese-Americans were forcefully removed from their homes and ordered to relocate to several of what the United States has euphemistically labeled “internment camps.” In Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston describes in frightening detail her family’s experience of confinement for three and a half years during the war. In efforts to cope with the mortification and dehumanization and the boredom they were facing, the Wakatsukis and other Japanese-Americans participated in a wide range of activities. The children, before a structured school system was organized, generally played sports or made trouble; some adults worked for extremely meager wages, while others refused and had hobbies, and others involved themselves in more self-destructive activities.
Ozer, Emily, and Daniel Weiss. "Who Develops Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?." Current Directions in Psychological Science. 13.4 (2004): 169-172. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)." NIMH RSS. National Institution of Mental Health, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)." - Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, 15 Apr. 2015. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
Krakauer, Jon. "Chapter 1/The Alaska Interior." Into the Wild. New York: Anchor, 1997. 6. Print.
The novel, Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, tells her family’s true story of how they struggled to not only survive, but thrive in forced detention during World War II. She was seven years old when the war started with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1942. Her life dramatically changed when her and her family were taken from their home and sent to live at the Manzanar internment camp. Along with ten thousand other Japanese Americans, they had to adjust to their new life living behind barbed wire. Obviously, as a young child, Jeanne did not fully understand why they had to move, and she was not fully aware of the events happening outside the camp. However, in the beginning, every Japanese American had questions. They wondered why they had to leave. Now, as an adult, she recounts the three years she spent at Manzanar and shares how her family attempted to survive. The conflict of ethnicities affected Jeanne and her family’s life to a great extent.
John Dower's "Embracing Defeat" truly conveys the Japanese experience of American occupation from within by focusing on the social, cultural, and philosophical aspects of a country devastated by World War II. His capturing of the Japanese peoples' voice let us, as readers, empathize with those who had to start over in a "new nation."
“For the first few months the POWs at Changi were allowed to do as they wished with little interference from the Japanese. There was just enough food and medicine provided and, to begin with, the Japanese seemed indifferent to what the POW’s did at Changi. Concerts were organised, quizzes, sporting events etc. The camp was organised into battalions, regiments etc and meticulous military discipline was maintained. In Easter 1942 the attitude of the Japanese had changed. They organised work parties to repair the damaged docks in Singapore and food and medicine became scarce. More pointedly, the Japanese made it clear that they had not signed the Geneva Convention and that they ran the camp as they saw fit.For this reason, 40,000 men from the surrender of Singapore were marched to the northern tip of the island where they were imprisoned at a military base called Selarang, which was near the village of Changi. The British civilian population of Singapore was imprisoned in Changi jail itself, one mile away from Selarang. Eventually, any reference to the area was simply made to Changi.”(1).”The appalling suffering of these POWs was witnessed by British and Commonwealth prisoners held in separate compounds. At Stalag VIIIB alone, in Lamsdorf, eastern Germany, over 40,000 Russians perished. In total, three million Russian POWs died in German
Friedman, Mathew J., MD, PhD. "PTSD History and Overview." PTSD: National Center for PTSD. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 31 Jan. 2007. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
23 .Roger Daniel, Prisoners Without Trial: Japanese Americans in the World War II 1993, Hill and Yang.
Quinn, David B. North America From Earliest Discovery to First Settlements. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1977.
On February 1942, President Roosevelt issued an executive order, which was 9066 stating that Japanese Americans to evacuate their homes and live in an internment camp. This autobiographical called, “Farewell to Manzanar” by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston. Jeanne wanted to write this book to give details on her experience during World War II internment camps. “It is a story, or a web of stories my own, my father’s, my family’s -- tracing a few paths that led up to and away from the experience of the internment” (pg XI). Mrs. Houston had other books beside this particular book, some of the others were called, “Don't Cry, It’s Only Thunder” and “The Legend of Fire Horse Woman”.
"PTSD: National Center for PTSD Home." National Center for PTSD. VA Health Care, 1 Jan.