When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka is focused on the experiences of a Japanese family during World War II. Specifically the experience of the mother of this family and how she changes to the crisis presented. The woman’s mindset, womanhood, and progression are all described very thoroughly throughout this novel. The development of a female character and her womanhood in this manner can also be seen in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman. The manner in which the Julie Otsuka portrays the woman protagonist in her story When the Emperor Was Divine sheds light on how she develops and adapts to the situation at hand through the woman’s mindset, womanhood, and progression overall as a character. Otsuka’s novel opens with the woman …show more content…
This task oriented mind set can be seen in the scene when she is packing up her son’s belongings “She wrapped up his stamp collection and painted wooden Indian he had won with the long headdress he had won at the Sacramento State Fair. She pulled out the Joe Palooka comic books from under his bead. She emptied the drawers. Some of his clothes—the clothes he would need—she left out for him to put into his suitcase later. She placed his baseball glove on his pillow.” (Otsuka 7). She stays focused on the dire task at hand by keeping her emotions to herself and staying strong, at least in the beginning of the novel. She keeps this mindset as she goes throughout her tasks. This mindset, however, is challenged when she has to decide what to do with the family pets. Pets were not allowed to accompany families during their excursion so these families had to make a tough choice. Especially considering she has children to think about as well. The woman doesn't think twice and offs the dog and releases the bird. The family at this point in the story is lacking a father which leaves a gaping …show more content…
The way that she handled herself throughout this story is non-human, in a way, because of how little emotion she showed and how precise she was in all of her actions. Even when she did end up “breaking”, she made sure that her children could not tell that she was experiencing the same things they were. She was the lifeline of that families mental state and the family could not have done it without her. The way the author portrays the woman character in this book focuses on three main elements: her womanhood, her mindset and drive, and her progression as a character. All of these combine to create a divine character that is the epitome of a Japanese internment
...he shows us her character, not by how she gives herself respect, but by the continued respect that she gives to others: even her tormenters. Her secret shame was kept inside, and it was an impossible burden to bear. She was brave.
She is converted into an almost biblical figure as the story parallels leading a group of oppressed peoples on an exodus. One can look at the ever-growing rise of feminine presence by looking chronologically at the text. The book transforms itself by the end focusing solely on Ma and the other women’s struggles.
She shows these emotions throughout the stories of Lemon Grove, with her more violent emotions expressed through the horrifying story of “Reeling for the Empire.” In this story, a group of young, enslaved Japanese women are turned into human silkworms to produce commodities that are precious to their empire. The story comes to an explosive ending when the main character chooses to fight against their seemingly destined fate of eternally weaving silk to free themselves from their enslavement.... ... middle of paper ...
The novel When the Emperor Was Divine was written by Julie Otsuka exploring the life struggles and tribulations of a Japanese American family. The family moved to the U.S. in the 1940s, and the mother is oblivious to the imminent crisis that is set to befall the nation, starting with the evacuation of the Japanese from California. When the family eventually leaves for a composite in Utah, they realize that the same struggles that they face are reminiscent of other Japanese in the camp who are struggling to maintain their identity. Otsuka uses symbols in her novel to advance her thoughts, and critically, add important dimensions and meanings to the deadly plot. Otsuka uses some ‘prominent’ symbols such as flowers, horses, and dust, but from
Throughout history artists have used art as a means to reflect the on goings of the society surrounding them. Many times, novels serve as primary sources in the future for students to reflect on past history. Students can successfully use novels as a source of understanding past events. Different sentiments and points of views within novels serve as the information one may use to reflect on these events. Natsume Soseki’s novel Kokoro successfully encapsulates much of what has been discussed in class, parallels with the events in Japan at the time the novel takes place, and serves as a social commentary to describe these events in Japan at the time of the Mejeii Restoration and beyond. Therefore, Kokoro successfully serves as a primary source students may use to enable them to understand institutions like conflicting views Whites by the Japanese, the role of women, and the population’s analysis of the Emperor.
Even though this meant that she would not be able to see or interact with her children for all that time. The pain that she feels is evident when she says, “ At last I heard the merry laugh of children, and presently two sweet little faces were looking up at me, as though they knew I were there, and were conscious of the joy that imparted. How I longed to tell them I was there”(97). She tolerated being locked away in an enclosed dark space for 7 long years in order to free her children from the current master that owned them as slaves, showing how having someone to put ahead of yourself makes you stronger and more resilient as a
While showing how brave and unselfish she was, she also showed that she was fragile and not as strong as she used to be. “A black dog with a lolling tongue came up out of the weeds by the ditch. She was meditating, and not ready, and when he came at her she only hit him a little with her cane. Over she went in the ditch, like a little puff of milkweed.” Even though she hit the dog only a little, it caused her to fall into a ditch. At last there came a flicker and then a flame of comprehension across her face, and she spoke. "My grandson. It was my memory had left me. There I sat and forgot why I made my long trip." This shows how her mind went blank, causing her to forget why she had made the journey.
Known for her work as a historian and rather outspoken political activist, Yamakawa Kikue was also the author of her book titled Women of the Mito Domain (p. xix). At the time she was writing this work, Yamakawa was under the surveillance of the Japanese government as the result of her and her husband’s work for the socialist and feminist movements in Japan (p. xx-xxi). But despite the restrictions she was undoubtedly required to abide by in order to produce this book, her work contains an air of commentary on the past and present political, social, and economic issues that had been plaguing the nation (p. xxi). This work is a piece that comments on the significance of women’s roles in history through the example of Yamakawa’s own family and
Bainbridge, Erika. “The Madness of Mothers in Japanese Noh Drama.” U.S.- Japan Women’s Journal English supplement No.3 (1992): 84-104. PDF file.
Saikaku, Ihara. Life of a Sensuous Woman. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. (Vol. D) Ed. Damrosch. New York: Pearson, 2004. 604-621. [Excerpt.]
In Julie Otsuka’s novel, When the Emperor was Divine, the boy’s emotions are embodied through animals. In mid 1942, the boy and his family are displaced from their home in Berkeley, CA, and relocated to an internment camp. The family is forcibly imprisoned in response to Executive Order 9066, due to their Japanese heritage. The boy’s initial hope and innocence are expressed through a tortoise. The disappearance of these virtues become evident through the animal’s demise. Additionally, images of wild horses display the boy’s desire for freedom and an identity, while their death illustrates his inability to aspire to such things. A tortoise and horses manifest the boy’s internal struggles with his internment. The life and death of the creatures
Steinbeck is very successful in creating sympathy throughout her character change and he presents her in this way to prove that the majority of women went through similar situations. This leads us to sympathise with all people society deems to be ‘inferior’ and we can even apply this lesson to today’s society.
Like most people in her social sphere, the woman takes for granted the civility and restraints that have kept her, prior to her attack, comfortably exempt from the personal chaos that violence unleashes. All of...
One of the main causes for her insanity is the treatment she is receiving by her husband. Right when the story begins the narrator moves into a home with her husband and new born child to stay for a few
The Heian period(794-1185), the so-called golden age of Japanese culture, produced some of the finest works of Japanese literature.1 The most well known work from this period, the Genji Monogatari, is considered to be the “oldest novel still recognized today as a major masterpiece.”2 It can also be said that the Genji Monogatari is proof of the ingenuity of the Japanese in assimilating Chinese culture and politics. As a monogatari, a style of narrative with poems interspersed within it, the characters and settings frequently allude to Chinese poems and stories. In addition to displaying the poetic prowess that the Japanese had attained by this time period, the Genji Monogatari also demonstrates how politics and gender ideals were adopted from the Chinese.