Farewell To Manzanar
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, leading to the United States entrance into World War II. A couple months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered that all persons of Japanese decent must be secluded. The Japanese were sent to internment camps outside of the pacific military zone, due to the fear Americans had of Japanese espionage. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a major shock for America, and it created extreme fear and paranoia that the Japanese-Americans would help Japan win the war. There was a widespread stigma of anti-Japanese attitudes and racism; therefore, the government concluded it was easier to seclude them from the rest of America. The
Some individuals were not only sent to internment camps, but also detention camps, which altered their physical and mental state significantly. Many of these Japanese Americans were successful and prideful, until the camps became their new home. Ko Wakatsuki, Jeanne’s father, is an example of one of these individuals who was affected. Ko experienced a life-changing experience while in Fort Lincoln detention camp and at Manzanar internment camp. Ko was accused of disloyalty, spying, and was separated from his family for almost a year while he was in Fort Lincoln detention camp. When Ko returned to Manzanar to be with his family, he was hesitantly greeted and appeared different to his family. “He had been gone nine months. He had aged ten years. He looked over sixty, gaunt, wilted as his shirt, underweight leaning on a cane and favoring his right leg” (Manzanar 46). Jeanne’s description of her father describes the harsh environment and experiences Ko went through during his time spent at Fort Lincoln and Manzanar. When Ko returned he felt defeated, angry, and began drinking heavily. Ko experienced a downward emotional spiral because he felt as if everything he worked so hard for was taken from him. Ko did not feel worthy of himself, which led to his harsh words and actions toward his family. When Ko was forced to go to camp, he had to assimilate to a life that was unfamiliar; he
Manzanar allowed her to explore and be curious, yet she experienced both direct and indirect discrimination outside of the camp. Jeanne arrived at Manzanar when she was only seven years old. She did not know what to expect and handled internment camp differently than her parents. Jeanne recognized the cramped living conditions and gross food, but she made the best of her time at Manzanar. The internees began turning the camp around; they created a school, clubs, and various activities for all age ranges to participate in. Jeanne grew and learned more about herself through the activities offered. As the war began to slow down, it was announced that all the camps would be closed within a year. The announcement seemed positive as long as there was a home to go back to, this was not the case for Jeanne, “In our family the response to this news was hardly joyful. For one thing we had no home to return to.” (Manzanar 127). Jeanne was scared not knowing what home meant to her family, and also scared to face the world outside of Manzanar. She knew of the wartime propaganda, racist headlines, and hate slogans that were advertised. When Jeanne and her family left Manzanar, they saw signs such as, “Japs go back where you came from.” Jeanne constantly questioned and wondered why they were so hated. On Jeanne’s first day of sixth grade, outside of Manzanar, she felt isolated, foreign, and
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
“It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how you life’s story will develop” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf). Most people can deal with difficulties, but their reactions to the hardships are different. Only some people can manage their problems. We should try to manage our behaviors in tough situations. If we can deal with our situations, we can overcome difficulties easily. In the story of Farewell to Manzanar written by Jeanne Wakatsuki, the story shows how war can change humans, their life, and their ranks. Although all of the characters of her book face the same problems due to the war and the camps they had to live in, they responded to those situations differently. All of them presented
This caused the Japanese to become a scapegoat of America’s fear and anger. The Issei and Nisei who once moved to this country to find new opportunities and jobs were now stripped of their homes and businesses and were forced to live in poor living conditions (DISCovering). Although many Americans believed that Japanese American internment was justified because it was used to protect us from attacks by Japanese Americans, it was very unlikely that they were ever going to attack us in the first place. For example, in Dr. Seuss’ political cartoon, many Japanese Americans are lined up to get TNT and waiting for a signal from Japan to attack (Seuss).
Furthermore, President Roosevelt gave the Secretary of War and subordinate commanders authority to designate any area as a military zone and detain or relocate virtually anyone they wanted (Executive Order No. 9066, 1942). Also, it’s important to note that President Roosevelt gave the Secretary of War permission to use other federal agencies at his discretion in implementation of Executive Order 9066 (Executive Order No. 9066, 1942). Essentially, Executive Order 9066 details the purpose, mission, and scope of the internment and relocation of any citizens deemed a threat to national security. I believe this was a knee-jerk reaction to the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Furthermore, the Roberts Commission, a governmental panel convened to investigate the Pearl Harbor attack, publicly stated that Japanese Americans have been implicated in acts of sabotage and espionage (Fox, p. 412). In light of the Roberts report, the American public put pressure on the state and federal legislatures for action, and the internment didn’t find much opposition (Fox, p. 412). President Roosevelt had the support of the people, congress, and the military to issue his Executive Order (Fox, p.
What were the Japanese internment camps some might ask. The camps were caused by the attack of Pearl Harbor in 1942 by Japan. President Roosevelt signed a form to send all the Japanese into internment camps.(1) All the Japanese living along the coast were moved to other states like California, Idaho, Utah, Arkansas, Colorado, Wyoming and Arizona. The camps were located away from Japan and isolated so if a spy tried to communicate, word wouldn't get out. The camps were unfair to the Japanese but the US were trying to be cautious. Many even more than 66% or 2/3 of the Japanese-Americans sent to the internment camps in April of 1942 were born in the United States and many had never been to Japan. Their only crime was that they had Japanese ancestors and they were suspected of being spies to their homeland of Japan. Japanese-American World War I veterans that served for the United States were also sent to the internment camps.(2)
Ten weeks after the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) singed an Executive Order of 9066 that authorized the removal of any people from military areas “as deemed necessary or desirable”(FDR). The west coast was home of majority of Japanese Americans was considered as military areas. More than 100,000 Japanese Americans was sent and were relocated to the internment camps that were built by the United States. Of the Japanese that were interned, 62 percent were Nisei (American born, second generation) or Sansei (third-generation Japanese) the rest of them were Issai Japanese immigrants. Americans of Japanese ancestry were far the most widely affected. The Japanese internment camps were wrong because the Japanese were accused as spies, it was racism, and it was a violation to the United States constitution laws.
The guards won’t let them do anything that they normally do and experience, along with beating them for not understanding the orders of the Japanese. I believe that this is an example of dehumanization because the guards are taking away what the men are used to. Mine experienced the perspective of feeling invisible as well as other Japanese-Americans in internee camps when they were given a number for their whole family, “My family name was reduced to No. Mine and other Japanese-American internees were very good at resisting invisibility in clever ways, such as when they weren’t allowed to have cameras, “Internees were not allowed to have cameras, but Miné wanted to document what was happening inside the camps. She put her artistic talent to use making sketches of daily life inside the fences” (The Life of Mine Okubo). Mine is defying the rules of the camp by creating art about the people in their “daily lives” at the camp that she is located in.
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.
The Japanese internment camps started in February, around two months after the Pearl Harbor bombing, which was also the reason America decided to enter the war. People’s suspicions of Japanese led the government, passing an order to uproot 120,000 people from their homes, lives, families, everything they knew. WWII brought lots of change, although their families were being contained, many young Japanese joined the U.S. army in the fight against Germany and Japan. It’s important for people to learn and remember who the really is against. “Sure enough, 40 days later January 20, 1942, came a letter that said, greeting from the President of the United States you are now in the army, and that was my draft notice.”( Interview with Norman Saburo
Harth, Erica. Last Witnesses: Reflections on the Wartime Internment of Japanese Americans. New York: Palgrave for St. Martin's, 2001. Print.
Japanese-American internment camps were a dark time in America’s history, often compared to the concentration camps in Germany (Hane, 572). The internment camps were essentially prisons in which all Japanese-Americans living on the west coast were forced to live during World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor Naval base in Hawaii. They were located in inland western states due to the mass hysteria that Japanese-Americans were conspiring with Japan to invade and/or attack the United States. At the time the general consensus was that these camps were a good way to protect the country, but after the war many realized that the camps were not the best option. Textbooks did not usually mention the internment camps at all, as it is not a subject most Americans want to talk about, much less remember. Recently more textbooks and historians talk about the camps, even life inside them. Some Japanese-Americans say that their experiences after being released from the internment camps were not as negative as most people may think. Although the Japanese-American internment camps were brutal to go through, in the long run it led to Japanese-Americans’ movement from the west coast and their upward movement in society through opportunities found in a new urban environment such as Chicago and St. Louis.
This place was so overcrowded and miserable. The family stayed in Block 16, it was no privacy, gross food, and disgusting toilets. It was nothing like home while staying at the camp. The camp was located in the middle of the desert, so the Japanese will not escape. In California where Jeanne and her family were located there was attitudes towards the Japanese from the Caucasians.
It is not a well known fact that around the time the Holocaust took place in Europe, another internment (less extreme) was taking place in the United States. “Betrayed by America” by Kristin Lewis gives readers an insight on what happened to Japanese-Americans in America. The article tells us about Hiroshi Shishima, Japanese-Americans internment, and what was going on during the regime. During WW2, America went into a frenzy after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Many Americans believed what was being said about Japanese-Americans even though it was proven to be false. Since the whole fiasco with Japan took place, many Japanese-Americans were forced into internment in certain parts of the United States. The reason for the internment of Japanese-Americans was due to fear & hysteria, racial
As families were torn apart they went and lived with multiple different people who ended up growing together and supporting each other. But as the war raged on, the soldiers came and tore apart bonds made between people living together and surviving together. People were again and again put in situations where they were forced to make sacrifices. In the essay it talks about how “Mothers pushed younger children in line with older children so that they may work and survive.”( Yael Weinstock, 1) Mothers would also have to make the decision of sending their child to labor camps so they could survive rather being shot on the street. Because ot the camps, soldiers would come and barge into houses demanding people to get in trains and vehicles to be transported there. This tore apart families. It caused mothers to fall apart because they had to lose their child to a camp or lose them forever. Every family was forced to make sacrifices. For some it was because there was no other choice and for others it was because they were making a stand and in doing so they were putting their lives on the
But for some of the Japanese Americans, it was even harder after they were discharged from the internment camp. The evacuation and the internment had changed the lives of all Japanese Americans. The evacuation and internment affected the Wakatsuki family in three ways: the destruction of Papa’s self-esteem, the separation of the Wakatsuki family, and the change in their social status. The destruction of Papa’s self-esteem is one effect of the evacuation and internment. Before the evacuation and internment, Papa was proud; he had a self-important attitude, yet he was dignified.