In a portion of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston’s memoir titled Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne’s Japanese family, living in California, is ordered to move to an internment camp called Manzanar. Society impacts the family in many ways, but in this segment of the story we primarily see its effects on Jeanne. The context and setting are as follows: the Pearl Harbor bombing was a very recent happening, the United States was entering into war with Japan, and President Roosevelt had signed Executive Order 9066, allowing internment. Anyone who might threaten the war effort was moved inland into defined military areas. Essentially, the Japanese immigrants were imprisoned and considered a threat; nevertheless, many managed to remain positive and compliant. Jeanne’s family heard “the older heads, the Issei, telling others very quietly ‘Shikata ga nai’” (604), meaning it cannot be helped, or it must be done, even though the world surrounding them had become aggressive and frigid. The society had a noticeable effect on Jeanne, as it impacted her view of racial divides, her family relations, and her health. The most prevalent way that society impacted Jeanne was by discriminating against her and her entire race. Her view of racial divides was swiftly distorted and manipulated in the brief time before the move to Manzanar. Before the war, hostility towards Japanese Americans was rare: after the attack on Pearl Harbor, public “attitudes towards the Japanese in California were shifting rapidly . . . Tolerance had turned to distrust and irrational fear” (604). One of the first instances in which an American was ill-disposed towards Jeanne was in school. Jeanne was having trouble with the assignments, but the teacher was remote and aloof. In spite of Jeanne... ... middle of paper ... ...r the refrigeration to work properly or for the cooks to be experienced, so the food spoiled very quickly. Because of these factors, what they called the “Manzanar runs” (611) became a part of life, and the entire camp was regularly ailed with digestive issues. Jeanne’s life was certainly impacted by her stay at Manzanar, and it may not have been for the better. Society had locked her and many others away because of its irrational fear. In response to feeling threatened, America lashed out towards the Japanese, attempting to insure that it was the one to be feared. The hostility, stress, and mistreatment that permeated Jeanne’s time before and during Manzanar impacted much of her future and shaped the person that she is today. Works Cited Applebee, Arthur N. "Farewell to Manzanar." The Language of Literature. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2006. 203-12. Print.
Manzanar scarred many Japanese Americans and their families, especially Jeanne Wakatsuki even after she had left Manzanar. Not only did Manzanar ruin people when they were there but after being there their lives were changed forever. Throughout Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne’s thoughts on her identity change, before going to Manzanar she barely knew herself, at Manzanar she wanted to be accepted, and after leaving Jeanne wanted to be seen as normal or to otherwise be invisible.
“We went because the government ordered us to” (Page 17). This is a quote from Jeanne talking about how the government forced all Japanese in the U.S. at the time into Manzanar, even if they were loyal citizens. “I was sick continually, with stomach cramps and diarrhea. At first it was from the shots they gave us for typhoid, in very heavy doses and in assembly-line fashion: swab, jab, swab, move along now, swab, jab, swab, keep it moving. That knocked all of us younger kids down at once, with fevers and vomiting” (Page 30). The government sent workers to give the Japanese shots for diseases, but because of the amount they gave the kids, all of the kids got extremely sick because of the heavy dosing. The government continued this and did not change doses for kids. This is only one example of how the Japanese suffered at the time. “Later, it was the food that made us sick, young and old alike. The kitchens were too small and badly ventilated. Food would spoil from being left out too long. The refrigeration kept breaking down. The cooks, in many cases, had never cooked before” (Page 30). This happened throughout the entire camp. Again, the government did nothing to change this and the Japanese had to eat expired and moldy food. The Japanese had the option of eating moldy, expired food or just eating nothing. It made them lose in both
In Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, the Wakatsuki family is forced to move to a camp. First off, the United States government decided to put every Japanese citizen in an internment camp, called Manzanar. They did this because Pearl Harbor was bombed, and Americans were afraid the Japanese would aid Japan. The main character Jeanne is six, and she has a tight connection with her father. Some themes in the book relate to the way Papa acts. Such as isolation, male domination, the concept of family, and the plight of civilizations during wartime. In the following paragraphs, I will relate the four themes to Papa, in part one of the novel.
In the early part of farwell to manzanar jeanne the main character was a 7 year old girl living in long beach with her family that happens to be of japanese descent. before she was moved to manzanar she had not really seen many japanese people other than her family and did not experience racism. Pre manznar she was living in long beach with the rest of her family there lives where very modest they where your average working class americans jeanne
The Web. 15 Jan. 2015. Izumi, Yutaka and Frank Hammonds. " Changing Ethnic/Racial Stereotypes: The Roles of Individuals and Groups."
In Farewell to Manzanar, author Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston covered topics that happen around the time Pearl Harbor was bombed. Houston’s, purpose of writing her story is to share the hardship it was for everyone and what she and her family went to. They faced discrimination across the whole nation. This is shown when it states, “When I had entered kindergarten two years earlier, I was the only Oriental in the class. They sat me next to a Caucasian girl who happened to have very slanted eyes. I looked at her and began to scream, certain Papa had sold me out at last. My fear of her ran so deep I could not speak of it, even to Mama, couldn't explain why I was screaming…And it was still with me, this fear of Oriental faces when we moved to Terminal
But, in this book Jeanne describes how her dad was in love with the United States. He rejected being Japanese and supported America. “That night Papa burned the flag he had brought with him from Hiroshima thirty five years earlier”(pg 6). Moving from place to place made it hard for The Wakatsuki family to get attached to. The family is then transported to Owens Valley, California, where 10,000 internees.
Damrosch, David and David L. Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature Second Edition. Pearson Education, Inc., 2009.
Matsumoto studies three generations, Issei, Nisei, and Sansei living in a closely linked ethnic community. She focuses her studies in the Japanese immigration experiences during the time when many Americans were scared with the influx of immigrants from Asia. The book shows a vivid picture of how Cortex Japanese endured violence, discriminations during Anti-Asian legislation and prejudice in 1920s, the Great Depression of 1930s, and the internment of 1940s. It also shows an examination of the adjustment period after the end of World War II and their return to the home place.
Before being relocated to Manzanar, after Ko Wakatsuki getting arrested, the Wakatsuki family relocates to Terminal Island. Terminal Island is where Jeanne starts to feel uncomfortable around the rough youth who were proud to call themselves yogore, meaning impolite, because the yogore pick on others who didn’t speak their language. Jeanne like many others got teased for not speaking Japanese. The elders would give words of inspiration to the younger generations to help them face new challenges that came in their way. “Shikata Ga Nai” (chapter 12) is a saying which means “It must be done”, it gave hope to people in the time of need. Sometimes just a word or two is enough to build the confidents in a person needed to keep them going and overcoming their
The United States of America a nation known for allowing freedom, equality, justice, and most of all a chance for immigrants to attain the American dream. However, that “America” was hardly recognizable during the 1940’s when President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, ordering 120,000 Japanese Americans to be relocated to internment camps. As for the aftermath, little is known beyond the historical documents and stories from those affected. Through John Okada’s novel, No-No Boy, a closer picture of the aftermath of the internment is shown through the events of the protagonist, Ichiro. It provides a more human perspective that is filled with emotions and connections that are unattainable from an ordinary historical document. In the novel, Ichiro had a life full of possibilities until he was stripped of his entire identity and had to watch those opportunities diminish before him. The war between Japan and the United States manifested itself into an internal way between his Japanese and American identities. Ichiro’s self-deprecating nature that he developed from this identity clash clearly questions American values, such as freedom and equality which creates a bigger picture of this indistinguishable “America” that has been known for its freedom, equality, and helping the oppressed.
In addition, shortly thereafter, she and a small group of American business professionals left to Japan. The conflict between values became evident very early on when it was discovered that women in Japan were treated by locals as second-class citizens. The country values there were very different, and the women began almost immediately feeling alienated. The options ...
Lawall, Sarah,et al. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Volume A (slipcased). Norton, 2001. W.W. Norton and Company Inc. New York, NY.
For those Asian Americans who make known their discontent with the injustice and discrimination that they feel, in the white culture, this translates to attacking American superiority and initiating insecurities. For Mura, a writer who dared to question why an Asian American was not allowed to audition for an Asian American role, his punishment was “the ostracism and demonization that ensued. In essence, he was shunned” (Hongo 4) by the white people who could not believe that he would attack their superior American ways. According to writers such as Frank Chin and the rest of the “Aiiieeeee!” group, the Americans have dictated Asian culture and created a perception as “nice and quiet” (Chin 1972, 18), “mama’s boys and crybabies” without “a man in all [the] males.” (Chin 1972, 24). This has become the belief of the proceeding generations of Asian Americans and therefore manifested these stereotypes.
Domrosch, David. Longman Anthology of World Literature, The, Compact Edition. 1st Edition. Pearson College Div: Longman, 2007. Print.