During World War II, Japanese living in America were forcefully relocated to concentration camps under the baseless fear that they were conspiring with Japan. In Julie Otsuka’s When the Emperor was Divine, a Japanese family faces such an experience: their lives are torn down after being removed from their society and facing harsh discrimination, leading to a fear of their identity as Japanese. The family members embrace their memories and each other during these hard times, but they deteriorate over time. The daughter treasures her father dearly: “ ‘I dreamed about Papa…we were in a boat going to Paris and he was singing that song again’ ” (45), but ultimately succumbs to the tragedy of the situation. A representation of this is her change
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.
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.
Soon after Papa’s arrest, Mama relocated the family to the Japanese immigrant ghetto on Terminal Island. For Mama this was a comfort in the company of other Japanese but for Jeanne it was a frightening experience. It was the first time she had lived around other people of Japanese heritage and this fear was also reinforced by the threat that her father would sell her to the “Chinaman” if she behaved badly. In this ghetto Jeanne and he ten year old brother were teased and harassed by the other children in their classes because they could not speak Japanese and were already in the second grade. Jeanne and Kiyo had to avoid the other children’s jeers. After living there for two mo...
"You're a human being, not an animal. You have the right to be loved" (262). "Son of the Revolution" by Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro was a book that showed how inhumane many of the aspects of Chinese life were during the Cultural Revolution. The book followed Liang Heng through many of his childhood memories to his departure from China in his twenties. The book applied a real face to the important movements during the Cultural Revolution, the effects that "the cult of Mao" had on society and Heng, and the way the period affected Heng's personal family life.
In his book, An Imperfect God, Henry Wiencek argues in favor of Washington being the first true president to set the precedent for the emancipation of African-American slaves. Wiencek delves into the evil paradox of how a nation conceived on the principles of liberty and dedicated to the statement that all men are created equal was in a state that still preserved slavery for over seven decades following the construction of the nation. Washington’s grandeur estate at Mount Vernon at its peak had the upkeep of over 300 slaves 126 of which were owned by Washington. First, it must be understood that Washington was raised on slavery receiving ownership of 10 slaves at the age of 11 years old and that Washington was a man of his time. However, it must also be understood that Washington’s business with slavery was in the context of a constrained social and political environment. Weincek maintains that this does not exonerate the fact that Washington maintained slavery however; it does help to quantify the moral shortcoming by which Washington carried until his last year of life.
The novel, When The Emperor Was Divine, tells the story of a Japanese family who was told to go to camp to be in surveillance during World War II, where Japan was an enemy of the United States. The story begins with signs being put up in communities to inform people of the internment of Japanese Americans, and one of the main characters, the mother “read the sign from top to bottom… wrote down a few words… then turned around and went home to pack” (Otsuka 3). The mother is told to follow the orders of the government and she complies due to her beliefs about the government, that they have positive intentions. The Japanese family left their home and were marginalized out of their community and were ordered to go to an internment camp. The reason for their evacuation and of other Japanese Americans is that since Japan was an enemy of the United States during World War II, many Americans in the United States believed that Japanese Americans were spies and were on the opposing side of the war. Americans did not trust Japanese Americans anymore and the Japanese were soon discriminated and marginalized in the community, just like the Japanese family in the novel, because the American communities felt threatened by their
Obedience is when you do something you have been asked or ordered to do by someone in authority. As little kids we are taught to follow the rules of authority, weather it is a positive or negative effect. Stanley Milgram, the author of “The perils of Obedience” writes his experiment about how people follow the direction of an authority figure, and how it could be a threat. On the other hand Diana Baumrind article “Review of Stanley Milgram’s experiments on obedience,” is about how Milgram’s experiment was inhumane and how it is not valid. While both authors address how people obey an authority figure, Milgram focuses more on how his experiment was successful while Baumrind seems more concerned more with how Milgram’s experiment was flawed and
While reading the fiction book, Good Kings Bad Kings I realized that there was a strong connection between what actually happened back in history to those with mental and physical disabilities. Even though the book was wrote to entertain, it also had me thinking about history. For example, while reading through the book I would relate back to some of the readings we read in class. These readings were “An Institutional History of Disability” and "Disability and Justification of Inequality in American History". Some of the key things that, also, stood out to me were the way the youth were treated, how workers were treated, how ableism was presented, and why people were put in these facilities.
Marsh, James H. "Japanese Internment: Banished and Beyond Tears." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 7 Jan. 2014. .
Mao’s Cultural Revolution was an attempt to create a new culture for China. Through education reforms and readjustments, Mao hoped to create a new generation of Chinese people - a generation of mindless Communists. By eliminating intellectuals via the Down to the Countryside movement, Mao hoped to eliminate elements of traditional Chinese culture and create a new form Chinese culture. He knew that dumbing down the masses would give him more power so his regime would be more stable. This dramatic reform affected youth especially as they were targeted by Mao’s propaganda and influence. Drawing from his experiences as an Educated Youth who was sent down to the countryside Down to the Countryside movement, Ah Cheng wrote The King of Children to show the effects of the Cultural Revolution on education, and how they affected the meaning people found in education. In The King of Children, it is shown that the Cultural Revolution destroyed the traditional incentives for pursuing an education, and instead people found moral and ethical meaning in pursuing an education.
The theme of Ignorance is very dangerous and can lead to false victimization of a minority group. This theme is deeply used throughout “The Emperor was Divine” On page 5, The wife talks about how her husband was taken away and put in jail on the assumption that he is a Japanese
Isami's House, by Gail Lee Bernstein, is a rare multi-generational book that explains the history of a Japanese family. The book filtrates between the beginning of the Tokugawa era and what is now present day. Isami’s House is a piece that appears at first to be a scholarly work of one middle-class Japanese clan's dynasty, but manages instead to tell a story of success and tragedy, that is appealing and entertains the reader. Throughout the story, Bernstein emphasizes on the Japanese culture during the time period, Isami’s family’s lives and their personal stories.
Toyo Suyemoto’s memoir of her experiences at the Tanforan Race Track and Topaz Relocation Center is the embodiment of perseverance in difficult times. War time is never easy but being relocated because of ancestry, losing all belongings, and going to a strange new place is even harder. In I Call to Remembrance by Toyo Suyemoto describes the horrific fear of being uprooted from her life. Throughout the book Suyemoto describes how much the Japanese-Americans had to endure throughout World War II but always brought back the Japanese idea of shikata ga ni and gaman. These ideas of accepting what must be and perseverance in the face of adversity are reflected throughout the memoir and are shown in many different examples of adversity.
In Julie Otsuka’s novel When the Emperor was Divine, a mother and her two children are incarcerated during the time of World War II because of their Japanese ancestry, and are brought to a camp out in the deserts of Utah. The mother and children struggle with their ancestry and their heritage, as they are not American or Japanese, but one in the same. When reading through the novel, some might think the mother completely throws away the heritage of who she, and who her family really are; that they show disloyalty to country and to self. Sophocles, writer of Antigone, would likely concur. His strong, rebellious, and iconic female character, Antigone, defies the rules of her King in honoring the death of her “betraying” brother in standing firm
Yoshiko's family is prosperous and well regarded in both the Japanese and White cultures. After Pearl Harbor is attacked, numerous Japanese men, including Yoshiko's dad, who were connected with Japan get confined at the Immigration Detention Quarters for a considerable length of time, even months. Before long, bits of gossip started to spread that anybody with Japanese family line will be taken from their homes and migrated. At first Yoshiko and her family are willfully ignorant, however soon they get a 10 day departure notice which brings things into perspective.