Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

Farewell To Manzanar

In the true story "Farewell to Manzanar" we learn of a young girl's life as she grows up during World War II in a Japanese internment camp. Along with her family and ten thousand other Japanese we see how, as a child, these conditions forced to shape and mold her life. This book does not directly place blame or hatred onto those persons or conditions which had forced her to endure hardship, but rather shows us through her eyes how these experiences have held value she has been able to grow from.

Jeanne Wakatsuki was just a seven year growing up in Ocean Park,

California when her whole life was about to change. Everything seemed to be going fine, her father owning two fishing boats, and they lived in a large house with a large dining table which was located in an entirely non-Japanese neighborhood. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese was the moment Jeanne's life was critically altered. This started WWII and all Japanese were seen as possible threats to the nations safety. It is not difficult to see, but difficult to justify this view, and therefore Jeanne Wakatsuki, just a child, was now seen as a monster. Her father was immediately arrested and taken away, being accused with furnishing oil to Japanese subs off the coast. And now,

Jeanne left without a father, her mother was trapped with the burden of Jeanne's rapidly aging grandmother and her nine brothers and sisters. Too young to understand, Jeanne did not know why or where her father had been taken. But she did know that one very important part of her was gone.

Jeanne's father was a very strong, military-like, proud, arrogant, and dignified man. He was the one who was always in control, and made all the decisions for the family. He grew up in Japan, but left at the age of seventeen, headed for work in Hawaii, and never again went back. Leaving his own family behind and never contacting them ever again. But now it was time for Jeanne's family to do something. They found refuge at Terminal Island, a place where many Japanese families live either in some transition stage or for permanent residents. Jeanne was terrified. " It was the first time I had lived among other Japanese, or gone to school with them, and I was terrified all the time."

Her father, as a way ...

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...ruly come to know a place: Farewell."

This says it all. She had finally been able to see that Manzanar was one giant stepping stone she had climbed, and that gave her worth, so she could feel at peace with herself. Her life had really begun at Manzanar, but she isn't about to let it end there.

In conclusion, this story was well written and I could sympathize with every trial and tribulation she encountered. Some may say she didn't value her

Japanese heritage enough or was pitying herself for being Japanese. But she, in my view is a hero because she took everything that was imposed on her and endured through it. She was able to accept herself through a kind of spiritual growth, which was both revelational, and inspirational. I only hope that one day I can make some sense of the things gone wrong in my life, or at least grow from them. Jeanne is a woman now, who as a child was thrown around in a racial roller coaster, and can accept herself as an important part of society and life, rather than needing others to accept it for her.

Note: I really enjoyed this book and the next time I head out to Mammoth Lakes

I will definitely try and find Manzanar.