Analysis Of John W. Dower's War Without Mercy

For fifty million men, women, and children World War II meant death. For some it meant "hell on earth" For nations everywhere it led to technological changes and bureaucratic expansion. The government claimed it was "holy war for national survival and glory" and its purpose was to "defend" values of state and culture. Most high officials thought it was power politics. John W.Dower in his "War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War" argues that world war II was a race war. He proves this on page four when he says "exposed raw prejudices...fueled by racial pride, arrogance, and rage." Dower claims that race was neglected as an issue of WWII. He raises a thought provoking question where he asks "When and where did race play a significant

role in the war? (Dower 4) To make the reader understand the deeper problems of racism in war, he discusses other incidents where race had a huge impact on outcomes of that situation. Dower mentions the holocaust and the Jim Crow laws in U.S to show racial discrimination. He discusses race hates in the War in Asia and the Pacific. Dower views the Pacific War as an opportunity to look at racism and war comparatively and historically. He discusses in his book how race and power can't be avoided when thinking about the war in Asia.
Dower's book is divided into three part. Part one has three chapters in which Dower discusses patterns of the war. He claims that World War II raised the awareness of racism in the United States. (5)He discusses the how World War II led to conflicts in which race played a major role. By discussing this, he informs us the readers on what the main purpose of his book is about which is the “race war.” He mentions the wake of Pearl Harbor which led to incarceration of over 110,000 Japanese-Americans and the oppression of black and exclusion of Asian immigrant. He claims this was part of the political issues in America. He proves this by saying that the Chinese and Indians "decried humiliation of allies with country making them unfit for citizenship" (5) The War against Japan was described as "a holy war, a racial war of greater significance" Dower doesn't fail to mention that this was all a warning of a third world war between whites and nonwhites in a generation (7) In Chapter two, he discusses the creations of films that show how the enemies were viewed. One of Dower’s fault in writing was that while trying to convey his message across to the reader by mentioning memorials such as the Tanaka memorial, he doesn’t explain what the significance of the memorial was. His failure to explain this, makes it harder for the reader to fully understand what he is trying to prove. On the contrary, Dower raises two fascinating questions where he asks “Why were the Japanese perceived as being more treacherous and atrocious than the Germans…” and “What is one to make of the other side of the coin, namely, Japanese propaganda portraying the Allies as real barbarians…” (34) which makes his writing richer.
In Part II, Dower discusses how the War was seen in the eyes of the Westerners. In chapter four, Dower bring up an interesting point where he claims that the war was not when racism towards the Japanese began. He proves this by stating Churchill’s dependence on Roosevelt to keep the “Japanese dog in the Pacific” in which he said a year and half before the war. (82) Also, even before the war began they were referred to as “yellow dwarf slaves” (84) To make his argument even more convincing he states that “the belief that the Japanese were poor pilots because the race as a whole suffered from myopia and inner-ear defect surfaced in countless ways in the years and days before the war came” (104-105) In this chapter, Dower discusses the treatment and racism towards the Japanese. Dower’s main point was that during the War in Asia “racism, dehumanization, technological change, and exterminationist policies” were “interlocked” in new ways. (93) He claims that “the war was so savage and war hates ran so deep that even individuals who encountered the Japanese as prisoners ordinarily found it impossible to change their views.” (77) To prove his argument that the Japanese were being discriminated against, Dower uses Ernie Pyle, who was a journalist that covered the war in Europe. Pyle’s statement “I wanted a mental bath after looking at them” about Japanese prisoners shows how the Japanese were treated and viewed by others. To make his argument even more compelling, Dower uses Time magazine where the commander of U.S South Pacific Force, Halsey, says “the only good Jap is a dead Jap.” Halsey also made “outrageous and viruntently racist remarks about Japanese.” Dower claims, Halsey said they were “yellow bastard” and “stupid animals.” Leatherneck, which was a Marine monthly, showed photographs of the Japanese corps which emphasized in their headlines “GOOD JAPS are dead Japs.” (79) A new word was also created and Japanese people were called “Japes” which is “Japs” and “apes” combined. In addition, Hollywood movies showed how the enemies in Asia, which were the Japanese, and the enemy in Europe were perceived.

The Japanese, according to Dower, were treated with suspicion while there were no actions taken against the enemy in Europe. (79) Using Pyle’s idea to prove his main point, Dower claimed that the enemy in Europe were still considered people but the Japanese were not because “they were denied even the ordinary vocabularies of being human. “ The United States government incarcerated Japanese- Americans and forced them to live in facilities which were meant for animals. (82) Actions taken by the government for people of Japanese ethnicity showed that they were viewed as a threat just because of their ethnicity. This, according to Dower, showed that the real Japanese enemy were considered to be “faceless” and “incorrigible.” (80) This clearly shows the discrimination against the Japanese. To make his argument even more convincing, Dower claims that some white Americans supported the relocation of the Japanese. He discusses the Los Angeles Times which shows racism in images and through expression. In that magazine, there was an expression that said “A viper is nonetheless a viper wherever the egg is hatched- so a Japanese-American born of Japanese parents, grows up to be a Japanese not an

American.” (80) Furthermore, when asked why the Japanese-Americans couldn’t return home, the phrase “A Jap’s a Jap” was brought up. The testimony of General De Witt showed how intense the relationship between Americans and the Japanese were. Witt states that the only way the “menace by Japanese could be eliminated” was only “by destroying Japanese as a race.” He adds on and says that they were not worried about the Germans or Italians but the “Japs we will be worried about all the time until they are wiped off the face of the map.” Likewise, John Rankin’s claim “You can’t any more regenerate a Jap than you can reverse the law of nature” (81) proves Dowers argument of racism towards the Japanese. To make his argument even more fascinating, Dower claims that the Japanese were perceived as “animals, reptiles, or insects” such as cockroaches and rattlesnakes. (81) Wartime songs such as “We’re Gonna Have To Slap the Dirty Little Jap”, daily press, and major weeklies such as Time, Life, Newsweek, and Readers Digest, made anti-Japanese racism harder to ignore. (81) Dower’s use of magazines, journalists, and testimony’s proved his main argument which was that there was a war about race and the Japanese were discriminated against. In chapter five, Dower states that the Westerners changed their image of the Japanese from “subhuman” to “superhuman” because they were “shocked of the military success of the Japanese” (99) This, however, shows that they weren’t considered as human beings. The Japanese were underestimated and depicted as “weak and demoralized country” (100) Dower uses Cicil Brown notes , who captured the last moment of British thinking of Japanese incompetence, to show that the Japs were underestimated. He also uses the article from American mercury which was reprinted where a journalist who lived in Japan for thirteen years, described Japan as a disorganized country. (109) Despite the surprise attack of the Japanese, they were still portrayed as children and described as “primitives”, “savages.”(116) According to Dower, the Japanese were “treated as race suffering from collective psychological disorder.” (117) In The next chapter of this part, Dower discusses how the war words that were directed towards the Japanese corresponded with the “white supremacist” idea. He also discusses how the World War II anti-Japanese attitude in Anglo-American camp led to a bigger picture of race inequality which included Asians in general and “colored” people as a whole. He proves these ideas by discussing the studies of social scientists in which the Japanese were diagnosed as “problem children” and “juvenile delinquents.” To make his argument even more powerful, Dower states “it was but a small step to see them as emotionally maladjusted adolescents and, finally, as a deranged race in general.” (143) To make his book more enchanting and easier to follow and understand, the author adds a section at the end of Part II in which he has illustrations that show racism of both sides.
Dower uses a wide array of materials from English Language media, library resources, and materials from Washington. Also, he uses the help of Tokako Kishima to find perceptions of Japanese of themselves and others during the war. Dowers use of references, suggestions, critical comments, and assistance of individuals make his argument more alluring. Even though, Dower tries to equally display the views of both sides, the Japanese and Americans, by writing two separate part. One part showed the Westerners viewed the war, while the other showed the war in Japanese eyes. However, he doesn’t complete this task very well. The evidence Dower uses in his book to prove his main argument which is that the war was a race war, shows that Americans were more racist than the Japanese.