Essay Comparing They Called Us Enemy And Farewell To Manzanar

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The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, caused by the Japanese military sparked the U.S. into the war. Due to the bombing being done by the Japanese army, the US started placing laws, curfews, and more on Japanese-Americans. Both memoirs, They Called Us Enemy and Farewell to Manzanar, have many similarities and noticeable differences that help the audience deepen their understanding of situations that Japanese Americans, especially both the memoir’s families, faced. To start off, both the memoirs have many similarities, like locations, events, and more, that help the audience understand common situations and circumstances that both the memoir’s families faced. First, both memoirs start in California, in They Called Us Enemy, George’s life started at “Boyle Heights, Los Angeles” (Takei 12), and for Farwell to Manzanar, Jeanne was “.... in Santa Monica” (Houston 4). The similarities help show different perspectives of Japanese Americans in the time period and different perspectives from California, the place where it …show more content…

To start off, both families went to a different number of camps. The Takei family had to relocate several times to Arkansas, Santa Anita, and more. Meanwhile, the Watasuki family only stayed in Manzanar. Another example is their answers to the survey or Order 9066. For the Takei family, they answered “No, No” (Takei 115). But on the other hand, the Wataskui family answered “Yes”. Yes” (Houston 27). The differences in the answer choice show that Japanese Americans had different opinions and attitudes towards the U.S. and its treatment of them. So, despite these differences showing the unfair treatment of certain Japanese groups, it also provides a different perspective of the time period and America’s treatment of the

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