Farewell To Manzanar Analysis

303 Words1 Page

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

Show More
Related

  • Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's Farewell to Manzanar

    608 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston´s Farewell to Manzanar

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston is a riveting about a women who endured three years of social hardships in camp Manzanar. Jeanne Wakatsuki was born on September 26, 1934, in Inglewood, California, to George Ko Wakatsuki and Riku Sugai Wakatsuki. She spent her early childhood in Ocean Park, California, where her father was a fisherman. On December 7, 1941 Jeanne and her family say good bye to her Papa and her brothers as they take off on their sardine boat. The boat promptly returned and a “Fellow from the cannery came running down to the wharf shouting that the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor” (Wakatsuki, 6). That very night Papa went home and burned anything that could trace them back to their Japanese origins paper, documents, and even the flag that he had brought back with him from Hiroshima. Even though Papa tried hard to hide his connections with his Japanese heritage the FBI still arrested him but he didn’t struggle as they took him away he was a man of “tremendous dignity” (Wakatsuki, 8) and instead he led them.

    Read More

  • Melba Pattillo Beals', Warriors Don't Cry

    2530 Words  | 6 Pages

    In the book Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, the author describes what her reactions and feelings are to the racial hatred and discrimination she and eight other African-American teenagers received in Little Rock, Arkansas during the desegregation period in 1957. She tells the story of the nine students from the time she turned sixteen years old and began keeping a diary until her final days at Central High School in Little Rock. The story begins by Melba talking about the anger, hatred, and sadness that is brought up upon her first return to Central High for a reunion with her eight other classmates. As she walks through the halls and rooms of the old school, she recalls the horrible acts of violence that were committed by the white students against her and her friends.

    Read More

  • Farewell to Manzanar

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    Farewell to Manzanar is sociologist and writer Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's first hand account of her interment in the Japanese camps during World War II. Growing up in southern California, she was the youngest of ten children living in a middle-to lower class, but comfortable life style with her large family. In the beginning of her story, she told about how her family was close, but how they drifted apart during and after their internment in the camp. The ironic part of it is that her family spent their entire time together in the same camp. So why did her family drift apart so? What was once the center of the family scene; dinner became concealed with the harsh realities of the camp. This reflects the loss of many of today's family values, and may have even set the bar for southern California's style of living today. Also, in a broader United State's historical theme, their internment reflected the still pungent racism and distrust of foreign identities, even though most of them were native-born US citizens and had never been to Japan.

    Read More

  • American Neutrality Acts of the 1930s, Arms and World War II Involvement

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the United States prejudices against Japanese descendants was common. However following the shocking attack on Pearl Harbor (November 1941) that resulted in 2,300 casualties, twelve sank ships, nine damaged ships, 160 destroyed aircraft, and 150 damaged ships, produced an unprecedented hatred of Japan. The disaster of Pearl Harbor’s bombing termed December 7th “a date which will live in infamy” quoted by Franklin D. Roosevelt (Foner 858). Ultimately lead to Congress declaration of w...

    Read More

  • American Minorities during World War II

    1439 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the time of World War II, there was a dramatic change in the society of America and its way of life. Men were needed at war, and the women were left at home. People were mistrusted and were falsely accused of something they didn’t do. Some people were even pushed away because they were different. These people are the minorities of America.

    Read More

  • The Crucible Hate Quotes

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    When fear is struck in desperate minds, they are capable of taking action disregarding the lives of others as well as the basic rules of civilization. The play written by Arthur Miller, The Crucible, is a desirable example of society’s boundaries of “removing” innocent people who bring concern or unease into their lives, this hysteria is astonishingly relatable to the discrimination of Japanese- Americans/Canadians during and post WWII. As Nelson Mandela once said: “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” [FOOTNOTE] This quote

    Read More

  • David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    The discrimination all started at about 8:00 AM on December 7, 1941. At this time the Japanese assembled a fleet of planes and attacked Pearl Harbor, which is located off the shore of Hawaii. The Japanese decided to attack the United States because the U.S. enforced an oil embargo against Japan. This attack included a striking force of 353 Japanese aircraft. This was done by total surprise, before there was even a formal declaration of war. This was a well-planned time for the attack seeing how there were about 100 of the United States ships present on that day. At the same time there was an attack on a nearby field. This attack destroyed 18 of the United States aircraft (Pearl 1).

    Read More

  • The Scapegoat

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    Racism had been an ongoing problem in America during the time of WWII. The American citizens were not happy with the arriving of the Japanese immigrants and were not very keen in hiding it. The Japanese were titled with the degrading title of “Japs” and labeled as undesirables. Bombarding propaganda and social restrictions fueled the discrimination towards the Japanese. A depiction of a house owned by white residents shows a bold sign plastered on the roof, blaring “Japs keep moving - This is a white man’s neighborhood” ("Japs Keep Moving - This Is a White Man's Neighborhood"). The white man’s hatred and hostility towards the Japanese could not have been made any clearer. Another source intensifies the racism by representing the Japanese as a swarm of homogeneous Asians with uniform outfits, ...

    Read More

  • Racial And Cultural Stereotypes In War Without Mercy By John Dower

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    Following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, both the American and Japanese propaganda machine spun into action, churning out dehumanizing propaganda materials about each other that instills fear and anger onto the civilians of the two respective countries. John Dower’s book, War Without Mercy, depicts the changing perceptions of the protagonists in the pacific theater. From the Japanese perspective, the Americans were the antagonist, while the American counterpart will view the Japanese as the antagonist. Therefore, the central premise was that racial fear and hatred, perpetuated by demonizing propagandas, was the determining factor on how both sides look at the “inferior” other. Dower asserted, “In this milieu of historical forgetfulness, selective reporting centralized propaganda, and a truly savage war, atrocities and war crimes played a major role in the propagation of racial and cultural stereotypes. The stereotypes preceded the atrocities,

    Read More

  • Racism In The 1920s Essay

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    The tone right away reduces the Japanese student to a coconut-headed Jap, sly and cunning, and must have cheated his way through life, although the boy is obviously intelligent, being head of the class. Stratton-Porter bars no discriminatory remarks by portraying the American girl, "Sweet Linda" spouting against the Japanese boy who heads the class: "Before I would let a Jap, either a boy or girl, lead in my class, I would give up going to school and go out and see if I could beat him growing lettuce and spinach." (Doc 6) It goes on to protest the foreigners' success, fearing that it would bring in "greater numbers, better equipped for battle of life than we are." (Doc 6) Another public source that also feared a sort of a revolution was the anonymous "Because You're a Jew," generalizing the Jew as a cheat and a swindler, always winning contests, sly speaking and greedy. "The Jew is winning everywhere. By fair means or by foul means he wins.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Otsuka's 'Buddha In The Attic'

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    Towns already had signs that warned any Japanese person move into their town they will be arrested. Certain businesses were refusing services to the point that the next generation learned to call a business to ask if they serve Japanese before going to the place. They had to learn to protect themselves by never being along but also never with a huge group. Many felt that they had to remain quiet and invisible to be accepted by the community by simply agreeing with certain circumstances; such as, moving when a person feels more privileged to ask you to move instead of moving themselves away from the area they don’t feel comfortable in. The war gave people the push to perform the acts they had been desiring for years without being concerned about the government intervening. When the attack happened the signs became more descriptive explaining certain features for the enemy that then led to people being taken away from their hard worked lands being returned to those who believed it belonged to the Caucasians. America was never a melting pot but a plate that refuses to let the food touch each other. If the food crossed their limits then the whole goal or flavor was destroyed forcing people to fix it by attacking or throwing it

    Read More

  • Farewell To Manzanar Similarities

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    Farewell to Manzanar and Night were both first person narratives about the living conditions and the work conditions in the camps. The work and environmental conditions were much worse in the concentration camps, than in the Japanese internment camps for multiple reasons. One reason is the temperature. It was a hot versus cold difference. Night was a cold story. Farewell to Manzanar was a hot, as in temperature, story.

    Read More

  • The Internment Of Japanese Americans During WWII

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the process of war the public skipped to the conclusion that all Japanese Americans were out to get them. The suspicion of a government takeover was on everyones mind. Paranoia led people into to thinking every single Japanese American was guilty, no matter if it was a child, a WWI veteran, or if they had ever even been to Japan. The suspicion did not end there, inducing temporary segregation, and the exploitation of japanese american’s human rights. Mass hysteria and racism influenced the government's actions towards the Japanese.

    Read More

  • Essay On Japanese Internment Camps

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor, there was still tension between Japanese-Americans and other United States citizens. Laws like the “Gentlemen’s Agreement,” a way of restricting Japanese immigration, was put into place in 1908 in fear of a “future Japanese ‘takeover’” (Hata and Hata, 7). After the attack on Pearl Harbor, growing hysteria filled the country and Japanese-Americans feared for their future. About a year later, Franklin D. R...

    Read More

More about Farewell To Manzanar Analysis

Open Document