House Of The Red Fish Summary

In the book, House of the Red Fish, there are many main characters that are important to the plot of this story. The most important character is Tomi, a Japanese-American who grew up during a tough time for Japanese-Americans. He was one of the many Japanese people in Honolulu who was negatively affected by the bombing of Pearl Harbor. There were many transitions in his life that made his life difficult.
First, Tomi, a young, Japanese boy who grew up during the years of WWII, lived a life filled with strife, but he made it work well. Son of two Japanese immigrants who moved to Oahu, Hawaii, Tomi lived with his parents, grandfather, and his younger sister. His family didn’t have much money with his parents and grandfather all Japanese citizens. His family lived in a small part of a property owned by the Wilson family, who are the parents of Tomi’s ex-friend, now nemesis, Keet Wilson. Tomi’s parents had simple jobs, his father was a fisherman and his mother, a

housekeeper for the Wilsons. Being the housekeeper for the Wilsons, his mother’s employment was the main reason why Tomi had a roof over his head. Tomi has many loyal friends who help him when Keet is disturbing Tomi. Tomi maintained a simple life, besides the occasional dispute with Keet.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor had dispatched an extensive blow to Honolulu’s community.

When the populace of Oahu were informed that the Japanese were liable for the disruptions and distress in their daily lives, the residents of the island were aggrieved. All fingers were immediately pointed at the Japanese, every individual a designated a spy. All suspects guilty or innocent were seized, one of them being Tomi’s father, then later his grandfather joining the count. Later in the book, we learn that Tomi’s father’s sampan, a type of Japanese fishing boat was sunk by the military. This was a destitution to Tomi and his remaining family because without Tomi’s father or the sampan, there would be a scarcity of money for their family. Tomi had a strenuous time handling the loss of his father’s sampan after all, the sampan carried a collection of marvelous memories during Tomi’s younger days. A few years later, Tomi decides that he wants to bring his father’s sampan back up with the assistance of his

friends.
Since Tomi was the director of this operation, he would have to display leadership for the procedure to go well. The young Japanese-American did present leadership throughout the whole book, thinking of many ways to do one things, making sure his crew is always on task, and thinking of solutions to solve many problems. Another trait that Tomi displayed throughout the whole book is determination. There were many trials and tribulations that Tomi encountered until he finally reached his goal. If it weren’t for Tomi’s prodigious determination, he may have given up on his plans of raising the boat.
To conclude, Tomi’s life was one filled with strife, adventure, and great happiness. His life was nothing short of boring and something interesting was always going on in his life with his exclusive personality to create even more amusing situations.