The search for identity is part of the development of a person and is something that you have the freedom to choose for yourself. But what if none of that even mattered, because there was a higher power that chose your identity for you? And not only was your identity determined against your will, but it was an identity that pitted millions of people against you? This is the case of the many Japanese Americans that were sent to internment camps during World War II. The United States government labeled all Americans of Japanese descent as enemies and ordered them to be evacuated from their homes to be sent to internment camps. Julie Otsuka’s novel When the Emperor Was Divine tells the story of a Japanese American family who is forced from their …show more content…
California home and shipped off to an internment camp in Utah. Identity is a prominent theme in her novel, as the characters are removed from their homes and therefore stripped of their identities. Otsuka uses the theme of identity in her novel to suggest that it is not the role of the government to force an identity upon someone. Otsuka takes away the names of the family to show how the government strips away the Japanese Americans’ identity. Throughout her novel, Otsuka never mentions the names of the father, mother, or two children. The only two instances where the names of the children are referred to, their names end up becoming lost, just like their identities. When the family is on their way to the internment camp on the train, the girl throws a deck of playing cards out of the window one by one. The last card is a six of clubs, and the girl thinks, “She could think of nothing special about the six of clubs” (Otsuka 40). Then, “she wrote down her name across the six of clubs and slipped the card out the window” (40). This signifies her leaving behind her identity when the government forces her and her family to relocate. A person’s name is something that one can always hold that will identify themselves, so when the girl’s name is taken away from, she loses one of the only things left that she has left to claim, because she had to leave all her other possessions in California. Additionally, the fact that the last card had nothing special about it was important, because part of having you own identity is seeking your own uniqueness, but when it is taken away, you lose all sense of specialty and become a slave to someone else’s identity for yourself. This is what happened with the girl when she identified with the card and became victim of the government taking away her identity. The other instance in which one of the main characters’ name is referenced is when the boy writes his name in the dust while at the internment camp right before he goes to bed. But then “all through the night, while he slept, more dust blew through the walls. By morning his name was gone” (64). Similar to the girl when she throws her name out the window, the boy loses his identity when his name disappears. On the other hand, some of the only characters in the book who have names are non-Japanese Americans. The name of the worker at the hardware store is Joe Lundy (5) and the name of the school teacher at the internment camp is Mrs. Delaney (71). Otsuka refers to both of these characters by their names because the government did not take away their identity. This is done on purpose because it shows that the government specifically stripped away the identity of the Japanese Americans when they were forcefully relocated. Otsuka shows that by taking the Japanese Americans out of their environment, the government thereby takes their identity from them. The easiest way that the government can change someone’s identity is by removing that person from their surroundings and put them in a new setting. This is what happened when the United States government forced the Japanese Americans from their home and moved them to internment camps. The boy tells the story of one of his neighbors at the internment camp who is very old and talks to herself. At one point, the boy says, “’The daffodils,’” to which the lady responds, “’Oh yes, of course. I must remember to plant the daffodils. And the fence still needs mending’” (55). The old lady is confused and thinks she is trying to find her way home. She is in a state of denial that she is now imprisoned in a foreign place. Otsuka utilizes her character as a source of wisdom in her novel because she later connects the fact that the new environment of the internment camp has changed people’s identity. She mentions, “’There’s something strange about this place,’” and then proclaims, “’Everyone here seems so serious’” (55). When the Japanese Americans are put in a new environment, everyone’s unique identity becomes mundane and absent. The insensitive action of taking away someone’s identity causes the reader to question whether it is necessary for a government to do this to a whole population of people. Otsuka uses the ironic symbol of the sun to imply that it is not the government’s place to force an identity upon someone.
The sun is considered to be the symbol of power and life because of its magnitude and ability to create the life of the land, but Otsuka uses the sun as a symbol of the government and its tyrannical ruling over the Japanese Americans’ identity. The United States government is responsible for forcing the Japanese Americans to change their identity when it relocated them to the internment camps. This can be compared to the sun when the mother tells explains how the sun ages you and makes you grow old. In her revelation about the sun, “she pointed to a wrinkle by her mouth. ‘See this?’ […] ‘A recent development. Your father won’t know who I am’” (63). In this passage of her novel, Otsuka reveals the irony of the symbolism of the sun. Instead of the sun being a symbol of life, the sun represents the government, which forcefully changes the identity of the Japanese Americans. When the sun causes the mother to get wrinkles, she alludes to the fact that her husband will not be able to recognize her. The sun makes her unrecognizable to her husband just like the government forcefully changes her identity when it takes her away from her home. The ironic symbolism of the sun is exemplified further when the rising of the sun does not signify an opportunity for growth after the boy wrote his name in the dust but instead it symbolizes the government taking away his identity. In the part where the boy writes his name in the dust and “by morning his name was gone” (64), the coming of the morning represents the sun coming out and his name no longer written in the dust. Otsuka uses this imagery to reveal how the government takes the boy’s identity from him. The purpose of the ironic symbol of the sun is to expose the absurd way that the government takes away the Japanese Americans’ identity and forces a new one on them. By using the sun as symbol of the
opposite of what it would typically symbolize, Otsuka demonstrates that it is not the government’s role to force an identity upon someone.
Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.
Are you born in America but you have a different heritage? During World War II, even though Mine Okubo was born in America, she was identified as a rival to the Americans because she had a Japanese background. This led to her being transferred to isolated internment camps. Louie Zamperini was an Olympian runner who enlisted into the army. After a disaster of his assigned plane crashing into the ocean, he was captured by the Japanese and transported to camps. Both Mine Okubo and Louie Zamperini had to endure challenges in the course of World War II. Japanese-American internees and American Prisoners of War (POWs) felt “invisible” and “resisted invisibility.”
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.
"You're a human being, not an animal. You have the right to be loved" (262). "Son of the Revolution" by Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro was a book that showed how inhumane many of the aspects of Chinese life were during the Cultural Revolution. The book followed Liang Heng through many of his childhood memories to his departure from China in his twenties. The book applied a real face to the important movements during the Cultural Revolution, the effects that "the cult of Mao" had on society and Heng, and the way the period affected Heng's personal family life.
Farewell to Manzanar Beginning in March of 1942, in the midst of World War II, over 100,000 Japanese-Americans were forcefully removed from their homes and ordered to relocate to several of what the United States has euphemistically labeled “internment camps.” In Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston describes in frightening detail her family’s experience of confinement for three and a half years during the war. In efforts to cope with the mortification and dehumanization and the boredom they were facing, the Wakatsukis and other Japanese-Americans participated in a wide range of activities. The children, before a structured school system was organized, generally played sports or made trouble; some adults worked for extremely meager wages, while others refused and had hobbies, and others involved themselves in more self-destructive activities. The smaller children that were confined to their families seemed to be generally unaware of the hardships they were facing.
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.
Issei, first-generation Japanese immigrants in the America, would give birth to their children within the United States, giving them automatic citizenship. This new generation of Japanese-Americans would be given the name “Nisei”, as society would question their loyalty, while being racially and legally discriminated against, by their community and government.
Throughout humanity, human beings have been faced with ethnic hardships, conflict, and exclusion because of the battle for authority. Hence, in human nature, greed, and overall power consumes the mind of some people. Groups throughout the world yearn for the ability to be the mightiest one. These types of conflicts include ethnic shaming, racial exclusion, physical and verbal abuse, enslavement, imprisonment, and even death. Some of these conflicts were faced in all parts of Europe and the Pacific Region during World War II. During this dark time in history, people like Miss.Breed from Dear Miss Breed took initial action in what she thought was right, and gave hope to Japanese Internment Camp children by supplying books and
The United States of America a nation known for allowing freedom, equality, justice, and most of all a chance for immigrants to attain the American dream. However, that “America” was hardly recognizable during the 1940’s when President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, ordering 120,000 Japanese Americans to be relocated to internment camps. As for the aftermath, little is known beyond the historical documents and stories from those affected. Through John Okada’s novel, No-No Boy, a closer picture of the aftermath of the internment is shown through the events of the protagonist, Ichiro. It provides a more human perspective that is filled with emotions and connections that are unattainable from an ordinary historical document. In the novel, Ichiro had a life full of possibilities until he was stripped of his entire identity and had to watch those opportunities diminish before him. The war between Japan and the United States manifested itself into an internal way between his Japanese and American identities. Ichiro’s self-deprecating nature that he developed from this identity clash clearly questions American values, such as freedom and equality which creates a bigger picture of this indistinguishable “America” that has been known for its freedom, equality, and helping the oppressed.
While reading the fiction book, Good Kings Bad Kings I realized that there was a strong connection between what actually happened back in history to those with mental and physical disabilities. Even though the book was wrote to entertain, it also had me thinking about history. For example, while reading through the book I would relate back to some of the readings we read in class. These readings were “An Institutional History of Disability” and "Disability and Justification of Inequality in American History". Some of the key things that, also, stood out to me were the way the youth were treated, how workers were treated, how ableism was presented, and why people were put in these facilities.
Often, we find ourselves facing dramatic events in our lives that force us to re-evaluate and redefine ourselves. Such extraordinary circumstances try to crush the heart of the human nature in us. It is at that time, like a carbon under pressure, the humanity in us either shatters apart exposing our primal nature, or transforms into a strong, crystal-clear brilliant of compassion and self sacrifice. The books Night written by Elie Wiesel and Hiroshima written by John Hersey illustrate how the usual lifestyle might un-expectantly change, and how these changes could affect the human within us. Both books display how lives of civilians were interrupted by the World War II, what devastations these people had to undergo, and how the horrific circumstances of war were sometimes able to bring out the best in ordinary people.
Feifer, George. Breaking Open Japan: Commodore Perry, Lord Abe, and American Imperialism in 1853. New York: Smithsonian Books/Collins, 2006. pp. xx, 389 p.: ill., maps; 24 cm. ISBN: 0060884320 (hardcover: alk. paper). Format: Book. Subjects: Japan Foreign relations United States /United States Foreign relations Japan.
Mao’s Cultural Revolution was an attempt to create a new culture for China. Through education reforms and readjustments, Mao hoped to create a new generation of Chinese people - a generation of mindless Communists. By eliminating intellectuals via the Down to the Countryside movement, Mao hoped to eliminate elements of traditional Chinese culture and create a new form Chinese culture. He knew that dumbing down the masses would give him more power so his regime would be more stable. This dramatic reform affected youth especially as they were targeted by Mao’s propaganda and influence. Drawing from his experiences as an Educated Youth who was sent down to the countryside Down to the Countryside movement, Ah Cheng wrote The King of Children to show the effects of the Cultural Revolution on education, and how they affected the meaning people found in education. In The King of Children, it is shown that the Cultural Revolution destroyed the traditional incentives for pursuing an education, and instead people found moral and ethical meaning in pursuing an education.
Salinger uses the sun as a symbol for the effects of materialism. If the sun represents the “burn” or impact of materialism on an individual, then Muriel, suffering from a painful sunburn, is engulfed by a materialistic world. Seymour, on the other hand, pale and guarded from the sun’s penetrating rays, exists sheltered and excluded from materialistic society, choosing to dwell on simpler, childlike pleasures. Muriel’s mother tells her daughter, “My goodness, he [Seymour] needs the sun. Can't you make him?" (Salinger 5). This insta...
Eleanor Rao, 2004, Exile From Exile: Ironic Paradoxes in Joy Kogawa's Obasan, vol. 18, 2004. Issue title: Within Hostile Borders. Ann Arbor, MI: MPublishing, University of Michigan Library 2004. URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.ark5583.0018.005