Tania Bruguera once said, “In a global world, we should all be citizens. Dignity has no nationality.” Be this as it may, this belief was not popular in the 1940s, just after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It did not stop the internment of Japanese Americans, who were believed to be alien informers helping Japan during World War II. When the Emperor was Divine, written by Julie Otsuka, is a historical fiction novel following a Japanese American family through the time of internment. The father is taken away to a camp for foreign enemies, and a little while after, the rest of the family (the woman/mother, the girl, and the boy) are sent to an internment camp for the duration of WWII. While in the camps, each member of the family goes through individual conflict revolving around the opinions of society, as well as their own …show more content…
In When the Emperor Was Divine, Otsuka uses a person versus self conflict to show that the characters are not only fighting against the opinions of society, but also the effects upon themselves, ultimately proving that an internal conflict caused by prejudice and racism leads to identity loss and depression. The person vs. self conflict of identity loss is a main point in the characters’ lives within the chaos of internment and post-war life. This conflict is caused by animosity from society, and is often seen throughout the book in forms of self-mockery and insecurity. In When the Emperor was Divine, the boy begins to internalize the racism shown toward all Japanese Americans. As he continues to be trapped within the camps, the boy is always reminded of society’s opinion of himself. “He narrowed his eyes and stuck out his two front teeth. I pledge arregiance to the frag.”(Otsuka 87). Mocking himself in the mirror, the boy is showing he is affected by the prejudice and animosity circling throughout the
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.
The novel When the Emperor Was Divine was written by Julie Otsuka exploring the life struggles and tribulations of a Japanese American family. The family moved to the U.S. in the 1940s, and the mother is oblivious to the imminent crisis that is set to befall the nation, starting with the evacuation of the Japanese from California. When the family eventually leaves for a composite in Utah, they realize that the same struggles that they face are reminiscent of other Japanese in the camp who are struggling to maintain their identity. Otsuka uses symbols in her novel to advance her thoughts, and critically, add important dimensions and meanings to the deadly plot. Otsuka uses some ‘prominent’ symbols such as flowers, horses, and dust, but from
"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.
The novel, When The Emperor Was Divine, tells the story of a Japanese family who was told to go to camp to be in surveillance during World War II, where Japan was an enemy of the United States. The story begins with signs being put up in communities to inform people of the internment of Japanese Americans, and one of the main characters, the mother “read the sign from top to bottom… wrote down a few words… then turned around and went home to pack” (Otsuka 3). The mother is told to follow the orders of the government and she complies due to her beliefs about the government, that they have positive intentions. The Japanese family left their home and were marginalized out of their community and were ordered to go to an internment camp. The reason for their evacuation and of other Japanese Americans is that since Japan was an enemy of the United States during World War II, many Americans in the United States believed that Japanese Americans were spies and were on the opposing side of the war. Americans did not trust Japanese Americans anymore and the Japanese were soon discriminated and marginalized in the community, just like the Japanese family in the novel, because the American communities felt threatened by their
An individual’s mental well being can greatly affect their character and the way they perceive things. In the novels The Kite Runner and A Separate Peace, the protagonists are boys who are infested by internal conflicts such as insecurities and emotions. In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, a boy lets his dad negatively affect his character, causing him to treat those around him in a cynical manner. Likewise, a boy from John Knowles’ A Separate Peace bases his character on whom he wishes to be, letting his unhealthy mental state consume him. Hence, explored through both novels, is how a person’s internal conflicts can lead to their downfall, whether as a result of their struggle with identity or their feelings towards others.
The obstacles Ichiro faced in searching for his lost identity reveal a discrepancy of American values, such as freedom and equality, which are deeply rooted in a segregated society. Through the negativity of many of the Japanese-American veterans and the differences among Ichiro’s entire family, he has literally gone from having a duel-heritage to no identity at all. Since he has no desire to be Japanese and feels unworthy to be American, he sees himself as nothing. His hatred of himself not only hinders the possibilities before him, but it also paints a whole new picture of America. Instead of a nation that is united and fights for freedom and equality, America is divided by racism and strips away the freedom of those they find inferior.
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.
Throughout history, tyranny was seen demonstrated on many occasions, when rulers wanted to have an absolute power over all the aspects of the country they are ruling. One of the famous tyrants in the history of the middle east countries or may be the history of the world is Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq for more than 23 years, he tortured, arrested and killed many people during the time of his reign. In the article of Tales of Tyrants, Mark Bowden is trying to show that Saddam Hussein was a brutal and cruel leader who used violence and ferocity in order to control the Iraqis and plant his fear in them to hide his weakness and insecurity. Bowden uses the repetition of the words “dangerous, intimidate, fear and brutal” to prove that
The story is concerned with the conflict between his conception of himself and the reality.
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.
Stanley, Jerry. I Am An American: A True Story of Japanese Internment. New York: Crown Publishers, 1996. Print.
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.
Dundes Renteln, Alison. "A Psychohistorical Analysis of the Japanese American Internment." Human Rights Quarterly 17, no. 4 (1995): 618-48. doi:10.1353/hrq.1995.0039.
Knowing that it would be four years of relentless pestering, I knew that someday I would surpass my tormentors; I would keep under cover of my books and study hard to make my brother proud one day. It would be worth the pain to someday walk into a restaurant and see my former bully come to my table wearing an apron and a nametag and wait on me, complete with a lousy tip. To walk the halls of the hospital I work in, sporting a stethoscope and white coat while walking across the floor that was just cleaned not to long ago by the janitor, who was the same boy that tried to pick a fight with me back in middle school. To me, an Asian in an American school is picking up where my brother left off. It’s a promise to my family that I wouldn’t disappoint nor dishonor our name. It’s a battle that’s gains victory without being fought.
In Julie Otsuka’s novel, When the Emperor was Divine, the boy’s emotions are embodied through animals. In mid 1942, the boy and his family are displaced from their home in Berkeley, CA, and relocated to an internment camp. The family is forcibly imprisoned in response to Executive Order 9066, due to their Japanese heritage. The boy’s initial hope and innocence are expressed through a tortoise. The disappearance of these virtues become evident through the animal’s demise. Additionally, images of wild horses display the boy’s desire for freedom and an identity, while their death illustrates his inability to aspire to such things. A tortoise and horses manifest the boy’s internal struggles with his internment. The life and death of the creatures