People always say “be your own person” or “don’t let the influence of others affect you” but the influence of others is why some people change who they are. The idea for Japanese Americans is to be like the American Dream. In “When the Emperor was Divine” all Japanese Americans were sent to an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The family loses everything they had before, including their culture. With the influence of the American lifestyle on the family, they start to believe that being Japanese is a disgrace and they start to lose themselves and their true heritage to be more like the Americans. The girl, a part of one of the families that were sent to internment camps during WW2, experiences conflict with society that affects her identity and her cultural view. …show more content…
The girl has to behave in an American manner, distancing herself from her culture to fit in in society. Japanese Americans were taught to not do certain things, so people wouldn’t discriminate against them. They understood that, “When in town, if you meet another Japanese, do not greet him in the Japanese manner by bowing. Remember, you’re in America. Greet him in the American way by shaking his hand.” (Otsuka 84). Japanese Americans recognize that they can not do things related to their original heritage, and they must behave like an American. The American lifestyle makes the girl believe that it’s not morally right to behave as anything other than American. They do things how Americans would and the girl understands it’s because of how people see her culture. The girl started to follow American standards because she thought her culture was a disgrace to the United States. When they got back from the camps, they heard from neighbors how the prisoners were treated and how they were seen because of their culture. “We looked at ourselves in the mirror and did not like what we saw: black hair, yellow skin, slanted eyes. The cruel face of the enemy.” (Otsuka
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.
Soon after Papa’s arrest, Mama relocated the family to the Japanese immigrant ghetto on Terminal Island. For Mama this was a comfort in the company of other Japanese but for Jeanne it was a frightening experience. It was the first time she had lived around other people of Japanese heritage and this fear was also reinforced by the threat that her father would sell her to the “Chinaman” if she behaved badly. In this ghetto Jeanne and he ten year old brother were teased and harassed by the other children in their classes because they could not speak Japanese and were already in the second grade. Jeanne and Kiyo had to avoid the other children’s jeers. After living there for two mo...
The story is about two sister who currently lives in America. It has to deal with moving to the United States in the 1960’s. Both sisters moved to the United States in hope to pursue their dreams and to achieve they goals with college and further education. Both having similarities in appearance and religious values. Both Bharati and her sister Mira had planned to move back to their homeland India after their education. This story relates to our point of culture having a major impact on how people judge each other because it has a huge impact on how people view the world differently because, in this example, I feel manipulated and discarded. This is such an unfair way to treat a person who was invited to stay and work here because of her talent” it is basically stating on how even immigrants (like the sisters themselves) who have come into the U.S., are sometimes given fewer benefits and rights than everyone else and that they feel discluded from being able to express themselves if they wanted to, or to have good thoughts that America is as good as people has said it was, with all this freedom. The last example is, I feel some kind of irrational attachment to India that I don’t to America. Until all this hysteria against immigrants, I was totally happy.” This demonstrates that it isn’t the country itself that makes people unsafe or unsure, it’s the people running it who try to put limitations
Noda explained how her grandparents and parents were treated during and after Pearl Harbor, and how after all of that, they still showed their loyalty to the United States by not resisting the government. Noda asked her parents, “”Why did you go into those camps,” “Why didn’t you do anything to resist? Why didn’t you name the injustice it was?” Why were we so passive?” (citation). Noda’s grandparents and parents went into these camps to prove their loyalty to America, by not resisting they were showing that they were no threat, and had no reason to fight. Noda later talked about how she would be looked down upon by some people if she classifies herself as an American, all because she doesn’t look like the stereotypical American. Noda said “I can see myself today as a person historically defined by law and custom as being forever alien” (citation). Despite all of the discrimination that Noda and her family get, they are still loyal to their country and show respect towards the people in the United States of
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.
Some were as young as fourteen while some were mothers who were forced to leave their child behind in Japan, but for these women the sacrifice will be worth it once they get to San Francisco. Yet, the women desired a better life separate from their past, but brought things that represent their culture desiring to continue the Buddha traditions in America; such as, their kimonos, calligraphy brushes, rice paper, tiny brass Buddha, fox god, dolls from their childhood, paper fans, and etc. (Otsuka, 2011, p. 9) A part of them wanted a better life full of respect, not only toward males but also toward them, and away from the fields, but wanted to continue the old traditions from their home land. These hopes of a grand new life was shattered when the boat arrived to America for none of the husbands were recognizable to any of the women. The pictures were false personas of a life that didn’t really exist for these men, and the men were twenty years older than their picture. All their hopes were destroyed that some wanted to go home even before getting off the boat, while others kept their chins up holding onto their hope that maybe something good will come from this marriage and walked off the boat (Otsuka, 2011, p.
In the short story, "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan, a Chinese mother and daughter are at odds with each other. The mother pushes her daughter to become a prodigy, while the daughter (like most children with immigrant parents) seeks to find herself in a world that demands her Americanization. This is the theme of the story, conflicting values. In a society that values individuality, the daughter sought to be an individual, while her mother demanded she do what was suggested. This is a conflict within itself. The daughter must deal with an internal and external conflict. Internally, she struggles to find herself. Externally, she struggles with the burden of failing to meet her mother’s expectations. Being a first-generation Asian American, I have faced the same issues that the daughter has been through in the story.
Non-Japanese Americans started discriminating against Americans of Japanese descent and these Japanese Americans were treated poorly in society. They were not allowed in certain places and had trouble finding jobs because of their Japanese ancestry. Discrimination against Japanese Americans is prevalent in Julie Otsuka’s book titled When the Emperor was Divine. This discrimination had damaging effects on Japanese Americans, especially the children. The best example of this in the book is the passage on page 57 when the boy is thinking about why he was placed in the camp. Being just a little boy, he does not understand what he did to deserve all of the discrimination and torment that he received prior to being in the camp. He then concludes to himself that he must have done something terribly wrong in the past and all of the harsh treatment is punishment for those mistakes. “Breaking a chain letter from Juneau, Alaska. Flushing his dying pet goldfish down the toilet before it was completely dead. Forgetting to touch the hat rack three times when the iceman drove by” are a few examples of what he came up with (Otsuka 57). Obviously these are all minor faults of the boy and would never constitute the discrimination and torment he went through prior to being
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka is focused on the experiences of a Japanese family during World War II. Specifically the experience of the mother of this family and how she changes to the crisis presented. The woman’s mindset, womanhood, and progression are all described very thoroughly throughout this novel. The development of a female character and her womanhood in this manner can also be seen in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman. The manner in which the Julie Otsuka portrays the woman protagonist in her story When the Emperor Was Divine sheds light on how she develops and adapts to the situation at hand through the woman’s mindset, womanhood, and progression overall as a character.
One interaction stood out more than the others, and that was when the daughter of the Japanese-American family met a young girl like her. “What’s your doll’s name?” “Miss Shirley.” The young girl held the doll up shyly.” “Mama bought her for me from the Sears catalog.”
In life, we have to let go of a certain thing to have a good future even if that certain thing is a dog that we loved and known our whole life. In the story of “When the Emperor was Divine” by Julie Otsuka, the the mother of the family killed their pet dog who was name White Dog. Did she kill White Dog because she is desperate? Worried they won’t be able to bring their dog to shelter? Unlimited amount of question raised in my head. But the reason why she kill White Dog is because she doesn't want to see him get hurt and she doesn’t trust anyone else to took care of him rather and her family.
Myah G. Mundy Mrs.Vermilion Honors English 10 08 April 2024. Where has the beauty gone? Being moved from your home so abruptly as well as getting sent to a place no one wishes to be is a big change to the luscious life that the woman and her family used to live. After Pearl Harbor, life for the Japanese Americans was different. They were sent away to live in camps with harsh living conditions.
Today when one hears about World War II he automatically thinks of concentration camps and how horrible the Germans were. However, the book “When the Emperor was Divine,” which is based on true scenarios, shows the hardships faced by the Japanese in America after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. “When the Emperor was Divine” is told from the point of view of a Japanese family to show the hardships faced by many Japanese descended families. The story is fiction but uses scenarios faced by many Japanese families. In the story the family was sent to an internment camp and faced horrendous hardships during their time in the camp. The internment camps and the way the Japanese were treated show an issue of social policy in this story. An issue
Living in the white world of America was difficult during the time of war; the Asians were tormented by the way they had to present themselves. In history, some people were afraid to stand up for what they thought was right. There were also some courageous people who stood against discrimination and forced it into the public's eye. For instance, Rosa Parks was a dark colored woman who stood against the bus rules by refusing to give up her seat to a white man. By doing this act of bravery she was arrested for not abiding by the “white” laws. On the other hand, some groups like the KKK were in agreement that racial profiling was okay because the “white” image was “supreme” back then. In her novel, When the Emperor was Divine, Otsuka uses racial
For those Asian Americans who make known their discontent with the injustice and discrimination that they feel, in the white culture, this translates to attacking American superiority and initiating insecurities. For Mura, a writer who dared to question why an Asian American was not allowed to audition for an Asian American role, his punishment was “the ostracism and demonization that ensued. In essence, he was shunned” (Hongo 4) by the white people who could not believe that he would attack their superior American ways. According to writers such as Frank Chin and the rest of the “Aiiieeeee!” group, the Americans have dictated Asian culture and created a perception as “nice and quiet” (Chin 1972, 18), “mama’s boys and crybabies” without “a man in all [the] males.” (Chin 1972, 24). This has become the belief of the proceeding generations of Asian Americans and therefore manifested these stereotypes.