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War without mercy questions
Treatment of the Japanese in World War 2
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"WAR WITHOUT MERCY" John Dower's War without Mercy describes the ugly racial issues, on both the Western Allies and Japanese sides of the conflict in the Pacific Theater as well as all of Asia before during and after World War II and the consequences of these issues on both military and reconstruction policy in the Pacific. In the United States as well as Great Britain, Dower dose a good job of proving that, "the Japanese were more hated than the Germans before as well as after Pearl Harbor." (8) On this issue, there was no dispute among contemporary observers including the respected scholars and writers as well as the media. During World War II the Japanese are perceived as a race apart, a species apart referred to as apes, but at the same time superhuman. "There was no Japanese counterpart to the "good German" in the popular consciousness of the Western Allies." (8) Dower is not trying to prove how horrible the Japanese are. Instead, he is examining the both sides as he points out, "atrocious behavior occurred on all sides in the Pacific War." (12-13) Dower explores the propaganda of the United States and Japanese conflict to underline the "patterns of a race war," and the portability of racist stereotypes. Dower points out that "as the war years themselves changed over into an era of peace between Japan and the Allied powers, the shrill racial rhetoric of the early 1940s revealed itself to be surprisingly adaptable. Idioms that formerly had denoted the unbridgeable gap between oneself and the enemy proved capable of serving the goals of accommodation as well."(13) "the Japanese also fell back upon theories of "proper place" which has long been used to legitimize inequitable relationships within Japan itself."(9) After... ... middle of paper ... ... and the common soldier. Allied forces came to believe increasingly that "the only good Jap is a dead Jap." (78-79) A war like the Pacific theatre, which was led by ignorance, arrogance, anger, and racism, is undoubtedly going to be a living hell for both sides. The title for Dowers book says it all, a war without mercy, full of countless acts of brutality not shown in other fronts and treacherous war crimes on either side causing a lot of young men to suffer horrible, and many pointless, deaths. In conclusion, Dower brings to light many good points about racial issues, which is a subject that had been avoided for a long period of time, and the consequences of actions taken over racial issues. I agree with Dower and understand better now what caused the Pacific Theatre to be so much more atrocious than the other fronts in which the Allies were involved.
Okihiro, Gary Y. Whispered Silences: Japanese Americans and World War II. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996.
One historical event that shows the general attitude of anti-Japanese feeling that was so prevalent in the 1940 to 1955 time period is an article from the Tuesday, March 24, 1942 edition of the New York Times. The article is written in Manazar, California, the same place where the Japanese people of the novel were sent. The article's title "Japanese Begin Evacuation Trek" is a show of prejudice itself ("Japanese" 21). The fact that the wholly unconstitutional relocation of not only aliens but American citizens is called a "evacuation" is laughable. This event was the forced relocation of people who reminded some other people of the tragic events of Pearl Harbor. To do this nowadays would be like gathering up all Arab-Americans ...
When most American people think of Germany, they think of sports cars made for the autobahn, sauerkraut, Adolf Hitler, and the Holocaust. Compared to Germany, when most American people think of Japan they think of sushi, Godzilla movies, Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. World War II was such a significant event in history that almost 70 years after it came to an end, today’s younger generations often associate former Axis controlled countries with the war. People around the world are filled with disgust and immense hate when they hear the name Hitler, mainly because of his leadership under the Holocaust; which was the discriminatory mass genocide of 11-17 million people, the vast majority of which were European Jews. Hirohito, former Emperor of Japan, should strike a similar bell with people when they hear his name because Japan carried out genocide on Chinese civilians and soldiers in World War II. Japan’s attack on the Chinese city of Nanking, was one of the most atrocious events in history. This event has been named both the Nanking Massacre and the Rape of Nanking. The torturous, violent techniques used by the Japanese army upon Chinese civilians and soldiers including dehumanizing them, addicting them to drugs, and other perverse and violent acts, are some of the most grosteque methods ever recorded that could only be thought of by sadistic Japanese soldiers. The events committed by the Japanese army in Nanking, are equally as disgusting as the acts that Nazi Germany committed and should become a major topic involved with World War II in the future, despite the lack of light shed on it in the past for various reasons.
As one grows older, certain trends begin to appear that are difficult not to notice. Naivety begins to fade and the harsh realities people are faced with every day present themselves. These realities shape how people perceive and treat others. A certain theme, or rather lack of theme, that is extremely pertinent in today’s society is the notion of humanity. Humanity is defined, by Merriam-Webster, as the quality or state of being humane or having a compassionate disposition. Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson, is a book that perfectly embodies the theme of humanity. In this book, the reader follows the author throughout his journey from an idealistic, young lawyer to a revered attorney in his quest for justice for those deemed unfavorable by our
John Dower's "Embracing Defeat" truly conveys the Japanese experience of American occupation from within by focusing on the social, cultural, and philosophical aspects of a country devastated by World War II. His capturing of the Japanese peoples' voice let us, as readers, empathize with those who had to start over in a "new nation."
Japanese immigration created the same apprehension and intolerance in the mind of the Americans as was in the case of Chinese migration to the U.S at the turn of the 19th century. They developed a fear of being overwhelmed by a people having distinct ethnicity, skin color and language that made them “inassimilable.” Hence they wanted the government to restrict Asian migration. Japan’s military victories over Russia and China reinforced this feeling that the Western world was facing what came to be known as “yellow peril”. This was reflected in the media, movies and in literature and journalism.4 Anti-Oriental public opinion gave way to several declarations and laws to restrict Japanese prosperity on American land. Despite the prejudice and ineligibility to obtain citizenship the ...
[4] Ann G. Sunahara, The Politics of Racism: The Uprooting of Japanese Canadians during World War II(Toronto: James Lorimer & Co., 1981), 161.
America’s well–entrenched racism against Asians resulted in enhanced levels of brutality against Japanese soldiers, when compared to the other enemy soldiers they encountered during World War II. Legislation in the United States demonstrated racism against Asians for decades. Asian immigrants and citizens fought these discriminatory rulings, only to receive opposition against their plight. Persistent racial discrimination towards the Japanese caused a sense of resentment of Japanese soldiers in the United States military. During several campaigns, American General Infantry displayed ruthlessness against Japanese conduct of war.
...ish American War. For the main part, racism only took place in the Philippines. The US thought that it was the main duty of a wealthy nation to help them. It was said to be the “white man’s burden.” The US entered the Philippines because it thought that it was superior in every way. William Taft referred to the Filipinos as “our little brown brothers.”
For fifty million men, women, and children World War II meant death. For some it meant "hell on earth" For nations everywhere it led to technological changes and bureaucratic expansion. The government claimed it was "holy war for national survival and glory" and its purpose was to "defend" values of state and culture. Most high officials thought it was power politics. John W.Dower in his "War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War" argues that world war II was a race war. He proves this on page four when he says "exposed raw prejudices...fueled by racial pride, arrogance, and rage." Dower claims that race was neglected as an issue of WWII. He raises a thought provoking question where he asks "When and where did race play a significant
Japanese Emperor Hirohito once said, “The fruits of our victory are tumbling into our mouths too quickly” (Hirohito 1942). During WWII the POW’s in Japan and the interned Japanese-Americans suffered different yet very similar internal strife because of the physical mistreatment and emotional torment of the camps. The disastrous events of the war brought the whole world to their knees in the sense that once it was over billions of lives had been lost.
It can be hard to fully comprehend the effects the Vietnam War had on not just the veterans, but the nation as a whole. The violent battles and acts of war became all too common during the long years of the conflict. The war warped the soldiers and civilians characters and desensitized their mentalities to the cruelty seen on the battlefield. Bao Ninh and Tim O’Brien, both veterans of the war, narrate their experiences of the war and use the loss of love as a metaphor for the detrimental effects of the years of fighting.
The casualties of war caused America’s Japanese minority to be judged throughout the US. Americans believed all Japanese people were spies and needed to
It is a big question that most people often struggle with to decide when it is consider appropriate to assist an individual with mercy killing. In 1993, Robert Latimer a Saskatchewan farmer took the life of his twelve-year old daughter Tracy in an act of mercy killing. Latimer’s daughter suffered from the most dreadful form of cerebral palsy. She was severely disabled and had a mind of a four month old baby. Tracy was confined to a wheelchair and had endured multiple operations. She couldn’t walk, talk, or feed herself and she was in constant pain. After Robert Latimer learned that his daughter needed to go through another round of surgery, he knew he had to do something to save her from going through more pain. Therefore, Mr. Latimer decided
This book depicts how Japanese behaved both before and after the World War II. In this book, it describes how Japanese military slaves (a.k.a. comfort women) was made, what motivated Japan to do these abuses.