Japanese Canadian Analysis

Obasan written by Joy Kogawa is a moving novel translating the silence breaching upon the Japanese Canadians during the late 1940s. Obasan is a novel that looks back towards the discrimination and prejudice through the hidden Canadian History. The perspective of the story is told in first person of the main character, Naomi. Kogawa’s literary style brings life to characters such as naomi, describing her experience of silence and cultural separation with just only words. Living through first perspective not only reveals detailed imagery of the surrounding, but the beliefs, thoughts and fears of Naomi. This will furthermore develop and create new characteristics known to Naomi and her surroundings. The usage of these literary devices allows

Due to the increasing fear of a Japanese attack on the West Coast, Lt. General John L. Dewitt recommended that all people of Japanese descent living in America be removed to the interior of the country. In the article “An American Tragedy: The Internment of Japanese-Americans During World War II” by Norman Y. Mineta, former US Secretary of Transportation, Dewitt backed up his suggestion with rumors that “ethnic Japanese on the West Coast were signaling Japanese ships out in the Pacific ocean” and they “had stockpiled numerous rounds of ammunition and weapons” (Mineta 161). In order to combat this threat in case of enemy invasion, the camps would detain the Japanese Americans so they cannot aid the enemy. The warped logic used to imprison 110,000 people purely based on ethnic background was convincing enough to the American people that they didn’t even question

Literacy academic Lois T Stover once wrote, “There is nothing simple about quality young adult literature. Good young adult literature deals with the themes and issues that mirror the concerns of the society out of which it is produced. It does so in ways that help readers understand the complexities and shades of grey involved in dealing with these issues. ” The novel Jasper Jones (2009) by Australian author Craig Silvey, illustrates the story Charlie Bucktin, a 13 year old boy living in the parochial mining town of Corrigan, in 1965. The foremost theme is the prejudice within the population of Corrigan. There is the underlying theme of prejudice, especially through racism; against refugee of the Vietnam War, Jeffrey Lu; Jasper Jones, an indigenous Australian of mixed descent often being the town’s

Like many children her age, the girl in Julie Otsuka’s novel When the Emperor was Divine had the opportunity to attend a “summer camp.” However, the camps that the girl and her family endured were not like traditional summer getaways but instead state-sponsored prisons designed to keep the populace “safe.” Instead of enjoying the water slides and rope swings that other children her age got to experience, the girl struggled with establishing an identity that fit with the rest of her society. With her use of neutral tone and language, Julie Otsuka explores the creation of the cultural identity that is established by the Japanese-American people as they are confined in Concentration camps designed to keep the nation safe.

Thomas King’s A Short History of Indians in Canada introduces the effects of colonialism and bias established on indigenous peoples’ reputation through satire. King’s play on major metaphors and animal depiction of indigenous people paints an image of an abhorrent and gruesome history. Through moments of humour, King makes references to racial profiling, stereotypes and mistreatment as historically true. Thomas King utilizes industrialization versus the natural world to incorporate the effects of colonialism and how representing indigenous people as birds made them the spectacle of the civilized world. The colonizer dominance and power imbalance is evident and demonstrated often in the short story through

“A Good Man is Hard to Find”, written by Flannery O’Connor is a short story that brings out mystery and cruelty. Manipulation plays a big role in this story by the grandmother. She tends to manipulate her family and tends to get her way by playing with them. Although the author wanted to give many perspectives of the grandmother, we as reader got our own views of her. The grandmother was the one who surprises the reader because she tends to beg for her life while putting her family second. The importance of family throughout the whole trip was very important because they tend to stay together except the grandmother where she only cared for her survival.

The worst bearing of both Rowlandson and Equiano has to face was being separated from their own love ones. Rowlandson was separated from her family and relations when her village was attacked then eventually lost her only child that was with her. Nevertheless, Equiano also endured tormented pain when he was parted from his sister while she was the only comfort to him at once. He was a young boy in a fearful atmosphere with nothing to convey a positive perspective. “It was vain that [they] besought than not to part us; she was torn from [him], and immediately carried away, while [he] was left in a state of distraction not to be describe”. Considering both Rowlandson and Equiano experiences their feelings contributed to each personal

Mary Matsuda Gruenewald tells her tale of what life was like for her family when they were sent to internment camps in her memoir “Looking like the Enemy.” The book starts when Gruenewald is sixteen years old and her family just got news that Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japan. After the bombing Gruenewald and her family life changed, they were forced to leave their home and go to internment camps meant for Japanese Americans. During the time Gruenewald was in imprisonment she dealt with the struggle for survival both physical and mental. This affected Gruenewald great that she would say to herself “Am I Japanese? Or am I American?” The internment camps that Gruenewald was placed and like most Japanese Americans were huge camps surrounded

It is pretty undisputable that the Canadians did hold prejudice and was racist towards the Japanese people. Many believe this to be the driving reason to the Japanese’ internment.

Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne W. Houston and James Houston, published in 1973, is an autobiographical memoir that describes Jeanne 's experiences during World War II when she and her family were imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor because they were Japanese-Americans. Jeanne in the book recounts the indignities she and her family faced in the camp and shows how the conditions at the camp created not only physical discomfort but also emotional suffering leading to the disintegration of the family. After revisiting the site of the camp after several years and on retrospection she realizes that today she is a stronger person because of her difficult experiences. In the book, she argues that her experiences during the war and after the war, the prejudices she had to face before and after the war made her

Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston wrote the book namely Farewell to Manzanar is an autobiographical memoir of writer’s confinement at the place Manzanar that happened to be a Japanese-American internment camp. The book is based on the happenings during the time of America and Japan dispute and what happened to the Japanese families’ resident in the United States of America. It is written by Houston to recollect as well as represent at the same time what happened to the well-settled Japanese families in the doubt of disloyalty. In this book, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston argues by remembering all the major and minor effects of war on her family consisting of her parents, granny, four brothers and five sisters.

This essay compares “In response to executive order 9066” (poem) by Dwight Okita to “Mericans” (short story) by Sandra Cisneros. Specifically, the essay explores the central theme of American identity in the two literary works. The “Mericans” is about a little girl who has a story about the new world and the old world. In this case, the new world is America. The young girl is prevented from entering the church where her grandmother has prayers. As a person from the old world, the young girl is not allowed to play with boys from the new world. On the other hand, “in response to executive order” by Dwight Okita is about Americans of Japanese origins that were supposed to report to relocation

The memoir Looking like the Enemy, was written by Mary Matsuda Gruenewald. Set during World War II after the attack upon Pearl Harbor. The Japanese Americans living in Western part of America had a since of betrayal and fear having to evacuate their homes and enter into internment camps. Matsuda’s memoir is based off of her and her family’s experiences in the Japanese-American internment camps. Matsuda reveals what it is like during World War II as a Japanese American, undergoing family life, emotional stress, long term effects of interment, and her patriotism and the sacrifices she had to make being in the internment camps.

Julie Otsuka’s When the Emperor was divine is a novel that takes place right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In the beginning of the novel, the Japanese American family consists of a mother with her two children. They are in a turning point of their lives. There are posters and signs indicating that anyone with japanese ancestry must evacuate. Immediately the family starts feeling the rejection of their neighbors and people around them. Just because of the way they look like. Shortly after that they forced into an internment camp where other people like them stayed. Allowing to only receive a few censored letters from the children’s father who was alleged to be a Japanese spy according to the US Government. Together they struggle to

In Thomas King’s short story, “Borders”, he writes about the Canada-America border. Within the short story, the main character refuses to identify her citizenship even though she is from Blackfoot. Even though the story is being told through the young boy’s point of view, the main issue focuses on another character, the mother. When approached by guards on the border, the mother insists that she is a Blackfoot, which causes issues because her son is a minor and must stay on the Canadian side of the border.