...Farewell to Manzanar (2002) is a book written by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and her husband, James D. Houston. Being first published in 1973, the book describes an experience of Japanese Americans throughout their imprisonment at the Manzanar Camp, created due to the United States government’s policy during World War II. According to the chapter “Chronology”, included at the beginning of the book, the Manzanar Camp, in Owens Valley, California, existed almost 5 years, from March 25, 1942, till November 21, 1945, when the camp was officially closed. Through the discussion of the events that took place before and after the imprisonment, Houston tries to analyze the ambivalence of the conditions she and her family were placed in. Nowadays, there...
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...In Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Houston she talks about her life in the camps and she goes into the reasoning behind the government’s decision to put the Japanese into internment camps. After Pearl Harbor the citizens of the United States were shocked and fearful because this was the first attack on American soil. The government’s plan of action was to contain the “problem” and put the Japanese in a place where they cannot hurt anyone. The problem with this is that the Japanese in American were not the ones harming American. President Roosevelt had over reacted when he put his order. In this book it shows that the internment camps were not justifiable by any means because it was not fair and infringed the rights of the Japanese citizens and it also, had a bad effect on the social behaviors toward Japanese Americans....
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...1. What do you see as the author’s overall purpose in Farewell to Manzanar? The author’s overall purpose of Farewell to Manzanar was to explain that during World War II a place called Manzanar was hastily created in the high mountain desert country of California, east of the Sierras. Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese American internees. One of the first families to arrive was the Wakatsukis, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry. For Jeanne Wakatsuki, a seven-year-old child, Manzanar became a way of life in which she struggled and adapted, observed and grew. For her father it was essentially the end of his life. At age thirty-seven, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston recalls life at Manzanar through the eyes of the child she was. She tells of her fear, confusion, and bewilderment as well as the dignity and great resourcefulness of people in oppressive and demeaning circumstances. In April 1972, Jeanne and her family visited the ruins of Manzanar. She went because she wanted to find closure. Prior to her visit, she had doubts. She thought she imagined the whole thing because no one really heard or talked about it. She seldom talked about her experience with her family and friends. I suppose she wrote the book to educate us readers a time in United States...
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