...Desiree Williams Professor Kempler English 225: Children’s Literature 11/27/11 Farewell to Manzanar When choosing a well written children’s book, we always find ourselves wanting to pick a good book. Usually when selecting a “good book,” we sometimes skip over or forget what type of standard we must go by. So what are some of the standards a good book must have? In Children’s Literature, Briefly by Tunnel, Jacobs, Young and Bryan they briefly begin to list some of the reasons we pick “good books (Children’s Literature Briefly 9). The lessons they teach, the characters which the authors use, themes and tension to leave readers wondering what will come next are just a few qualities we use to make a judgement of what we think is a “good book” or not. Although there is a huge variety of children’s literature to choose from such as picture books or pop up books, they can’t always provide the story line with themes or learned lessons, but children’s chapter books can. Farwell to Manzanar by James D. Houston and Jeanne Wakatsuki is truly a good book because it includes themes the reader can relate to, tension that leaves readers on edge at times, and a point of view that is relatable. First, in the story Farwell to Manzanar Houston and Wakatsuki provide themes that teach the reader about friendships through barriers, not being shamed of our roots and where we come from and always standing up for what is right. Racism after Pearl Harbor was bombed was at its...
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...After the Pearl Harbor bombing over 110,000 Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps. In the novel Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston tells her story of forced Imprisonment at Manzanar.Jeanne Wakatsuki learned through internal conflicts that one can not be happy until they accept themself. “In order to please my accusers...I tried for the first few years after our release to become someone acceptable.’”(185)This is important, because it shows how Jeanne regrets not being herself, which made her unhappy .“if refused by someone’s parents I would never say “ Go to hell”(160) I would see it as my fault.”’This supports the claim, because she does not want to make people uncomfortable, but it have a negative effect on her....
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...One of the things tying camp harmony and farewell to Manzanar is that they are both about Japanese Americans who were taken from their homes to Japanese relocation camps. Americans were afraid of them after the bombing of pearl harbor. In farewell to Manzanar, they are living in a Japanese fishing village while in camp harmony, they are small business owners taken away an American town. In Anne frank, they went into hiding; they had everything taken away from them. The losses of freedom, property, and fear are forms of the brutality these WWII people endured. When the Japanese were taken they were given 1 suitcase they could bring for their personal effects. The Jews on the other hand, didn't get anything and had to hide so they weren't taken. Once the Jews got there they weren't allowed to hang out with friends, family, and had to wear bags and jump suits. They didn't get to pick anything they did and were completely controlled. When the Japanese were taken they had to either sell their businesses and property or they had it taken from them. They weren't given much, but had homes and clothes. The Jews had nothing and were taken by force all because Hitler thought...
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...The book, Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James D. Houston takes place in December 1942 through April 1972 in the California cities of Long Beach, Los Angeles, Manzanar, and San Jose. The following book starts off with news that the Japanese have bombed pearl harbor in Hawaii. This tragic news causes mama to move the family to the Japanese ghetto on Terminal Island and then to Boyle Heights in Los Angeles. Upon arriving at the camp, the Japanese Americans are forced into harsh living conditions with poorly prepared food, unfinished barracks, and whirling dust that blows in through every crack in the wall. The Wakatsukis slowly start growing apart, and the family begins to disintegrate until an unexpected surprise of papa...
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...In Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston’s book, Farewell To Manzanar, Houston describes the events leading up and during her family relocation during World War Two. Houston uses vivid imagery to show how the dynamic of her family changed while her father was gone. In the book’s first chapter, Houston says that her father was arrested for supplying oil to the Japanese. This marks the first time where we see the instability of her family. As her father is taken away, she describes her mother as she “began to weep as it seems now that she wept for days.” Her mothers crying symbolizes that they have lost and important member of the family which foreshadows the struggles they will have to go through as a result of losing him. As her father remained incarcerated,...
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...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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...Farewell to Manzanar is the memoir of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston who experienced the hardship of being a Japanese American during and after the World War II. She especially focuses on the diverse experiences when her family was put in the Manzanar Relocation Center. Jeanne began to establish her early journey when her father was captured in Ocean Park, near Santa Monica. She recalled that her family was the only Japanese family in the neighborhood. Unlike other Japanese, her father preferred it that way because he didn’t want to be “labeled and grouped” by anyone. Therefore, when Jeanne’s family moved to Terminal Island, where they can live among the Japanese, Jeanne was terrified because of her fear with the Oriental faces. Jeanne explained her fear...
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...In the book Farewell To Manzanar, the government moved the Japanese Americans to internment camps to live after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The people were in these camps for two years. In December 18, 1944, the camps began to close. The author writes about three main themes. They are survival, prejudice and self-discovery. The first theme is survival. Jeanne uses examples of survival when Woody has a positive attitude. Woody, Kiyo and Jeanne uses humor to make others feel better. (p.26) Woody makes repairs to the cabin to make it a better place to live. (p.28) When Woody goes to Japan to visit his Aunt Toyo, he is afraid that his father’s family is not going to accept him, but they treat him very kindly. (p.146) Papa builds a rock...
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...In the book, Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsukis reflects back on what her life was like during World War Two. Jeanne lived in Manzanar, which was a place for Japanese Americans to live. Throughout the book, Jeanne tells about all of the hardships that her and her family faced during her childhood. The hardships that they faced were caused mostly because they were a Japanese American family. The Wakatsukis were even relocated from their homes many times because it was not safe for them during this time. World War Two began when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Because of this, everyone else began to fear the Japanese. They did not think that they could trust anyone who was Japanese anymore. This fear began to take its toll and Jeanne and her family. The Wakatsukis and other Japanese families were soon forced into a concentration camp, by the Unites States government. The Japanese did not try to resist the move, because they were scared of what might happen to them if they refused to go. They would soon regret this, because the...
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...Farewell to Manzanar Essay Farwell to Manzanar is an autobiography of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. The story is about Jeanne and her family, composed of her father Ko, her mother Riku and nine siblings during World War II. Her parents are first-‐generation Japanese immigrants, called Issei. The children are called Nisei, they are natural American citizens and second-‐generation Japanese. The story begins on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The book is set during WWII when the Anti-‐Japanese sentiment was not unusual in states like California. Jeanne’s family and all Japanese were forced to move to an internment camp because they were all thought to be a threat for America. The Camp was called Manzanar. Manzanar is an isolated place located just outside the Mojave Desert in southeastern California. Jeanne observes and comments on her own and her family’s experiences...
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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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...In the story “Farewell to Manzanar” by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, Jeanne tells about what happened to her family in the internment camps in the U.S.A. in 1942. With the time between both the time of internment and the time she wrote it, some people believe the memories she helps were altered in some way. Yet, by Jeanne considering other people’s memories while writing the story as well as understanding her own thoughts at the time, Jeanne shows us these memories are truly hers and not altered in some form. While most of the memories are from Jeanne’s own mind, she used insights from the others in her family while writing the story. For example, she wrote small “chapters” from what happened to her brother in Japan and her father’s past as well. To make sure of certain parts of the story, she and her husband had to “rely on a good deal besides [her] own recollections” (x). Recollecting these memories from friends, family and even those she did not know, Jeanne finds a new understanding of what really happened at camp as well as connect her own memories to make...
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...The Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten internment camps that housed more than one hundred thousand Japanese Americans who lived on the west coast of the United States of America. This relocation occurred because of Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which gave the War department the ability to exclude any possible threat in the western United States. In response to the attacks of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the main priority for President Roosevelt was to protect the United States of America from any further attacks that could potentially led to more American casualties. This act would impact the lives of those who were loyal citizens to the United States, and those who had lived nearly their entire lives in America for nearly four years. The United States government hired photographers and videographers to capture moments at relocation centers to...
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...Farewell to Manzanar 1. Executive Order 9066, signed by president Roosevelt, gives the war department authority to remove people from west coast military areas who might be a threat to the war efforts or national security. Rumors also began to spread about relocation for the Japanese Americans. The government’s reason for this enforcement was for their protection. It was a sense of relief for them, “moving, under what appeared to be governments protection, to an area less directly threatened by the war seemed not such a bad idea at all (17).” Jeanne describes the Japanese Americans initial reaction to be fearful yet having acceptance. “These were mainly days of quiet, desperate waiting for what seemed at the time inevitable (16).” After just moving, the government orders them all to move again. 2....
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...Americans’ interned Japanese-Americans into camps out of fear, distrust and discrimination. Nazis’ imprisoned Jews for just discrimination and hate. They were both locked up for just being themselves, it was being Japanese and by just being a normal Jew. World at War II can teach us a lot about discrimination and being prejudice to other minority groups, WWII can show us how some minority groups suffer through even if they’re not inside a camp and just living in a normal neighborhood. In the book Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, it shows us how quickly something evil can happen to anyone in world. After the attack on Pearl Harbor about 120,000 of Japanese and Japanese Ancestry were relocated to internment camps for just being themselves. At one point during the war, Japanese-Americans were given a choice, one choice was getting sent back to Japan and most likely die from American Soldiers or to join the American side and fight against the Japanese. In the book Farewell to Manzanar Jeanne’s oldest brother Woody decided to go to war because he thought the sooner the war ended the...
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