Japanese Internment
World War II
How old was Jeanne when she went to Manzanar?
7 years old
“The Caucasian servers were thinking that the fruit poured over rice would make a good dessert. Among the Japanese, of course, rice is never eaten with sweet foods, only with salty or savory foods. Few of us could eat such a mixture. …. We moved on through the line and joined the others squatting in the lee of half-raised walls, dabbing courteously at what was, for almost everyone there, an inedible concoction.”
What does inedible mean?
Inedible means something you can’t eat.
After Pearl Harbor gets bombed, "That night Papa burned the flag he had brought with him from Hiroshima thirty-five years earlier... He burned a lot of papers too, documents, anything that might suggest he still had some connection with Japan."
Why did Papa burn his Japanese flag and documents?
He burned his flags and documents because he didn't want the US government to think that he was a spy for Japan.
Why does the family moved to Terminal Island?
The family moves to Terminal Island because they wanted to keep the family together and Woody and her older sister already lived there. Also the family felt safer among other Japanese families.
“One of the dealers offered her fifteen dollars for the china set. She said it was a full setting for twelve and worth at least two hundred. He said fifteen was his top price. Mama started to quiver. Her eyes blazed up at him… Mama’s nerves were shot, and now navy jeeps were patrolling the streets. She didn’t say another word. She just glared at this man, all the rage and frustration channeled at him through her eyes. He watched her for a moment and said he was sure he couldn’t pay more than seventeen fifty for that china. She reached into the red velvet case, took out a dinner plate and hurled it at the floor right in front of his feet.”
Why does Mama break the nice china plates?
She breaks them because she is mad about the situation and mad at the dealer who is trying to take advantage of her by only giving her a little bit of money for a valuable china set.
Which state did Pearl Harbor belong to?
Hawaii
What was the name of Papa's boat?
The Nereid
"He had been a jack-of-all-trades. When I was born he was farming near Inglewood. Later, when he started fishing, we moved to Ocean Park, near Santa Monica."
What does jack-of-all-trades mean?
Jack-of-all-trades means he had lots of different jobs.
"My mother began to weep. It seems now that she wept for days. She was a small, plump woman who laughed easily and cried easily, but I had never seen her cry like this. I couldn’t understand it. I remember clinging to her legs, wondering why everyone was crying. This was the beginning of a terrible, frantic time for all my family. But I myself didn’t cry about Papa, or have any inkling of what was wrenching Mama’s heart, until the next time I saw him, almost a year later."
What do you think her father is going to look like the next time she sees him?
I think her father is going to look really skinny or sick or beat up. He will look bad in some way.
How long did the family live on Terminal Island?
- a year
- 4 years
- 1 week
- 2 months
They lived there for 2 months.
“Executive Order 9066 had been signed by President Roosevelt, giving the War Department authority to define military areas in the western states and to exclude from them anyone who might threaten the war effort. There was a lot of talk about internment, or moving inland, or something like that in store for all Japanese Americans.”
Why would Americans want to move Japanese Americans to the middle of the county? (HINT: think about geography)
The US wanted to move Japanese Americans to the middle of the country because they didn’t want them to be on the West Coast where they could potentially help Japanese submarines.
Name at least one country that fought alongside the United States during WWII.
How long did Papa live in America?
35 years
“ In Boyle Heights the teacher felt cold and distant. I was confused by all the moving and was having trouble with the classwork, but she would never help me out. She would have nothing to do with me. This was the first time I had felt outright hostility from a Caucasian.”
What does hostility mean?
Hostility means strong dislike
“In those days—1941—there was no smog around Long Beach. The water was clean, the sky a sharp Sunday blue, with all the engines of that white sardine fleet puttering up into it, and a lot of yelling, especially around Papa’s boat.”
Do you think there is smog now around Long Beach? Why or why not?
Yes, because there are more boats and cars now.
Why did some Japanese feel relief when they were ordered to go to the internment camps?
Some Japanese people were relieved to go to the internment camps because they were scared of white people attacking them or burning down their homes. They thought that they would be safe at the internment camps.
“The Caucasian servers were thinking that the fruit poured over rice would make a good dessert. Among the Japanese, of course, rice is never eaten with sweet foods, only with salty or savory foods. Few of us could eat such a mixture.”
Why did the mess hall serve them fruit with rice? What does this tell us about the people in charge of Manzanar?
The mess hall served them this because they thought that Japanese people eat a lot of rice. This shows that the people in charge did not know much about Japanese food and culture.
Which state housed the most Japanese internment camps?
California
The memoir is told in what point of view?
First person
"Papa had been the patriarch. He had always decided everything in the family. With him gone, my brothers, like councilors in the absence of a chief, worried about what should be done."
What does patriach mean?
Male leader in charge of a family
After her dad gets arrested “What had they charged him with? We didn’t know that either, until an article appeared the next day in the Santa Monica paper, saying he had been arrested for delivering oil to Japanese submarines offshore.”
Do you think her dad delivered oil to Japanese submarines? Why or why not?
I think that he didn’t because America was his home and he didn’t talk to people from Japan. I think the FBI just made up some charges against him so they could arrest him.
Describe their families barracks?
The barracks are badly constructed shacks. They are small and there are lots of holes in the wall.
“We drove past a barbed-wire fence, through a gate, and into an open space where trunks and sacks and packages had been dumped from the baggage trucks that drove out ahead of us.”
Why do you think there is a barbed-wire fence?
There is barbed-wire fence because the Japanese people were not allowed to leave the camp.
What number was the executive order that President Roosevelt signed placing Japanese-Americans into internment camps?
9066
What city did the family live in before they were relocated?
Santa Monica
"The first task was to divide up what space we had for sleeping. Bill and Woody contributed a blanket each and partitioned off the first room: one side for Bill and Tomi, one side for Woody and Chizu and their baby girl."
What does partitioned mean?
Partitioned means divide a room by making some sort of wall or barrier
After the dad gets arrested and the family moves to Terminal Island- “The men went after fish, and whenever the boats came back—day or night—the women would be called to process the catch while it was fresh. One in the afternoon or four in the morning, it made no difference. My mother had to go to work right after we moved there.”
Why do you think her mom had to start work right away?
I think her mom had to start work right away because without the dad fishing, there probably wasn’t a lot of money for the family.
What did the family use to make their mattresses?
They stuff the mattress covers with straw.
“I was proud of my new coat, and I remember sitting on a duffel bag trying to be friendly with the Greyhound driver. I smiled at him. He didn’t smile back. He was befriending no one.”
Why do you think the bus driver isn’t friendly?
I think the bus driver isn’t friendly because maybe he thinks that Japanese people are dangerous or that doesn’t like them because they are Japanese.