Point of View
What are the three modes of Third Person Point of View?
Objective, Omniscient, Limited
In the first chapter, what causes the fishing boats to return back to shore?
News of Pearl Harbor
What does Manzanar mean in Spanish?
Apple Orchard
What are the three main theme topics explored in Farewell to Manzanar
Loyalty, Identity, Justice
What is an Allegory?
A narrative in which characters, events, or settings symbolically represent abstract ideas, moral principles, or historical/political realities. The surface story parallels a deeper, often universal, meaning.
Which point of view gives us the thoughts and feelings of only one character?
Third Person Limited
Where is Manzanar located?
California
Where did the family move in the spring of 1943 and why?
Block 28
Mama got a job as a camp dietician, which qualified the family for better housing in Block 28. This position reflected the camp's hierarchy - educated/internees with medical skills received preferential treatment.
Why are the conditions of the camp barracks evidence for the theme topic of injustice?
Lack of privacy and insulation, poorly built, "living like animals"
What is unreliable narration?
When a storyteller's credibility is compromised due to bias, ignorance, trauma, or deception, making their account potentially misleading.
Identify the Point of View:
Anthony was making a snowman in his front yard. He wanted to make the tallest snowman ever. "Making the tallest snowman ever is hard," he thought to himself. As Anthony rolled the snow around to form huge spheres, Justin was watching him from the bushes. Justin had plans too, only his plans involved karate kicking Anthony's very tall snowman. Justin figured that no snowman deserved to be as tall as Anthony's. Justin stretched in preparation for his attack.
Third Person Omniscient
What does "inu" mean and why was it used at the camp?
"Dog" - it was used to describe people who the internees considered to be informants
How has Papa changed since he first arrived at Manzanar?
He becomes more productive pursuing gardening and painting. He is not hiding away from society as much.
How does Jeanne's understanding of her Japanese identity shift after Pearl Harbor?
She becomes very aware of being seen as "other" or "enemy" despite being American
What is The Bear That Wasn't an allegory for? How does it connect to Farewell to Manzanar?
forced identity denial—like internees in Farewell to Manzanar, the bear is told he isn’t "really" himself by oppressive systems. Both expose how authority imposes false identities to justify control.
Identify the POV of this passage and explain:
Ahmed tightened his grip on the rope. He could feel his fingers weakening. "Come on, Ahmed! Pull! We're losing ground!" shouted his teammate Abdi. Ahmed gazed at the mud puddle toward which he and Abdi were being dragged. Then he looked up at his opponents. They were screaming something, but Ahmed couldn't quite hear it. The muscles in his arms and shoulders were tightening. "It's now or never!" Abdi shouted. Ahmed dug his heels in the dirt and pulled with all his strength.
Third Person Limited
What question mainly divides internees on the loyalty questionnaire
a) Question 27 (military service)
b) Question 28 (renouncing Japan)
c) Both
C - Both
Why does Papa try to control his family? (Chapter 14)
Chapter 14, particularly his daughter Jeanne, by preventing her from making decisions and by demanding she engage in activities like Japanese dance lessons. This control is rooted in his fear of assimilation and a desire to maintain a semblance of traditional Japanese family structure amidst the chaos and uncertainty of internment.
What theme topic does this quote best demonstrate: “I have been living in this country nine years longer than you have. Do you realize that? Yet I am prevented by law from becoming a citizen. I am prevented by law from owning land. I am now separated from my family without cause.”
Injustice
How is The Tell-Tale Heart an example of unreliable narration?
The narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart is unreliable due to his paranoid obsession (claiming sanity while describing murder) and sensory delusions (hearing a dead man’s heartbeat).
Why did Jeanne choose to write Farewell to Manzanar from a first-person narrative perspective? Why would the story be different if it were written from third-person omniscient?
to share her personal experiences and emotions intimately with the reader. This choice allows for a deeper connection with her as a young girl navigating the injustice of internment. A third-person omniscient perspective would offer a broader, more detached view, potentially sacrificing the raw emotional impact of her individual journey and making it more a societal/political critique.
Why does Jeanne feel conflicted about leaving camp?
fear of racism and leaving what she now knows vs. her desire for freedom from the camp
What is the significance of the rust-colored sweater that Papa is wearing in Chapter 14?
Mama knit it for him before the war.
symbolic of his connection to the pre-war world, his family, and his resilience. It is a tangible reminder of simpler times and a source of comfort during the hardship of internment.
How does this quote connect to the theme topic of Identity: “I couldn’t understand why he was home all day, when Mama had to go out working. I was ashamed of him for that and, in a deeper way, for being what had led to our imprisonment, that is, for being so unalterably Japanese.”
It shows Jeanne's shame over her Japanese identity, linking their imprisonment to Papa's heritage—revealing her conflicted sense of self.
Give one reason why Jeanne is a reliable narrator and one reason why she is not.
Reliable: Jeanne cites historical records and adult reflection to verify her memories (e.g., FBI documents in Chapter 7).
Unreliable: Her childhood perspective skews emotions (e.g., blaming Papa in Chapter 5 for her Japanese identity), filtered through trauma and youthful bias.