Farewell to Manzanar

World events, although having such a mass population confliction, can effect and greatly impact even the littlest of individuals. We see in Farewell to Manzanar, that even though World War II was to supposed to have a “greater good” outcome, it effected races, cultures, families and children all on a personal level which had carried with them long after the war. In this book, our main protagonist, Jeanne Wakatsuki, had many conflicted relationships that were altered during and long after the war. We see her interacting with family, with friends, with schoolmates, and with clergy people. And although these relationships are defined and outspoken, I am looking at the more abstract relationships of Jeanne. She had relationships and conflicts with the camp of Manzanar, with her memory of her father, and with her own self. All of these relationships had made her who she is today. In this essay, I am looking at the relationship of Jeanne and the Non-Japanese-Americans.

In the opening of the book, Jeanne speaks about her happy life in Ocean Park. Ocean Park was predominantly Caucasian neighborhood, where, although Jeanne’s family was a minority, Japanese and Caucasians lived in harmony, both on the streets and in schools. Jean

. . .

View the whole essay, without interruption

Jeanne blames herself for these rejections and resolves to overcome them by proving herself. I had looked at her and began to scream…” (11) This mirrors her trust and openness to people of other races. Jeanne knows that she is helpless to alter her heritage or fate. She was ridiculed and attacked by these children, these children who looked like her. She was not biased or prejudiced, nor were the other children in her class. She pushes herself to excel in her studies and in baton twirling, a very Americanized activity. She describes these children as: “These kids were tough and mean, like ghetto kids anywhere. In truth, Long Beach Polytechnic brings her nothing but pain, although she is a good student. Jeanne, however, is not envious or resentful towards her popular Caucasian friends. When driving through the barbed wire fence: “I opened a window, leaned out, and yelled happily. This personality would reflect her many actions within the camp. “Hey! This is a whole bus full of Watasukis!” (19) She was ready to relate to all of these new faces she is meeting.

As a Japanese girl in a world dominated by blue-eyed blondes, Jeanne has difficulty fitting in and being included in social events. Here, people spoke Japanese, whereas Jeanne spoke mainly English. Her denial of her culture makes her father push her more towards her Japanese heritage and causes much conflict between the two.

Approximate Word count = 961
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.