Farwell To Manzanar Essay Research Paper In

Farwell To Manzanar Essay, Research Paper

In the novel Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne tells the whole story through her own eyes as she saw it. She is a Japanese American who was born in the states and happens to be the main character and author of this novel. Her father, Ko, had fled from Japan to restore his families lost honor by making a fortune in America. This plan however, did not work out. Instead Ko worked a number of jobs in the states including farming, translating Japanese into English for the Government and doing around handy man jobs. He put him self through law school and there he met his future wife, who was to be Jeanne’s mother in the future. Soon the young Japanese couple got married and Ko finally, after working several decided the best occupation for him was being a fisherman. He leased a boat and began fishing off the cost of Long Beach CA. The couple moved into an all white neighborhood in Ocean Park . They had several children including Jeanne but only one, other that Jeanne, is mentioned significantly in this novel. His name is Woody and is a Japanese boy who was also born in America.

Up until a calm Sunday in 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Jeanne’s family was looking to have a bright future in Southern California. That day everything changed. They received the terrible news while watching there fathers fishing boat leave for a voyage and then return minutes later. The FBI came and took Ko and searched the house. Then they took Ko away charging him with delivering oil to Japanese subs near the spots where he had caught fish. The family had to move out of Ocean View and onto Terminal Island where many of the Japanese stayed after coming into the country.

It was on Terminal Island when Jeanne learned to fear the face of the Japanese. She had never been exposed to Japanese people before and spoke no Japanese. On Terminal Island all the kids were used to being around Japanese people and they spoke it the language with a harsh sailor’s vocabulary. The kids on the island verbally threatened Jeanne and poked fun at her while she stood by in fear and confusion. Mama got a job in fish cannery and Jeanne’s two older brothers also found work to help support the family. The situation on the Island came to a close about two months after their arrival, when the Navy decided to clear Terminal Island completely. They had to move to Boyle Heights, an ethnic ghetto in LA. The family remained here for only a month and then they were told they were to make the third and final move.

The family, kept together by a great effort on Mama’s part, was packed into buses heading for Owens Valley where an internment camp for Japanese people called Manzanar lied. When the family reached the camp they found they were living in a tiny room where the dust and sand blew in through the poorly constructed walls. Mama of course was furious with this arrangement, she said that they should not be living like animals. This was the truth they were living like some barn yard animals being stuffed into an over crowded barn. Jeanne on the other hand seemed to be having a good time. She was happy to be out of Terminal Island and Boyle Heights and she considered this trip an adventure, not fully understanding its meaning.

Weeks passed and conditions of living started to get better little by little, but best of all Jeanne learned not to be afraid of the Japanese face as she had feared on Terminal Island. Papa also came back to the family months after they had been in camp. It was almost as if they were going to a family again, but this never happened. Almost all the families at Manzanar were torn apart due to the awful standards of living they each had to endure. Papa was torn apart himself. His pride had been and honor had been ripped away from him. He no longer had decisions to make for the family or a job to maintain. Soon after his arrival at Manzanar he built a small still for producing brandy and rice wine with whatever materials he could gather from the kitchen. For the remainder of his years at the camp Papa drank hard times away. All the other Japanese made fun of him for this and for his different and conservative political standings. Until the final days of the camp Papa would mope and stir about in the room being miserable.

As Jeanne grew older she found things to occupy her time at camp. She went to catechism taught by two nuns who she liked very much. She went there for a long time until papa forbid it because she wanted to be baptized. Jeanne also learned how to twirl a baton with great skill. This became her favorite hobby while at Manzanar. In addition, Jeanne tried several other activities such as ballet dancing and traditional Japanese dancing, none of which worked out. Finally, the camp opened up a small school and Jeanne attended it with great pleasure. In school Jeanne learned by the teachings of a Caucasian female but more importantly school is where Jeanne got her taste of freedom. Every once in a while her class would venture outside the gates of Manzanar into the desert mountains, to go camping. Here they collected rocks from the river, roasted potatoes in the fire, and best of all forgot about life behind the barbed wire of Manzanar.

In the remaining year at Manzanar things began to grow worse. Many were joining the army, like Woody did against his father’s wishes, but most were rebelling against the camp. Surv