After our brief discussion on identity in class today, I decided to expand on this more in my blog post, because I feel that it is extremely significant to understanding and getting the most out of this story. Throughout this entire novel, knowing who you are and where you belong has been the most prominent theme. In the beginning of the novel, all of the family members identified with being American more than they identified with being Japanese, and each demonstrated this in their own way. By the end of the novel, all of the characters had a change in identity and felt they could relate to being Japanese more than they could relate to being American. I feel that the characters that had the greatest change in identity were the boy and the girl.
In the beginning of the novel, the girl is presented to readers as a typical teenage girl. “The door to the girl’s room was closed. Above the doorknob was a note that had not been there the day before. It said DO NOT DISTRUB.” This is a very Americanized when compared to the Japanese culture where women and children are expected to be submissive and do what they are asked without question and meant to blend in. In the same chapter, the girl demonstrates that she is confused with her identity, because she feels that she does not look as American as she feels. “’Is there anything wrong with my face?’ she asked. ‘Why?’ said the women. ‘People are staring.”’ Here, the girl is clearly demonstrating that she knows that her physical Japanese characteristics make her different, and that even though she feels more American than Japanese, people do not perceive her that way. By the end of the novel, the girl is identifying more with the Japanese culture than the American culture, primarily because of the lifestyle change that came with being at the camp. The changes in the girl were subtler than the changes in the boy. The girl’s biggest change was that she became more submissive and ready to please. In addition, she knew that no one would look at them or treat them the same.
The boy also changed which culture he identified more with as well. In the beginning of the novel, he was your typical little boy. He enjoyed spending time with his father and loved baseball. He had a sense of innocence that could not be missed. The first time we see a change in the boy is when they are talking about horses and jockeys. The boy said that he wanted to be a jockey. Someone told him he should want to grow-up to be a big American man instead, therefore identifying the Japanese culture as small and weak, like a jockey. When the boy hears, this he says he wants to grow up to be a strong, American boy. Whether or not he realizes it, he is distinguishing between the two cultures; he wants to go from being a weak Japanese boy to a strong American boy. In addition, he would also walk around the camp muttering the Emperor’s name, even though it was forbidden. This deliberate action shows that he does not want to identify with the American culture right now, because he does not like what they are doing to the Japanese.
Overall, there is a clear identity and sense of belonging transition throughout the novel. The family goes from clearly feeling and identifying more with American culture to Japanese culture. The family started to have some misidentity in the camp, because even though they felt American, they were being treated like Japanese, an enemy of the state in most Americans’ eyes. Even though they do not want to identity with the Japanese culture because they do not want to be seen as the enemy, they do, because of their experiences.
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