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FAREWELL TO MANZANAR

Jessica Hernandez
LBS 375 The California Experience
Farewell to Manzanar
November 17, 2015

FAREWELL TO MANZANAR

Imagine having your family ripped away from their home and send off to camps just
because of their ethnicity. This is what happened to Jeanne Wakatsuki and her family in 1942,
when she was just seven years old. She and her whole family, including ten thousand other
Japanese Americans were send to live at Manzanar camps because of the attack of Pearl Harbor
from Japanese soldiers. Farewell to Manzanar is a coming of age story, seen and experienced
through the eyes of Jeanne Wakatsuki at just a tender nave age. Japanese Americans suffered
tremendously when they were unfairly taken from their homes and assumed that they were the
enemy. Wakatsuki starts with describing the events and memories she has as an innocent child.
As well as the moments she soon started to discover herself and her identity, but also expressed
the tragic changes camp Manzanar made to her family.
Wakatsuki described how life was during the camps, yet she was not aware of the real
damage Japanese people were facing. The United States was discriminating against the Japanese
people even though many Japanese Americans were in this land legally, with every right. Her
older brother Woody was very different from the rest of the family and especially the total
opposite from his father, Woody was very proud to be an American. When the World War II
broke out Woody was determined to fight his war and prove his loyalty to America. Often times
Wakatsuki wrote about the frequent arguments between her father and brother. Wakatsuki (1973)
expressed that her father argued and disapproved with Woody wanting to go fight the war
because it would mean fighting for a country that imprisoned him. Therefore, Woody felt that as
an American citizen with freedom and many opportunities it was his duty to defend his country.
As for Wakatsukis father, he is a very hard working man, head strong, successful, and a
family man. Wakatsuki described in Farewell to Manzanar through Papa the way their ethnicity
was judged and the tragic experiences many Japanese Americans went through. Papa was a very

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complex individual and illegally emigrated from Japan to escape the injustice his home country
did to people, resulting in his own family burying his memory nine years after he left. Papa
believes he belongs nowhere because he is not a citizen in Japan not in the U.S. Wakatsuki
(1973) described how Papa did not want Woody to join the military and fight for American
because it would be betraying his people in Japan, which is against their loyalty. Papa also
expressed how much he felt about America to Woody because he wanted his son to know why he
should not fight for a country that imprisoned and treated them like the enemy just because of
their ethnicity. When Papa was imprisoned it degraded him and destroyed the man he was,
especially the father he was to his family. He was charged with disloyalty at Fort Lincoln, his
belongings were taken, he was ripped away from his family, and his pride was turned into anger
and resentment. As a result, Wakatsuki expressed that Papa was one person who suffered the
most because of the injustice and imprisonment at Manzanar.
I feel that Papas decision to not have Woody join the military and fight in the war is the
right decision because Woody was very nave, he just wanted to fight the war because of his
freedom and he felt like he owed something to the U.S. Wakatsuki (1973) expressed that when
Woody was willing to fight, Papa will argue with him that a soldier should believe in what he is
fighting for and that Japanese Americans do not know how to respond to loyalty. I do not agree
with Woodys decision because even though he was born in America, it does not mean he needs
to prove anything. Woody family and many other Japanese American families were treated
harshly and seen as the enemy, which was completely racist. It was very wrong the way the
United States handled the situation with Japanese people, since not all wanted to harm the U.S. I
believe Woodys loyalty should have been with his family, especially his father, since he was the
one who has suffered the most.

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I do not think that Papas decision was controversial among the other families of
Manzanar in 1943 because most families understood and agreed with Papas views. Many
Japanese families knew the truth regarding their imprisonment and that prejudice was the reason
for the destruction of their lives. For example, Jeanne Wakatsuki was too young to realize the
truth and the real motives to being the camps; she later learned the reasons why her family and
many others were treated with pure hatred and prejudice because of their ethnicity. Also, I feel
that Woodys decision would have been more controversial with the families at Manzanar in
1943 because many would say how can someone go defend and fight for a country that has
treated them badly and as enemies. Manzanar brought a lot of disgrace and pain to many
Japanese and Japanese Americans, but it did not break their spirit and many continue to strive to
keep their families together.

FAREWELL TO MANZANAR
References
Houston, J., & Houston, J. (1973). Farewell to Manzanar; a true story of Japanese American
experience during and after the World War II internment. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.