Farewell to Manzanar
How did what you read today make you feel? Why?
During my reading this week, I got introduced to a lot of the characters. The story is in the perspective of the author, Jeanne Wakatsuki, telling the story of her life when her family was sent to live at Manzanar. Jeanne talks about Mama, Papa, Woody, Bill, Chizu, Kiyo, and Granny. The story takes place in 1942, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.
Jeanne was seven years old when this madness occurred. It all started when they found out their home country bombed Pearl Harbor. Her father was taken away, and arrested for delivering oil to Japanese marines offshore because he was communicating with people in Japan which at the time looked as if he was a spy. Soon later, Mama (Jeanne's mother) decided to move the family to Terminal Island which is where other Japanese people live. The family moved two months later to Boyle Heights which is in downtown Los Angeles. About a month later, the government chooses to move the family again, and gives them 48 hours to clear out, and move to a camp at Manzanar, California.
During the reading, I couldn't stop thinking about what was going on in all their heads at the time! For Jeanne, she probably didn't understand anything, but I couldn't imagine how hard it could of been for the family to have to keep moving constantly. It made my feel so bad, like I wish I could of been there and tried to help them or something. I think it's interesting seeing how life was in a camp like that during the war, but it shocked me to see how badly they were treated. I guess I understand because at the time, the U.S. was at war with the country they originated from, but it made me feel quite bad for them. The father was not with them at the time which is worse, because Jeanne's father was the head of the family. This resulted in times where the family was lost in what they should do. I couldn't process everything because it was a lot to take in, but overall my reading this week made me sad because of all their misfortunes!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you gave a short summary of what happend in your reading this week, then said how you felt about what you read. I find the way you did that, to be very nice for the people reading your blog. Then they can understand what you are talking about for how much you read that week. I completly agree with what you said about last weeks readings and how upset it made you feel. I also find it hard to put myself in their shoes and think what I would do if I were them. Very good blog post :)
-Hannah Ross