Ellen-Farewell+to+Manzanar

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 * //__Farewell To Manzanar__ Interpretation//**



Jeanne's Identity:

Throughout Jeanne's stay at Manzanar, she faces a struggle to find her identity. Unfortunately, she has more than one. Both outsiders as well as her family impact who she is. She conveys both an American identity as well as a Japanese identity throughout her childhood. The struggle for her is realizing that her true identity might just be a little bit of both.

Her American identity is how she acts around her friends and other people outside of her family. She learns to become more outgoing and obsesses with her appearance through fashion and trends. But, the sticky part of her situation is that her dad would not support her. She also discovers that she wants to look like herself, Japanese-American, but also something else. She wants to be accepted equally by her peers and others. She does not want to be judged because of her physical appearance. She feels frustrated when her friend Radine becomes popular just because of her looks. Jeanne struggles to feel accepted by others and tries to change her identity to fit what they want her to be like. Unfortunately, she does not realize at the time that they are shaping her American identity for her.

Another equally confusing position is her Japanese identity. This consists of the traditional characteristics and mannerisms of Japan. This is the identity that her dad pressures her into. It is more proper and respectful than the other identity Jeanne tries to take on. As before, Jeanne wants to show her Japanese side, but not be judged by it.

The real problem for her is that both identities are being forced upon her. She does not want to disgrace her family by choosing to act more American, but also wants to fit in with the rest of her peers.

She realizes that the prejudiced feelings people have towards her are not always intended. Many of them are placed upon her peers and others through propaganda and gossip. She begins to form a completely different identity because of this realization. She becomes the respectful, mature adult but also fits in with her classmates by becoming more involved with her school. The prejudiced feelings people had towards her soon began to change. She realizes that it just takes a little time for people to adjust; just as she had to her life at Manzanar.



​ Jeanne's Roadblocks:

Another struggle Jeanne faces is the other people in her life. Her family is difficult to keep together and her dad constantly tries to force her to convey a Japanese identity. The non-Japanese characters are her main struggle though. She has trouble feeling accepted; but also acting accepting as well. It is difficult for the tension and stress of the different races to be released.

The other people also act as her roadblocks. Her friend Radine was automatically more popular and accepted than she was because of her looks. Jeanne often tries to imagine herself as a "blond-haired, blue-eyed queen". She feels that her looks automatically take away from her social status. Luckily, Radine tends to stick up for her and support her through these hard times. The only problem with this relationship is that Jeanne never really learns to stick up for herself. She always holds herself responsible and feels guilty for being such a problem. One of her hardest lessons to learn is that when someone disrespects you, you don't have to put up with it.

The other ignorant people in her life keep her from achieving what she is meant to achieve. Their actions and words hold her back, and almost make her give up some of her dreams. Their attitudes make her feel responsible for all of the trouble, and they also try to choose her identity for her. By the time Jeanne begins to stick up for herself, she realizes all of the mistakes she let happen. Throughout her childhood, she took people's harsh words and actions and made herself feel like the burden. As soon as she stops this from happening, people begin to stop walking all over her and deciding her life for her.

Racial Hatred and Occurences: Throughout Jeanne's childhood, she experiences a lot of racial tensions and problems between groups of people. She was not allowed to join Girl Scouts. She was also not permitted to participate in many of the school's higher positions. Her peers and others decided her personality and inner characteristics by judging her appearance. Like many others, she was given an identity... and one she was not proud of or wanted to host. These prejudiced feelings were only one form of the hatred that she experienced, though.

She also experienced a lot of ignorance and obliviousness. When she returned from Manzanar, many people took one glance at her and assumed she could not speak English. They just thought that anyone of Japanese decent would act like the contorted image they had created to display these people. Their comments and actions were rude and uncalled for. They did not take the time to truly understand these people. It was almost like they forgot the Japanese-Americans were humans too.

Blunt expression was also another form of hatred. Many signs were put up in Japanese-American neighborhoods that had cruel messages embedded within them. They personally attacked the people and encouraged that attitude among the rest of the population. Billboards also gave people a feeling of discomfort and disgust towards the Japanese-Americans. They also encouraged a negative attitude and violence among the different groups.

The hatred showed up through the following: -posters -billboards -violence -media -gossip -school (kids already felt negative attitudes towards the Japanese-Americans and teased or mocked them.) -the pre-decided attitudes/identities given to the Japanese-Americans -purposeful ignorance

My After-thoughts:

After reading this book, I realize that a lot of this hatred still exists in the world, and in our country. Many feel negative attitudes towards immigrants and other minority groups. I have now noticed how much ignorance and obliviousness still exists. Many people do not realize how judgemental they are of others, and, just like during Jeanne's childhood, are very quick to make assumptions. This book has impacted me by allowing me to partially experience the stress and troubles the Japanese-Americans experienced. I could not imagine living in the conditions they were forced to live in, and accept it without being extremely insulted and uprising against it. I have actually begun to reread the book, and realize how many of the details there were that I had missed the first time through. Now that I have gone back through the book, I have noticed how much these small details impacted their overall situation. Overall, I feel it important to read such a novel if one is considering to cooperate and live peacefully with the rest of the world. It forces the reader to feel a portion of the situation, and realize the injustices.

Works Cited:

(//this program will not allow me to tab over any of the citations.)//

//Manzanar, Calif.// Photograph. The Bancroft Library, California. Web. [].

//Japanese American Internment Camps//. Photograph. California State Library, California. Web. [].

//Wipe Out Murdering Japs//. Photograph. Tennessee Bills. Web. [].

Evaluation ?'s:

1. What aspects of this wikispace do you find most enlightening? Why? 2. How have the authors of this wikispace addressed Jeanne's identity struggle in a different manner than you did? Specify! 3. How have the authors of this wikispace examined Manzanar in a new way? Quote and detail.

1. All the answers to the questions were very thought out and the pictures as visuals were great. (BA) 2. I liked how she answered the questions. She didn't just answer in a question one question two format she wrote a story almost. (BA) 3 She used other online sources to answer the questions, went further then just the text from the book. (BA)