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A Comparison Of The Themes In Merican By Dwight Okita

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Recommended: Essays about immigrant stories

Hezikiyah Fandrey

English 11 B

3/17/2023

A Comparison of the Themes in “Mericans” by Sandra Cisneros and “Order 9066” by Dwight Okita

The two texts I will be comparing are "In Response to Executive Order 9066: All Americans of Japanese Descent Must Report to Relocation Centers" by Dwight Okita and "Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros. The narratives of these texts all share the theme of remembering one's culture. The common theme is that your cultural identity can be replaced. In this essay, I will be proving that this common theme applies to both of them.

The reasons why they can be compared are that they are just similar narratives. For one, they have similar details. Also, their characters are similar to each other. Finally, their descriptive writing styles are similar. These are the reasons why "Mericans" and "Order 9066" can be compared. …show more content…

While she is being strict, we can use indirect characterization to figure out that she is just trying to protect her grandchildren as much as possible. In "Order 9066," the guardian archetype hints at the loss of his daughter’s Japanese culture and her acceptance of American culture. He hints at this by saying, "Where we’re going, they won’t grow." They are referring to the tomato seed packets when they say "they won't grow." The tomato seed packets are a symbol of love because the character Denise, who is the narrator’s friend, calls them "love apples." In "Mericans," it literally says, "We’re Mericans, we’re Mericans, and inside the awful grandmother

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In the excerpts from “Response to executive order9066” by Dwight Okita and “Mericans” by Sandra Cisneros, I have determined that there is a common theme amongst the two. A common theme is a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work that may be stated directly or indirectly that corresponds with each other. Now in “Response to Executive Order 9066” by Dwight Okita she is responding to the executive order. The Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by the United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones, clearing the way for the deportation of Japanese Americans to internment

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David Okita, the author of the poem “In Response to Executive Order 9066,” is a published playwright, poet and novelist. He describes himself as Japanese, American, gay, and Buddhist. Okita’s father was a World War II veteran and his mother was held in confinement for four years at a Japanese-American concentration camp. The World War II plays as a significant theme in the poem “In Response to Executive Order 9066”. At first glance, the poem appears to be about an American girl who has an unstable relationship with her friend Denise.

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She’s also reminding Yasaman to know her worth and to not fold to other people's opinions. As this conversation continues, the message becomes vaguer and less about the incident at the supermarket. Her grandma states, “'You don’t apologize for who you are. I’m an old lady now and perhaps that doesn’t mean much in the world we live in, but I exist and I shouldn’t have to be sorry for that... Don’t ever apologize for who you are'"

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The young girl is prevented from entering the church where her grandmother has prayers. As a person from the old world, the young girl is not allowed to play with boys from the new world. On the other hand, “in response to executive order” by Dwight Okita is about Americans of Japanese origins that were supposed to report to relocation

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While the similarities are smaller, like the considerate personalities shared between the main characters of both

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