Analysis Of Julie Otsuka's When The Emperor Was Divine

In the first chapter of "When the Emperor was Divine" the author indirectly and gradually build up to the fact that the husband had been arrested and the reason behind moving. I believe that the Author, Julie Otsuka, chooses to reveal the motive behind the family moving gradually because it gives the reader time to realize that something is different with the family. This particular excerpt indirectly gives important information about the book, “Nothing wrong with a bucket,” said Joe Lundy. He pushed the quarters back toward her across the counter but he did not look at her. “You can pay me later,” he said.”(12). Joe Lundy gives the narrator a free string, twine, and candies. He also gives the readers a hint that the narrator is not seeing

The weather at Fort Sam Houston was fine. On the back of every envelope was stamped “Censored, War Department,” or “Detained Alien Enemy Mail.”(15). In this excerpt it is revealed to the reader that father had been arrested. It also tells us that the father was put in jail for being an "alien" or a foreigner. This means that the rest of the family are also considered aliens. By gradually giving information about the father Otsuka is able to paint the image of this family slowly as opposed to giving the readers all the information all at once. As time goes on in the book the readers learn more and more about the family, thus allowing the readers to see the family through Otsuka's perspective. Later on in the chapter the reader finds out the reason behind the family moving. The narrator thinks about waking up early in the morning to board a bus, “Then they would pin their identification numbers to their collars and grab their suitcases and climb up onto the bus and go to wherever it was they had to go.”(22). This indirectly tells us about the notice that she saw in the beginning of the chapter and what it said. Otsuka suddenly reveals that the family would be moving the next day without a set