Analysis Of When The Emperor Was Divine By Julie Otsuka

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“When the Emperor was Divine” written by Julie Otsuka is a book about a Japanese American family who faces discrimination and is forced into an internment camp in World War II. The novel conveys the challenges they endure and the impact of the camps on their lives. In this novel, the family had to submit to American culture due to the pressure of being afraid of being the enemy causing self-hatred and internalized racism. When people are forced to submit to a culture they lose their sense of self. At one point after the family was released and the children were going back to school. The children say “We would join their clubs, after school, if they let us. We would listen to their music. We would dress just like