Manzanar- The non-fiction memoir Farewell to Manzanar, written by James D. Houston and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, shows clear examples of oppression when she and her family are in an internment camp and Jeanene questions her self-worth. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jeanne, and her family are taken into an internment camp where Jeanne returns to school. Inflicted by the words of a girl questioning Jeanne's ability to speak English, Jeanne realizes “...[she] would be seen as someone foreign, or as someone other than American, or perhaps not be seen at all.” (1). Jeanne feels judged by others and she is outcasted by them. Others are treating her as if she does not deserve to be talked to or even looked at differently because she does not look …show more content…
While stationed in an internment camp, Elie is grieving over his fathers' harsh death. Giving up, Elie feels that he has lost his motivation due to “... [his] father[s] death, nothing mattered to [him] anymore.”(113). The conditions in which Elie and his father were living were so atrocious that Elie’s father died. This made conditions for Elie even worse. Not only was Elie hurting physically, but he was hurting mentally too. Many people had to lose or be separated from their loved ones during this time. Since the separation from his sister and mom, Elie only had his father. The stress he had to endure about the pressure to keep his father alive is so heartbreaking. There was a constant feeling of fear that ran through his body. It felt as if one was scared of heights and was looking down from the empire state building. Overall this story showcases the darkness of the holocaust. The memoir lets readers feel appreciative of the present and the opportunities they are free to take. It explains to individuals not to repeat the past while showing the trauma that the generation had to