In By Order of the President, author Greg Robinson examines the controversial topic of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decision to relocate more than 100,000 Japanese-American citizens into internment camps for the duration of World War Two using Executive Order 9066. Preceding studies have sought to explain Roosevelt’s decision as a sensible reaction to bureaucratic pressure from military and political leaders on the West Coast, who feared the control Japanese-Americans and pro-Japanese held. Despite the vast examination of the Japanese Internment dilemma, Robinson argues that scholars have not sufficiently examined Roosevelt’s role in creating and implementing the internment policy. Robinson argues that typical narratives tend to diminish
Executive Order 9066 was an executive order presented and signed during World War II by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942, authorizing the Secretary of War to authorize certain areas as military zones, allowing and assisting the deportation of Japanese Americans to internment camps. In Executive Order 9066, Franklin Roosevelt speaks with a significant appeal to logic and reason, while "Mericans" is more appealing to the senses and to emotion. Dwight Okita addresses the topics presented in Executive Order 9066 and demonstrates how it effected the Japanese-American's lives, while Sandra Cisneros thoroughly recollects a period of significance in her life. Both of these literary texts address problems with different cultures in society
Both "In Response to Executive Order 9066" and "Mericans" portray American identity as something that cannot be defined by nationality. " In Response to Executive Order 9066" is a poem written by Japanese-American Dwight Okita set during World War II shortly after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Hearbor." 'Mercians" is a short story written by Sandra Cisneros. The poem "
Throughout history, many different people of color have experienced racial discrimination and have felt culturally separated from the rest of their peers. The passages "Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros and "Response to Executive Order 9066" by Sandra Cisneros both show first hand experience of racial discrimination and tell a story to the audience to show certain situations in which they had to experience. Both passages use literary devices, such as personal anecdotes, imagery and simple diction to help develop the common theme about cultural differences and racial discrimination. An important aspect of all writing is diction.
In the texts, "In Response to Executive Order 9066" by Dwight Okita and "Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros, a topic of American identity and perception of identity is shared. Both texts take a brief look at the lives, characteristics, and feelings of young girls living a bicultural life. In Cisnero's story, the girl seems caught between her two different cultures, and she struggles to connect with her Mexican heritage. In Okita's poem, the girl has a clear sense of her identity and place as an American. Culture is experienced and interpreted differently by each individual and each group of people.
American identity presents the idea that only those born in the United States and have American or English heritage can be considered American. Both works, "In Response to Executive Order 9066," by Dwight Okita, and, "Mericans," by Sandra Cisneros reevaluate this claim. In these texts, the authors both contribute to the idea that American identity is not based on one's appearance, past culture, or heritage. Okita's text directly expresses the meaning of American identity through the point of view of his mother within, "In Response to Executive Order 9066," in the setting of the Japanese-American internment of 1942. For example, the mother writes to the US officials, "If it helps any, I always felt funny using chopsticks and my favorite food
Within the two short stories by Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros, they develop a common theme of American identity by using multitudes of different literary devices. Okita's "Response to Executive Order 9066" is a story referencing the law enacted during WW2, which required all citizens of Japanese decent to be put in internment camps. As a result of this law Okita finds herself being viewed as a Japanese "enemy" instead of an American, which she personally identifies as. "Mericans" is story expressing the thoughts and feelings of Sandra Cisneros as young girl who is torn between the "old way" and the "new ways" of Mexican and American culture. While these two stories are extremely alike and express the same idea, they do it in different ways.
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.
Although how they write have many similarities and differences, they will show how immigrant children dealt with American ideas during this time. Response to Order 9066 is written in a poem format. It follows the writer (a 14-year-old Japanese American girl named Dwight Okita) during the Japanese incarceration where many Japanese Americans were detained, suspected to be spies. Throughout the poem, Okita uses direct to get the
Written works about American Identity are a very common theme amongst writers, including poet Dwight Okita and short-story writer Sandra Cisneros. Dwight Okita is famous for her poem “In Response to Order 9066: All Americans of Japanese Descent Must Report to Relocation Centers,” in which the theme of American identity is portrayed through a 14-year-old girl. In a similar way, Sandra Cisneros’s short story is told by a young girl of Mexican heritage who prefers American culture—in sharp contrast to her deep-rooted Mexican grandmother. Although the overall theme of the two texts is “American Identity,” both Okita's poem and Cisneros's short story delve deeper and portray that cultural heritage and physical appearances do not determine what it
In Dwight Okita’s poem the theme is physical appearance does not determine what it means to be American. The title of the poem is “In Response to Executive order 9066…”, and is by Dwight Okita. The government issued executive order 9066. This Order detained Japanese Americans. An excerpt
In "Response to Executive Order 9066," Okita skillfully employs imagery and symbolism to convey the theme of injustice and its impact on individuals. The author describes the protagonist's "desks in neat rows" being left behind, symbolizing the disruption and loss caused by the forced relocation of Japanese Americans. The use of vivid imagery, such as "long dark train ride" and "barbed wire," evokes a sense of confinement, further emphasizing the unjust treatment endured by the
The Martian Chronicles written by Ray Bradbury has many different types of stories that all revolve around each other and each are based upon the same idea. They are based upon Earth becoming a place where people no longer want to live and how they expand to the planet Mars to live. In his stories Ray Bradbury shows the dark side of life in many different ways. He uses the theme of change, the imagery of fire and dryness, the fear created from isolation and sadness and the greed humans to show the dark side of life. Some of Ray Bradbury’s stories show the dark side of life in different ways.
The speaker describes being prejudged on a more individual level, unlike the other poem. This type of discrimination was carried out by individuals belonging to a certain group, not the group overall. The similarities between the poems are that both speakers try to show themselves as typical Americans. The author of “In Response to Executive Order 9066” states, “If it helps any, I will tell you I have always felt funny using chopsticks and my favorite food is hot dogs” (650). The speaker seems to distance herself from her Asian culture and integrates into the American way of life.
Literary Analysis: Exploring American Identity Introduction This essay compares “In response to executive order 9066” (poem) by Dwight Okita to “Mericans” (short story) by Sandra Cisneros. Specifically, the essay explores the central theme of American identity in the two literary works. The “Mericans” is about a little girl who has a story about the new world and the old world. In this case, the new world is America.
