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Dwight Okita Legal Alien Poem Analysis

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Discrimination has plagued the world since the beginning of time and continues to happen today. People can be discriminated against simply for looking different or following different customs. It has been implemented by governments throughout history, but it has also been practiced individually. “In Response to Executive Order 9066” and “Legal alien” are two poems that discuss the topic of discrimination. “In Response to Executive Order 9066,” by Dwight Okita is a poem that describes the possible interment of a Japanese-American during World War 2. The poem takes the perspective of a confused fourteen year old girl in school,who is saying goodbye to her best friend. Without a reason the speaker's best friend turns on her because of the recent …show more content…

It can be carried out legally against an entire group of people or simply against someone for their looks. These poems describe different ways in which discrimination is carried out. One of the poems demonstrates discrimination carried out systematically, while the other represents it being carried out at an individual level. Okita states, “Dear Sirs: Of course I'll come” (650). The fourteen year old girl describes the people who came to relocate her as “sirs,” meaning they were some type of authority figure (65). The authority figures must have been part of the federal government and are enforcing the executive order that allows the relocation of anyone from Japanese origin. This type of intolerance was carried out and held constitutional by the government. Mora states, “. . . an American to Mexicans a Mexican to Americans. . .” (65). 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. The

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The narrative begins with the first two chapters focusing on assessing Roosevelt’s evolving attitude toward Japan and Japanese-Americans, during his pre-presidential years and his first two terms in office. Continuing, Robinson changes directions and focuses on the origin and implementation of the internment policy, beginning with Roosevelt’s decision to issue Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, the authorization of relocating Japanese-Americans from the West Coast into internment camps, the subsequent controversy over with Japanese-Americans deemed “loyal” to the United States, and the decision to finally close the camps in 1946. The final chapter concludes with Robinson attempting to understand how Roosevelt, whom historians have celebrated for his strong commitment to individual rights, could have supported such an unjust policy. Robinson argues Roosevelt’s “past feelings toward the Japanese-Americans must be considered to have significantly shaped his momentous decision to evacuate Japanese-Americans from their homes … whether citizens or longtime resident aliens, [Japanese-Americans] were still Japanese at the core and should be regarded as presumptuously disloyal and dangerous on racial grounds” (p. 118 -

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Written prompt of Citizen 13660 by Mine Okubo Summary Citizen 13660 is an illustrated picture book representing the internment of people who were of Japanese descent. More than 110,000 Japanese people were evacuated simply because of their racial background. This has been no reasonable justification as to why the order of 9066 was even made. Fear swept over the United States after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This caused a mass spread of propaganda which degraded anyone of Japanese ancestry.

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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.

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