The book “Farewell to Manzanar” by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston is a story about a young girl and her family in World War II. Farewell to Manzanar illustrates the struggles of Japanese-American families during World War II. The book follows a young girl named Jeanne and her family’s experiences. The book starts with the country-wide announcement of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As a result of this, many Japanese were stripped from homes, and families, into internment camps all over the country. The book focuses on the harsh conditions in these camps, and how the families in these camps were treated like animals, for example, they were put in small cubicles in which they lived in which were barely finished, which “would blow sand and dust through every crack and knothole in the walls" (Houston 22). …show more content…
In these camps, Japanese-Americans lost freedom, speech, and pride because they were constantly forced against their will. During Jeannes time at the camps, she faced hardships such as discrimination, sickness, and violence. The Japanese were given terrible food in these camps, which were completely different from the food they ate, for example "The first meal we had, that first night, was hot dogs and canned sauerkraut, a taste of America to be sure, but a combination that made no sense at all to a Japanese palate" (12 Houston). The Japanese were confused and many refused to eat this food because most were spoiled, and they didn't want to disrespect their culture by mixing foods that weren't supposed to be mixed. Many became sick and died because they did not have the proper treatment. Many fights also broke out between people, which caused violence. In the story, Jeannes Father becomes mentally unstable and starts drinking alcohol to cope with the terrible camps. He then threatens them and beats up her mother, which traumatizes