Farewell To Manzanar By Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

Have you ever wondered what it might have been like to be a Japanese-American at the time of WWII, when your race was discriminated against, and you just couldn’t seem to fit in, no matter how hard you tried? The memoir Farewell to Manzanar, written by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston, follows the life of Japanese-American Jeanne Wakatsuki through her child and teenage years. The book is set in the 1940’s, right about the time Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japan, and tension between Caucasians and Japanese-Americans was high. Jeanne struggles with her identity throughout her life, and especially during her junior high and high school years when she can’t join many clubs or feel accepted, just because she is different than the other

After living at Camp Manzanar for four years, Jeanne is ready to finally leave but also nervous to reenter the outside world. At her new junior high school in Long Beach, her teacher tries her best to make her feel like she fits in. But after Jeanne reads a page in their reading book aloud, perfectly without any mistakes, another classmate’s reaction is not at all what she expected. “When I finished, a pretty blonde girl in front of me said, quite innocently, “Gee, I didn’t know you could speak English.” She was genuinely amazed. I was stunned. How could this have even been in doubt?” (157). That is to say, the blonde girl didn’t know any better, and so she thought Orientals like Jeanne could only speak their native tongue. This refers to the fact that Jeanne was trying to ignore: that she wasn’t Caucasian, and she didn’t fit in with the other children. Jeanne emphasizes her surprise at the girl’s comment by stating she “was stunned” and “couldn’t believe anyone could think such a thing about her”. Later in the year, Jeanne realizes that there

When springtime came around and it was time for a carnival queen to be selected, she was picked by her peers in her homeroom class to run, along with fifteen other girls from the other classes. Her outfit choice would be essential to becoming queen. “I knew I couldn’t beat the other contestants at their own game, that is, look like a bobbysoxer. Yet neither could I look too Japanese-y. I decided to go exotic, with a flower print sarong, black hair loose and a hibiscus flower behind my ear. When I walked barefooted out onto the varnished gymnasium floor, between the filled bleachers, the howls and whistles from the boys were double what had greeted any of the other girls,” (173). In the literal sense, Jeanne’s choice to go exotic was the right one, because the hoops and hollers she got were louder than the cheers the other contestants received. It seems that Jeanne has bested the other girls at their own game, but would she win the contest? The crowd’s response to Jeanne demonstrates the curiosity Caucasian men have for Oriental women that was mentioned in an earlier chapter. After winning and becoming Carnival Queen, Jeanne is having second thoughts about the high-necked, ruffled ball gown she is wearing but then realizes she is wearing the correct dress. “I had never before worn such an outfit. It was not what I should have on. I wanted my sarong. But then I thought, NO. That