George Wakatsuki's Poem 'Farewell To Manzanar'

Farewell to Manzanar Poem Break Down “What’s your full name? Wakatsuki Ko” (page 60). The person I have chosen to write a poem about is George Ko Wakatsuki. I chose this character because I like how much he had been through ,but have everything taken away from him. Ko Wakatsuki can be described as an alcoholic, strong leader, hard worker, and a traitor. In my poem I described him as nothing. This is because Ko Wakatsuki lost all his dignity and pride at Manzanar Internment camp. A quote from the book that supports this is, “ It helps me understand how Papa’s life could end at a place like Manzanar. He didn’t die there ,but things finished him there, whereas for me it was a birthplace. The camp was where our life lines intersected” (page 47). This really mean he lost his true self, his identity. It matters because he lost himself and he therefore is nothing. For this I used the words cold and pitch black to describe him.

The only way to get rid of the pain for him was drinking. Some text evidence that supports this evaluation is, “This whisper charge, added to the shame of everything that had happened to him was simply more than he could bear. He did not yet have the strength to resist it. He exiled himself, like a leper, and he drank” (page 67). This quote explains how with people are talking down about him, the disrespect toward his identity he can’t lose everyone's hurtful words, but by drinking. This shows how he can’t deal with the pressure and becomes an alcoholic. In my poem this can be shown, “I feel like a drunk” (line