“Silver Like Dust” “Silver Like Dust” is a novel that tells the story of the author, Kimi Cunningham Grant’s Obaachan’s (Japanese word for grandmother) experience as a prisoner of war in Heart Mountain Wyoming after the Pearl Harbor bombing. The novel contains the unforgotten memories that Kimi’s Obaachan has of the Heart Mountain Internment Camp, such as how she was treated by the hakujin (Japanese word for white person), and the conditions she had to live in the internment camp. Kimi Grant wrote this story because her Obaachan was always a silent part of her life that she had yet to know about. She wanted to learn more about her Japanese heritage and to do that she wanted to learn more about her Obaachan’s experience in World War II. Kimi …show more content…
Although, I didn’t follow it to the extreme that the Japanese did, I still followed the mindset that I always had to do the right thing no matter what happens. This story shows how one should not just do everything they are told to do, but rather do what they think is right. In “Silver Like Dust” Obaachan always listens to what she is told, and never goes against anything. Kimi writes, “‘You need to polish those,’ he said. It was a command, not an observation. ‘People will judge you by your shoes.’ ... ‘Oh what do you care?’ Obaachan said to him, under her breath, not looking at him … My grandfather flew into a fury. He stood up from the table, grabbed his box of polishes, and flung it across the room … After a few moments Ojichan (Japanese for grandfather) headed for the door and walked out, slamming it with such force that the flimsy walls shook … When she looked down she saw her hands were shaking against her dress. She never defied my grandfather again, she tells me - not for the rest of her life.” In this situation, we can see that even though in the conflict between Ojichan and Obaachan, Obaachan did nothing wrong. She didn’t stand up for herself against her husband, but instead she just did what was told for the rest of her life whether it was right or