Symbolism In Julie Otsuka's When The Emperor Was Divine

The novel, When the Emperor was Divine, written by Julie Otsuka provides a devastatingly raw look into the harsh reality of internment camps used in the United States throughout World War II. By utilizing thought-provoking symbolism, Otsuka conveys the complete upheaval the woman and her family suffer through at the hands of a seemingly welcoming country. Specifically, through the theme of family and familiarity, Otsuka presents the symbol of nature. Nature as a whole is found everywhere, but different in how it appears. Trees, dust, and flowers each appear respectively throughout the novel, shifting in their meaning. Typically representing new life, opportunity, and hope, Otsuka instead uses nature to convey the emotion of being uprooted and transitioned into an unfamiliar

The future now is unfamiliar, barren of all things previously known. The unwelcoming nature of the internment camps only emphasizes the affects it has on those within. Trees are planted in the camp seemingly as a way of growing roots in Utah, however forced they may be. Perhaps more symbolic than the planting of roots in the camp is the following death of the trees. Due to the choking dust, or the choking nature of being removed from home, the trees are unable to grow roots and thrive. Their restraint is in reference to the family and their inability to thrive. Another effort to make the internment camp more familiar was the use of street signs “suddenly there was an Elm Street, a Willow Street, a Cottonwood Way… “It doesn’t look like we’ll be leaving here any time soon,” said the boys’ mother. “At least we know where we are,” said the girl.” (Otsuka 102). As trees are representative of home, familiarity, and family, the appearance of street signs mimic the idea of home. The street signs are the marking of a town, a neighborhood, which alludes to the mother saying “it doesn’t look like we’ll be leaving here any time soon”. Trees grow roots, and