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Theme Of Segregation In Camp Manzanar

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Due to the terrible conditions and Mess Hall segregation in Camp Manzanar, the family traditions were lost. Within the first few weeks of being detained, “...[they] stopped eating as a family. Mama tried to hold [them] together for a while, but it was hopeless” (36). Mama gave up after realizing staying together would be more of a challenge than living as a distant family. Granny was too weak to walk and most of the children preferred eating with their friends. When the family did want to be together, there was a lack of activities available for them to do. “...[they] used to hunt grunion before the war… the reason [Jeanne] wants to remember this is because [she] knows [they] will never be able to do it again” (38). With the fence as a barrier and the absence of games, the Wakatsuki family had almost no other option but to detach. Time passed and it was understood that because of the conditions and segregation, their family would never go back to what it was before the Camps. …show more content…

“People get married; their interests shift. But there is no escaping the fact that our interment accelerated the process, made it happen so suddenly it was almost tangible” (39). The most disheartening part was that they had no way of avoiding what was being done. The Wakatsukis were forced to let their close knit family unravel at the speed of light. “What had to be endured was the climate, the confinement, the steady crumbling away of family life” (98). An average Japanese family would be allowed to eat whatever that want and wherever they want unlike the camp residents. Camp Manzanar taught the Wakatsukis to accept their fate and to make the most of what they were

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