Theme Of Subdued Identity In Julie Otsuka's When The Emperor Was Divine

Subdued Identity: The Aftermath of Traumatic Events on Character and Habit Throughout the stages of life, chapters of both good things and misfortunes unfold. In a chapter of misfortune, where it seems like it is the lowest point of one’s life, many share with others around them: “I feel trapped and I don’t know what to do.” Others suffer silently, without the support of friends and family, whether by choice or not. Nevertheless, the feeling of rock bottom is never forgotten. In Julie Otsuka’s novel When the Emperor was Divine, a Japanese-American family during World War II is forced to give up much in the face of rising nationalistic tensions, prejudice, and being forced away from their home, particularly their identities. Despite returning

In the camp, the family is not given the freedom to choose between many options, instead being forced to present themselves in a way the both the government and society would accept; as a result, these coerced habits are hard to unlearn. Situated in the desert in Utah, the conditions of the camp lower morale due to the glaring rays of the sun, extreme high and low temperatures, and the mercy of natural phenomena. As one of these natural phenomena, dust storms establish their toxic, unwanted dominance in the camp: “The wind rattled the windows and doors and the dust seeped like smoke through the cracks in the roof and at night he slept with a wet handkerchief over his mouth to keep out the smell” (Otsuka 77). The way the dust is described as “seeping in” can be paralleled to the anti-sentiment of Japanese-Americans gradually creeping into the United States during the time period of the Second World War, especially after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The way the family's identity is taken away with ease can also be related to how easily dust can get into their

Although the family hopes to move on from years of their life stolen away from them, it cannot be obliterated from memory, nor can their losses be repaid. Being at the lowest point of life reveals the true nature of an individual but also forces him or her to hide it from the exterior world, changing their disposition as a result. When the Emperor was Divine is an emblem that represents this concept: the most inferior position of someone’s life is something to be never forgotten, as it remodels who the individual is, what he or she has gone through, and will influence the rest of his or her lifespan. Throughout the family’s years at the internment camp, they try to stay themselves, but they gradually realize how much these experiences have changed over time. Through the perspective of the family, dust is depicted as a preeminent symbol of struggle and the feeling of suffocation: it represents the efforts of real life people. The repeated role of dust in the novel provides readers with hindsight of the long-lasting effects of a traumatic event and the change it may bring