When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, many lives were lost. There were 2,335 deaths and many more were injured. In the novel, Under the Blood-Red Sun, Graham Salisbury tells about a Japanese boy who lived through Pearl Harbor which was one of the worst days in American history. The author taught the reader about bravery, different customs of the Japanese people, and not to judge people based on their race.
Tomi shows bravery through tasks that happened to him throughout the novel.. Tomi is a boy whose father was taken by the Americans because he was Japanese. "Nothing between me and Sand Island, I could swim out there..." (Salisbury 174). Tomi showed bravery by swimming across the harbor when it was raining out and risked getting seen by the American soldiers to go see if his father was ok. Tomi stood up to a bully who has been tormenting him for years. He told the bully "… you tell anyone about this sword … I'm going to make you pay for it and … not in money" (Salisbury 225). Tomi was on his way to a baseball game when some guys starting bulling him and his friends.
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The Japanese family believed in a sword that was everything to them. "A samurai sword that he had. It's ... sacred to us" (Salisbury 218). The sword is everything to Tomi's family. It would be a disgrace to their family if it was destroyed or stolen. Japanese still celebrate Christmas, but not like Americans. "Anyway, we never made a big deal out of it like the haoles did. Christmas to Americans is a major holiday and to the Japanese it is not that important to them. The Japanese also eat some food that is different to Americans. Tomi's mom "...brought us each a steaming bowl of rice, and in another, smaller bowl, a raw egg. Then she poured some shoyo into the bowl..." (Salisbury 44). The Japanese eat bowls of steaming rice with raw eggs and soy sauce on top and Americans don’t. Japanese and American people are very different in their