Morado Group: Nikki Scamporino, Lauren Miller, Victoria Cafiero
Created by: Nikki Scamporino
Posted by: Lauren Miller
Title: Farewell to Manzanar
Author: James D. Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
Year: 1972
Recommended for: grades7
Genre: Memoir, Biography, Non-fiction,Children's literature, Autobiography
Teacher Resources:
Social Studies Source:
Art Source:
2 Source 2
Important Characters
Jeanne Wakatsuki: She is the main
character of the novel and the book is written from her prospective. Jeanne is
the youngest of the Wakatsuki family who is Japenese. She writes about the
experiences she is going through growing up in America going through the war
and dealing with the prejudices and consequences of these prejudices.
Papa: Papa is Jeanne’s father who
is a Japanese immigrant who is accused of being a spy for the Japanese and sent
to a detention center to be interrogated. This event breaks his spirit and he
becomes emotionally unstable drinking alcohol to deal with his feelings.
Mama: This is Jeanne’s mother who
holds the family together and takes great pride in her family and their
heritage.
Radine: Radine is Jeanne’s best
friend who is white and shows a huge gap between how the girls are treated
solely on their cultural background.
Woody: Woody is on of the Wakatsuki
children who takes the role of “father” when Papa isn’t their. Woody shows how
strongly he feels about being an American when he joins the US army. Woody and
his father often have disagreements showing the huge differences their
experiences embedded on them.
Historical Context:
“Farewell
to Manazar” is a true story about what a Japanese- American family went through
during WWII. The bombing of Pearl Harbor affected Japanese Americans and many
families like the wakatsuki family were relocated and/or sent to concentration
camps. The book shows how the camps were kept and the feelings that other
Americans felt for them. The Japanese Americans were forced to sign waivers
saying that they would serve in the army; any protest was not only suspicious
but could be punished by deportation.
Element of Justice: 1. Self love
and knowledge, 2. Respect for Others
NJ Core Curriculum Standards:
Art Standard 1.2 : History of the
Arts and Culture
Activity: Creating a journal entry
using Japanese stab binding
SS Standard 6.1: US History,
America in the world
Activity: A compare/contrast
activity relating something that is more current to the students like 9/11 with
the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Letter to Papa:
Dear Mr. Wakatsuki,
I
haven’t talked to you in so long and after reading this book thought it was important
I reach out to you. The experiences you have gone through and the pain and
anger you must have felt are unimaginable. To be ripped from some place you
call “home” because of your culture is something I have never gone through and
probably never will. Despite all of this I do know what it is like to be the
daughter of an alcoholic. To turn to a substance when you cannot face reality
will not make any thing better, but so much worse. Your family counts on you to
show them that you can get through this tough time. I cannot understand choosing alcohol over
your family; your children look up and need you to be there. These experiences
you’ve been through, have you though about talking to someone outside the
family? Or even keeping a journal?
The
repercussions of you drinking will follow your children for the rest of their
lives and affect them all differently. I know you love your kids, so I am
telling you, as a friend, you need to dig deep within yourself to be brave
enough to face your feelings. Talking about things can be really hard; don’t
take these feelings out on your kids or your wife. This is your support
network; the anger you feel towards the interrogators or the US in general is
not their fault.
Is
there anything I could do to help? Talking to a friend some times can be easier
and even if it starts out hard it will get easier. I beg you coming from
someone who knows the effects to put your family before the bottle.
Write
Soon! Your Friend,
Nikki
Critique:
This
book is a personal accountant of a young girl feeling things that they
themselves have felt or gone through. Jeanne goes through things like fitting
in, something every student can relate to. Although the bombing of Pearl Harbor
is not something the students have lived through the feelings of not being
liked or being left out, is something many young adults can identify with. Not
only does it teach about what happened to Japanese Americans during the time but
also it brings in personal issues from family to friends. It takes a historical
event and makes it more then facts. This book would be a great addition to
learning about WWII because so often we learn of what the concentration camps
from WWII were like for Jews, this is showing what was happening right here in
the United States to Japanese Americans.
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