Ms. Signorile/Mrs. Ballan

Freshman English

Farewell to Manzanar

You will have a test on Farewell to Manzanar. Please complete this study guide which will help you prepare for the test. Also, go over your notes and study guide questions. Test: Monday, May 7, 2007.

Plot Summary

(Farewell to Manzanar is a non-fiction book) (It is a true story)

Jeanne Wakatsuki was a seven-year-old girl when her Japanese-American family was abruptly uprooted from its home and forced to relocate to an internment camp in the desolate Owens Valley of California. One of thousands to be transported to the camp called Manzanar, Jeanne’s story gives an intimate view of her life in the camp, as well as insight into the courage and determination of Japanese-Americans internees during World War II.

As Jeanne’s story begins, she and her family are living in OceanPark near Santa Monica, California. Jeanne’s father, an immigrant, is a proud, defiant and somewhat flamboyant man, who has established a fishing business in Long Beach. With the help of his oldest sons, Papa’s fishing business is thriving, and his large family seems happy and secure. But life for the Wakatsukis changes suddenly one December day in 1941, for it is on that day that the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Reaction to the bombing is swift and severe. All Japanese-Americans, even citizens born in the United States, are looked upon with suspicion. Papa is arrested under the false charge of delivering oil to Japanese submarines. The rest of the Wakatsukis find themselves living in confusion and fear, moving from place to place until they are eventually ordered to relocate to a place called Manzanar.

Desolate, windblown and subject to sudden dust storms, the camp at Manzanar affords the Wakatsuki family little comfort. Living conditions are primitive and many of the buildings are not yet complete. Although the Wakatsukis use their resourcefulness to improve the surroundings, their family life suffers. Papa’s eventual return to the family seems to make matters even worse. Brooding and bitter, drinking heavily, he is haunted by the accusations of disloyalty heaped upon him by both the U.S. government and by Japanese-Americans who feel he has betrayed them.

Papa is not alone in his bitterness, however. His feelings seem to echo the sentiments of the camp itself. Angry, frustrated, torn between the country of their ancestry and a country that has rejected them, the internees of Manzanar are at war with each other. In December, 1942, a riot breaks out in which two people die. Shortly thereafter, a loyalty oath imposed by the U.S. government sparks a divisive debate within the camp. But although the loyalty oath causes unrest, it also serves to speed up the process of relocation for the internees, affording them the opportunity to work outside the camp, to return to Japan or to join the U.S. Army. As people begin to leave the camp, life at Manzanar settles into a kind of normalcy for the Wakatsukis. They move to a larger, more comfortable barracks, Papa begins to drink less and Jeanne finds time for new interests, exploring her own identity as well as her feelings for her parents.

Then in December, 1944, the Supreme Court rules that loyal citizens cannot be held in detention camps against their will. Manzanar will close soon, and some members of the Wakatsuki family have already left the camp. Still, without a home or a job to return to, Papa is in no hurry to relocate. The decision to remain in the camp is taken out of Papa’s hands, however, when on August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. World War II ends and the Wakatsukis return to Long Beach once more.

As Jeanne resumes her life outside the camp, she seems unable to find her true identity. She longs to become invisible, to hide her Japanese ancestry, while still yearning to be accepted by the Caucasians around her. Eventually as Jeanne grows and passes from a teenager to an adult, she recognizes the sense of shame forced upon her by her internment at Manzanar. She tries to bury the memories of the camp, but slowly comes to the realization that she must face what happened there. Eventually, Jeanne decides to visit Manzanar. While there, she views her experiences through an adult’s point of view, and she is able at last to find some meaning in the time she spent in Manzanar.

SETTINGS:

1)Ocean Park, California:

  • Jeanne lived here with her family before the government relocated them.
  • They were the only Japanese family in the area
  • Papa worked as a fisherman
  • Jeanne is scared of oriental people

2)TerminalIsland

  • Jeanne lived here with her family for two months.
  • Papa did not live with them
  • Family worked in canneries
  • TerminalIsland was similar to a ghetto
  • Jeanne’s family lived in a shack

Questions:

a)What is Papa accused of doing?

b)Where is Papa imprisoned? How long is he in prison?

3)Boyle Heights, California

  • Jeanne’s family moved to BoyleHeights which was a ghetto in Los Angeles.
  • Jeanne had her first experience with racism when a teacher would not help her and was cold towards her

4)Manzanar ( a detention camp in Owens Valley, California)

  • Executive Order 9066 signed by President Roosevelt was an order giving the right to intern anyone who might be a problem to the war.
  • Jeanne and her family were sent to Manzanar
  • They were held at the camp for 3 ½ years from 1942 to 1945)
  • Jeanne becomes interested in the Catholic religion
  • Orphans in the camp are cared for by the Maryknoll nuns.
  • Jeanne learned to baton twirl while at the camp
  • There were non-Japanese people interned at the camp along with the Japanese people.
  • People at the camp were allowed out at night

Questions:

a)List some problems the family encounters while held at the camp.

b)Explain and give examples of how the camp is similar to a small American

town.

c)Who is Radine?

5)Long Beach, California

  • After leaving Manzanar in 1945, Jeanne and her family move to Long Beach, California
  • Jeanne and her family were one of the last families to leave the camp
  • Jeanne struggles to fit in after leaving the camp

Main Characters:

Papa:

  • born in Japan
  • over 6 feet tall
  • In his 50’s
  • depressed
  • cocky, egotistical
  • likes to brag
  • went to law school
  • alcoholic
  • fisherman
  • oldest son of a Samurai family
  • has 10 children
  • patriarch of the family
  • arrogant
  • lumberjack
  • educated man
  • semi-pro pitcher
  • made dentures
  • abusive
  • prepared for a career in the Navy
  • valet
  • cook
  • “jack of all trades”

Mama:

  • strong woman
  • worked as a dietitian at the camp
  • born in Hawaii
  • keeps the family together
  • plump
  • short, under 5 feet
  • emotional
  • pretty
  • her father was a stonecutter

Woody

  • married to Chizu with a child
  • assistant to tag team wrestler, Mr. Moto

Terms to Know

Issei–Japanese born people who immigrated to the United States

Nissei – The children of the Issei. They were American citizens who were born before the Second World War.

“Inu” – (means dog) Intended for those who were thought to have personally benefited from informing on other Japanese people. They called them “collaborators” or “traitors”.

“The Nereid” – Papa’s fishing boat

“Loyalty oath” – The 2 questions the Japanese Americans had to answer about whether or not they would serve in the U.S. Armed forces and if they would faithfully defend the U.S. from all attacks.

This oath was upsetting to the Japanese Americans because they did not want to defend a country that had imprisoned them, but they did not want to say no.

______

Number the events in the order that they happened in the novel. (1 being the first thing that happened and 7 being the last)

______Papa is arrested by the U.S. government

______Jeanne and her family live in Ocean Park, Calif. where they run a fishing business

______Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

______Mama and her family move to TerminalIsland

______Jeanne and her family leave Manzanar forever

______Jeanne becomes carnival queen

______Jeanne gets married and has three children and returns to visit Manzanar 30 years later.

Questions:

Describe what life is like in Manzanar. What activities, clubs, sports, etc. go on that make it similar to a small American town?

How does Manzanar reflect the Asian culture?

Who keeps Jeanne’s family together? Explain.

How does Papa feel about Jeanne joining the Catholic Church?

Describe what Papa is like after he leaves prison?