She tells of her fear, confusion, and bewilderment as well as the dignity and great resourcefulness of people in oppressive and demeaning circumstances. For her father it was essentially the end of his life.Īt age thirty-seven, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston recalls life at Manzanar through the eyes of the child she was. For Jeanne Wakatsuki, a seven-year-old child, Manzanar became a way of life in which she struggled and adapted, observed and grew. One of the first families to arrive was the Wakatsukis, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry.
Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese American internees. From then on, she starts to respect and explore her complex identity as a Japanese-Americans-a process that culminates in the writing of her memoir.During World War II a community called Manzanar was hastily created in the high mountain desert country of California, east of the Sierras. During her teenage years, Jeanne feels that the best way to fit in and feel “American” is to distance herself from her Japanese roots it’s only at the end of high school, when she has achieved grudging acceptance from her peers, that Jeanne realizes fitting in isn’t enough to satisfy her. Over the course of the memoir, Jeanne comes of age, developing from an adventurous and inquisitive child to a driven student trying to find her niche in a postwar society still permeated by prejudice against Asian Americans. Jeanne’s feelings of deep love for her family contrast with her increasing inability to depend on them as the crisis of internment distracts their attention and depletes their emotional strength. Jeanne narrates the details of life at Manzanar in a simple and brisk style, underscoring her curious and unsentimental nature, as well as her extreme youth during the experience. The memoir’s writer and protagonist, a Japanese-American girl who is interned with her family at the Manzanar camp at age seven.
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