Desiree Williams

Professor Kempler

English 225: Children’s Literature

11/27/11

Farewell to Manzanar When choosing a well written children’s book, we always find ourselves wanting to pick a good book. Usually when selecting a “good book,” we sometimes skip over or forget what type of standard we must go by. So what are some of the standards a good book must have? In Children’s Literature, Briefly by Tunnel, Jacobs, Young and Bryan they briefly begin to list some of the reasons we pick “good books (Children’s Literature Briefly 9). The lessons they teach, the characters which the authors use, themes and tension to leave readers wondering what will come next are just a few qualities we use to make a judgement of what we think is a “good book” or not. Although there is a huge variety of children’s literature to choose from such as picture books or pop up books, they can’t always provide the story line with themes or learned lessons, but children’s chapter books can. Farwell to Manzanar by James D. Houston and Jeanne Wakatsuki is truly a good book because it includes themes the reader can relate to, tension that leaves readers on edge at times, and a point of view that is relatable. First, in the story Farwell to Manzanar Houston and Wakatsuki provide themes that teach the reader about friendships through barriers, not being shamed of our roots and where we come from and always standing up for what is right. Racism after Pearl Harbor was bombed was at its peak, and many Japanese-Americans were mistreated. On page 157 Jeanne explains that after the Wakatsuki family was released from Manzanar, she was entered into a sixth grade elementary class in west Long Beach. There Jeanne felt like a true foreigner and was always stared at, but her new found friend Radine always felt the need to protect her by shouting out, “What are you looking at?” (Wakatsuki 161). With a strong friendship growing between Jeanne and a blonde haired and blue eyed girl named Radine, a theme of friendship through barriers appears. Along with a theme of strong friendship, a theme of “Standing up for what is right,” appears on page 175. Jeanne becomes friends with a young man by the name of Leonard Rodriguez who takes a stand against racism when confronting the whole school office about their plot to make sure Jeanne does not win the title of carnival queen. Lastly, the strongest theme emerges as Jeanne comes face to face with herself at the ruins of Manzanar years after her release stating in her mind , “Now, having seen it, I no longer wanted to lose it or to have those years erased” (195). She comes to grip with reality and learns to no longer be ashamed of her past because it made her who she is today. The themes throughout the book show readers just how hard it really was to live as a Japanese-American after Pearl Harbor and that when dealing with hardships, there still are people who will stand up for what is right. Furthermore, Along with the incredible themes Wakatsuki introduces in her book, she also provides great tension. A story without tension is not good because then it is weak. The tension brought on by Pearl Harbor leaves the audience wondering if the family would even survive the war together. Jeanne explains to the reader how her father becomes enraged one night and threatens to kill her mother yelling, “I’m going to kill you this time!” (Wakatsuki 68) Years after that incident occurred tension rise for Jeanne as her hatred for her father becomes too much for her to bare at time stating, “I couldn’t understand why he was home all day, when Mama had to go out working. I was ashamed of him for that and, in a deeper way, for being what had led to our imprisonment, that is, for being unalterably Japanese” (166). The tension after Pearl Harbor from 1941-1945 made it hard for Jeanne’s family to come together as a unit. In conclusion, Jeanne’s point of view on being ashamed of whom she was and her take on racism is relatable, personally to many- it certainly was relatable to me. Being targeted, spat on and mistreated can lead to being depressed and suicide. Because of what Jeanne personally had to endure as a child, she became increasingly ashamed of her heritage and ethnicity as she became a teenager. Not being invited to friends’ homes or allowed to become a Girl Scout were just a few things Jeanne suffered as a result of racism. Jeanne explains to the reader how she truly realizes something is wrong with her when a young girl states, “Gee, I didn’t know you could speak English” (Wakatsuki 157). Confused and baffled Jeanne wonders, “…I couldn’t believe anyone could think such a thing, say such a thing about me, or regard me in that way” (158). Sitting down in her seat she suddenly began to understand how she would be treated from now on and she wanted to become invisible because of that treatment. To become accepted in her eyes, was to become more like her friend Radine. Jeanne utters, “That bow was from the world I wanted out of, while the strutting, sequined partnership I had with Radine was exactly how I wanted my life to go” (169). Japanese tradition was shameful to her, why couldn’t her father see that, why couldn’t he just leave her alone already? When you go through hardships because of where you come from and your ethnicity sometimes you may feel like you want to be like someone else. Like most people say you will learn to appreciate your past for your future and I’m glad Wakatsuki shows the readers at the end of the story that it’s okay to be different. Farwell to Manzanar is an incredibly well written book that made it easy to relate to, that includes themes that taught us through barriers are great friendships, family tension through hardships and a relatable point of view of sometimes being ashamed of your roots. Farewell to Manzanar is a good book everyone of all ages should read because it opens up your mind to new things and can really help someone dealing with racial issue to help them understand their never alone. The best part about the whole book is the fact that Wakatsuki accepted her past and let herself know that it’s okay and to embrace it because it made her strong and made her who she is today; without that experience the book probably never would have been written. Although considered a children’s book I believe the book can be read by all ages because it teaches lessons in which all age groups can learn from.

Works Cited
Houston Jeanne W., Houston James D. Farwell to Manzanar. New York: Laurel-Leaf. 2006.
Young Terrell A., Michael O. Tunnell, James S. Jacobs, Gregory Bryan. Children’s Literature, Briefly. Fifth Edition Pearson, 2008, Print.