...Executive Order 9066", Okita describes her life before the order, and how it was no different from other American girls. She lived an ordinary life with other ordinary people. She characterizes herself using plain words for all to understand, "I am a...
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...are similarities and differences. Both passages have a common them which would be American identity. Each other describes their opinions on what it means to be American. In the passage "Response to Executive Order 9066" it is about a girl that has to move back to Japan because some of her descents are Japanese. The author explains how the government judges people based on their heritage. Okita the main character in the passage is having to move back to Japan because of her descents. So the government is judging Okita based on her heritage. However, Okita says she is American. For example, she says she has "always felt funny using chopsticks" also her "favorite food is hot dogs" which is an American food. Though "Response to Executive Order 9066" has several reasons on what they imagine being American meant as well as the other passage called "Mericans"....
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...When immigrants arrive in the United States, we often question if they are American. Plus, when can they begin to call themselves American. "In Response to Executive Order 9066" by Dwight Okita, and "Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros both explore this question; each texts states what they believe as the American identity. They have similar themes, yet they still have some differentiating ideas and opinions. Both texts show that being an American isn't about where you originally came from, but rather identifying with the culture. "In Response to Executive Order 9066" is narrated by a Japanese-American girl who is responding to the President requiring all Japanese citizens be sent to internment camps. In it she speaks of how while she is Japanese,...
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...America with a different heritage."Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros was from the point of view of a little girl growing up in America as someone with a Mexican heritage. "In Response to Executive Order 9066" by Dwight Okita was also from the point of a little girl, but this one has a Japanese heritage. Both are different experiences, but describe similar situations of growing up in America. Despite being from different cultures, the texts are both very similar. First, both narrator's are growing up with a mixed culture. In Mericans, the little girl talks about how her and her brothers are waiting outside for their "awful grandmother" who is inside praying for her family with an old...
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...Writers such as Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros were greatly influenced by the American culture. "Response to Executive Order 9066" by Dwight Okita, and "Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros both authors establish the topic of American identity. In Okita's poem, American identity has more to do with how you experience culture than with where your family came from. Both Okita's poem and Cisneros's short story show that cultural heritage and physical appearances do not determine what it means to be American. In response to "Mericans", the first sign of American identity that is noticed by this short story is the classification of relatives in the style of traditional American names such as "Auntie" and "Uncle". The next thing that is noticeable relates to the young American identity, regarding childhood. As part of the American culture a couple of ideas that could be experienced in childhood that the narrator tries to avoid being a victim of. For example, the grandmother prays for family members. The narrator imagines that the grandmother is worried because many of her children and grandchildren live in "that barbaric country with its barbaric ways". This refers to the grandmother's dislike of the United States, which contrast with the narrator's view. Despite her Mexican heritage, the narrator feels a stronger connection to the United States than to Mexico. By stating that "We have promised to stay right where the awful grandmother left us until she returns". ...
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