Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment

The move into Block 28 helps to end some of Jeanne’s lingering trauma. An important factor in Jeanne’s improvement is the establishment of a permanent structure for her schooling. Her fourth-grade teacher, whom she will later consider the best she ever had, helps prepare her for the outside world. Jeanne also involves herself in extracurriculars, taking part in the Glee Club and participating in organized hikes outside the Manzanar perimeter. Initially, Jeanne does not care to venture too far away from the camp, but she becomes more comfortable over the course of the year.

One of Jeanne’s favorite activities is baton-twirling, likely because it is “thoroughly, unmistakably American” (109). She prefers this to the traditional Japanese dance classes offered in the camp. Her interest in Catholicism returns after she sees an orphaned girl in the camp receive her confirmation ceremony. Jeanne is in “awe” that “this girl, this orphan, could become such a queen” (114). Papa once again forbids her to convert, and she becomes angry.

Jeanne realizes as an adult that Papa was right to prevent her from becoming Catholic. The dictatorial way in which he made the decision reflected his increasingly erratic behavior—ultimately the result of loss of control. As Jeanne increased her social circle, she became increasingly cut off from him.

By 1944, most people in Manzanar have left; the young and the elderly are the primary demographics still living in the camp. Many of Jeanne’s family members leave, including her brother Woody, who is drafted that year. Initially, Papa challenges him not to go, but when his unit is called, Woody is proud to fight as a patriot for the US. The departure exemplifies the uncertainty that many families feel as people leave, either for war or general relocation.

During WWII, the Supreme Court upholds the US Army’s power to evacuate people of Japanese descent to concentration camps. However, in a 1944 case (Ex Parte Endo), the Supreme Court sides with Japanese Americans, ultimately determining that “the government cannot detain loyal citizens against their will” (126). This decision means that the camps will close, allowing people to return to their homes.

Many in Manzanar do not receive this news with happiness because they do not have homes to return to. Furthermore, there is an abundance of anti-Japanese propaganda in the US public sphere, and several anti-Japanese social groups sprang up during wartime. Gossip spreads about those who returned to their homes only to be met with violence, property damage, and racist sentiments. Jeanne worries about feeling humiliated in the outside world. This is one of the reasons why many of her older siblings decide to go to New Jersey to look for employment; there is not a long history of Asian American immigration to the US East Coast. Papa, however, is determined to remain on the West Coast. Jeanne compares Papa to newly emancipated people at the end of the Civil War who “ended up back on the plantation, rooted there out of habit or lethargy or fear” (132).