Thin Wood Walls

“Issei, immigrants from Japan—like my parents, like my grandmother—were forbidden by law to own land.”

Joe’s parents and grandmother are Americans without American citizenship, which become important when the US enters World War II. This quote also highlights that xenophobia and racism existed in the United States before the attack on Pearl Harbor. This xenophobia will only get worse with the war escalating into scapegoating and imprisonment.

“But I was drawn to the whispers as a moth is drawn to a candle flame, seeking the light, suffering the heat. The more I learned, the hotter the world seemed, the darker.”

Patneaude uses a simile, where one thing is compared to another using “like” or “as.” He emphasizes Joe’s curiosity and knowledge that being left out of a serious conversation implies trouble. The image of heat coming off the candle captures the trouble coming Joe’s way. He’s curious, but he also wants to avoid danger.

“Mom said nothing. Had she argued inside the house? I wanted to think so, even though the chief said arguing was a waste of breath. Dad was worth an argument, no matter what.”

Patneaude develops his message that people must speak up for one another. These lines relate to Joe’s father’s arrest, but it is also a more universal message. When Japanese Americans are incarcerated in detention camps, not enough people spoke up in their defense. On an individual and societal basis, people are worth standing up for, even when authorities imply that standing up for people is useless.