Farewell to Manzanar

Section: Book Reports

Executive Order 9066 that President Franklin Rossevelt passed, was probably one of America darkest moments. Here is America, fighting a war in Europe, against a German government who has put Jews, and other minorities into similar camps. Grant it, these American camps were not death camps, but they made Japanese Americans live in harsh living conditions because America was afraid of these people. The government divided families, removed them from their homes and lives, and forced them to enter these camps, so that we could sleep better at night. These camps really illustrated the type of atmosphere there was in America during this time period. Most of the Japanese who were put into these camps, were Japanese Americans, and had never been to Japan, but knew about it from what they had heard from others about the country and had some of the traditions passed on to them from other generations. We segregated these people from our society out of fear and hate, from what had happened to Pearl Harbor. In this time period, America had a lot going on, and were fighting a war in both the east and west. There was fear of a Japanese attack on the west coast, and that only helped create an even more tense situation. So the natural reaction would be fear, but we grouped all Japanese into one category, and allowed our fear to play a major role, and not our common sense, and respect of their constitutional rights. These camps that the Japanese were put into during World War II were horrible, and really ruined most of their lives. They will be scarred for the rest of their lives with images, and recollections of their time spent in these camps. Many of these people could not return to society in America and chose to go back to Japan where they felt that they might be able to get on with their lives, and put the times that they spent in the internment camps behind them. For those who decided to stay here in America, they were forced to live with the hatred that some Americans felt towards them, and to live and work through all of these problems that faced them. This was a great book, and a very informational, historical reference to a particular Japanese girl struggles during this time. This book clearly illustrated one of the darkest time periods in American history, and a time that many people would like to forget, and wish had never happened

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