Text Analysis # 8 – “Japanese Internment”
Who wrote it:
Doc # 1 – General John DeWitt
Doc # 2 – Kazue Yamane
Doc # 3 – Charles Kikuchi
Audience:
Doc # 1 – United States Secretary of War
Doc # 2 – Everybody who read the novel.
Doc # 3 – Anyone reading his diary/journal
Represents:
Doc # 1 – In the first Document John DeWitt represents the many frightened and distrustful Americans after the bombing of Pearl harbor who view Japanese Americans as not fellow Americans but as “potential saboteurs” who are seen as a threat to America’s overall well being. He represents the many people who desire to detain all of the Japanese Americans in order to maintain the safety and overall well being of the rest of the US citizens in the country.
Doc # 2 – In the second Document Kazue Yamane represents the many terrified, confused, and hurt Japanese American families who were split up and forced into internment camps against their will. She represents the many unsure and uneasy Japanese American families who didn’t know what was going to happen to them or their family members next; and were in disbelief that something so terrible could be done to them by their own country.
Doc # 3 – In the third Document Charles Kikuchi represents a young Japanese American student who is like many Japanese Americans very confused and angered about the current situation at hand. He represents the many Japanese Americans who are contemplating deeply about their perspective on how much democracy really means to them especially after it being stripped away from them so quickly and forced into internment camps against their will.
What is being said:
Doc # 1 – General DeWitt Is arguing that all Japanese Americans should be removed from the rest of society and thrown into internment camps so that they can be monitored for the remainder of the war. General DeWitt presents his layout of every possible attack scenario that he thinks the Japanese might try on the US. He later uses this to backup his reasoning to why Japanese Americans should be detained and put into internment camps. His claim is that Japanese Americans may be “Americanized” but are still very much connected racially to their home country Japan.
Doc # 2 – Kazue Yamane is discussing her confusion of what is currently happening and questioning why her family is being forced to leave their home to go and live in an internment camp. She explains how their family is forced to separate and how she and her family have to endure the harsh living conditions of being ill and even losing her mother in-law inside of the interment camp.
Doc # 3 – Charles Kikuchi has created a diary/journal to keep track of the current things he has had to endure and go through throughout his time spent before and after being detained and put into a Japanese internment camp. In his journal Kikuchi discusses his view of the events leading up to him being detained and put into an interment camp. He discusses being kicked out of college, which he describes as degrading and then later being put into an internment camp along with his family. During Kikuchi’s time in the interment camp he has some deep conversations with his family about how much democracy means to each one of them. Kikuchi ends up reflecting on how close him and his family have gotten despite the terrible situation that they were in.
How is it being said:
Doc # 1 – General DeWitt is trying very hard to persuade FDR that detaining Japanese Americans and putting them into an internment camp is what is in the best interest of the country but also being their best option in order to protect people from saboteurs following through on any sneak attacks.
Doc # 2 – There is a lot of pain in Kazue Yamane’s tone when she describes her experience in the Japanese internment camp. Even though a lot of time has passed the pain hasn’t gone away. The experiences that her and her family had to endure will live with her forever. As she describes being held in the interment camp she feels betrayed by her country for putting them into the internment camp and treating them so badly.
Doc # 3 – Charles Kikuchi decides to write about his experience through the form of a diary/journal which is known to be very personal to a person; so you can tell that he is speaking from his heart and how he truly feels about the current situation going on and how it has affected not only him and his family but all Japanese Americans.
What proof:
Doc # 1 – General DeWitt presents his layout of every possible attack scenario that he thinks the Japanese might try on the US. He uses this to back up his claim that Japanese Americans may be “Americanized” but are still loyal to their home country of Japan. He further tries to persuade FDR by using numbers like 112,000 potential enemies and claiming that if we don’t do something now to prevent sabotage from happening that it will endanger the lives of others.
Doc # 2 – Kazue Yamane wants people to know exactly what her and her family went through even though it’s obvious that it still is very painful to relive those horrible moments in her life. She gives examples of how they were treated and the harsh environment that they had to endure while living in the internment. She wants people to know that her and her family did nothing to deserve the treatment that was bestowed upon their family.
Doc # 3 – Charles Kikuchi was merely writing his experiences he went through down in his diary/journal. Since he documented the time spent in the Japanese Internment camp it turned out to be very helpful later on to help others learn about his experience through him by reading his diary/journal.
Historical Significance:
Doc # 1 – General DeWitt succeeded in persuading President FDR to issue an executive order to remove Japanese Americans in the US. In return this led to many Japanese internment camps to be created throughout the country.
Doc # 2 – Kazue Yamane was able to share her story with the world. Her story gave insight to other people and helped them understand exactly what her family had to go through while living in the internment camps.
Doc # 3 – Charles Kikuchi was also successful in succeeding to share his diary/journal with many other people. Kikuchi was able to let people know exactly how he felt from his perspective as a Japanese American; not only before being put into the internment camp but while in it as well.
How does it fit:
The historical significance in these documents fit into the historical context that we are reading in our textbooks because we are currently reading about Pearl Harbor and the effects that it had on America as a country. America was getting ready to enter WWII and the attack on our home land made a lot of people paranoid and scared which in turn led to higher security in our country and forcing Japanese Americans into internment camps.
What i got to wonder is did the internment camps prevented any acts of terrorism or was it all theory? if it didn't then general DeWitt was completely wrong and hurt a lot of family's for no reason. It's a shame that Yamene and Kikuchi both had to go to the internment camps but I'm sure they understand why they had to go (according to the Government). But they just wanted people to know what it did to them going to the internment camps.
ReplyDeleteGreat TA, i think it was wrong to set up these interment camps for the Japanese Americans. I dont think it helped with the terror threat of our nation. It was an act that should not of been done by FDR and the others. But overall you explained it well.
ReplyDeleteIn hindsight the Japanese-American internment looks very bad. It seems to have been driven by equal measures of paranoia about a Japanese invasion and the enemy within angle that has a fair measure of a racism. What really is amazing is that this degrading experience did not terminally dampen the enthusiasm of the Japanese Americans interred about the American experience and America in general. It is amazing that their young men volunteered for the army is such great numbers and that they performed so valiantly in Italy and elsewhere.
ReplyDelete“Japanese Americans may be “Americanized” but are still very much connected racially to their home country Japan.” It is possible that immigrants were still connected to their country but I believe American born children and adults were connected to their homeland, America. I don’t think it was fair to send Japenese to internment camps. Like Kazue Yamane, many Japanese considered America as their country. I don’t think they posed any threats to United States. On the other side, government knew what they were doing and their priority was to protect people. Government took any possible step to protect people. The only thing that I felt like our government was being unfair about not letting them meet their family and delivering all messages. It seemed like they were treated as criminals.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I think that it was very wrong for John DeWitt and government to make internment camps for Japanese in America. How you said in your TA that John DeWitt tried to persuade FDR "by using numbers like 112,000 potential enemies and claiming that if we don’t do something now to prevent sabotage from happening that it will endanger the lives of others". I do not understand how DeWitt could possibly come up with that idea. It is a huge disrespect and distrust toward Japanese/US citizens, especially to those ones who were born in U.S. Yes, I agree that even they were "Americanized" they still had feeling toward Japan, but once they made their choice of moving to U.S. why would they go against the county they came to? Why he didn't think vise versa that Japanese in America would need a protection, because if Japan attacks U.S., first ones to be heart would be Japanese, because of possible opinion of betray toward Japan. I think that it was just some sort of anger and bigotry toward Japanese nation, that should have not been started.
ReplyDeleteJohn DeWitt was very wrong to do this to the Japanese. It’s sad how all these American men, women and even children that were Japanese or even had any Japanese ancestry had their freedom stolen from them. DeWitt restricted these people’s civil rights and wanted to move them into internment camps. He was threatened by the Japanese and didn’t want them to influences anyone. DeWitt couldn’t prove that the Japanese-Americans did anything but he still tried to convince President Roosevelt and wanted the people to be removed from the states. I am shocked that the presidents agreed with these recommendations even though DeWitt had no prove. Overall I really enjoined your blog very detailed and informing.
ReplyDeleteNice job, John!
ReplyDeleteI think that you really did a good job in capturing the main themes of the article.
I believe also that the three documents give us a short glimpse of the challenges facing the nation after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
One thing that I found to be quite interesting, was in the diary of Charles Kikuchi. Charles and his relative Marie, actually seem to have a sense of "sympathy" for the American democratic, despite being forced into an internment camp. Rather than fleeing away to San Francisco and meeting his family, Charles decides to stay at UC-Berkley in order to complete his final examination - knowing the danger which awaited him as Japanese-American.
In my opinion this point goes to show that although facing serious segregation and racial discrimination, many Japenese-Americans were still willing to remain faithful to the American cause.
Quite an interesting paradox!
I loved reading you TA, great job! Japanese internment was one of the saddest part of American history. In a country where we were suppose to have freedom, the Constitution let Japanese Americans down during this time in history. Many families were displaced and for what? Because of paranoia and John DeWitt convincing the president that anyone with connections or descents of Japan be thrown away in concentration camps. In this day and age, nothing like that would ever happen.
ReplyDelete