Farewell to manzanar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Farewell to manzanar - Essay Example The familys loyalty was to America. However, Jeannes father was arrested two weeks after Pearl Harbor. When the family moves to Terminal Island with Jeannes brother, Woody, the family realizes how different they are. All of Woodys neighbors only speak Japanese, not English. This makes the Wakatsukis uncomfortable. When President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, the Watatsukis fate was sealed. They were forced to the Manzanar camp in California. This internment camp served to keep Japanese-Americans interred for the term of World War II. The Japanese-American Citizens League helped organize the Japanese-Americans be sent to the internment camps. Later these types of organizations would be considered inu, or traitors, for helping the military send their people to the camps without protest. Manzanar is very dusty. Dust covers everything. Privacy is not as abundant as the dust. In fact, there was not any privacy for the internees at Manzanar. Jeannes mother used cardboard boxes to protect herself when using the latrine. The latrine and barracks were also very dirty and unsanitary. The camp kitchen was extremely unsanitary. Contaminated food frequently made the internees sick. This made the camp internees candidates for immunizations. The old and young alike had to get shots. It was not like even modern day prisons, but much worse. Manzanar fostered family division. Every adult in the camp had to hold down a job. Jeannes mother was a dietitian in the camp kitchen. Meals were what the author missed the most. Families could not sit down and share meals. Adults ate at one time, while children ate at another in separate parts of the camp. The camp was very crowded, forcing the Wakatsukis to share a room at first. Despite the close quarters at night, the family was driven apart during the day. Before Pearl Harbor, Jeannes father was a proud man. He earned