When the Emperor Was Divine Free Essays

The Emperor Was Devine is a novel by Julie Otsuka. The novel tells the agony that a Japanese family went through during World War II at the internment camps. Through the story, Otsuka aims to show the disbelief, despair, humiliation, and resignation of the people settled and living in the United States and the current events despised and marginalized them. We will write a custom essay sample on When the Emperor Was Divine or any similar topic only for you Order Now By illustrating the loss of identity of the Japanese family, the author demonstrates what may people had to go through in the internment camps. The novel brings the history of America the power oppressed the people who settled in the country. By analyzing the loss of identity of the characters in the book, the paper will derive the Japanese Americans sufferings at the time and at the same time drawing the history of America where the power used to oppress these people. The writing style adopted by the author aims to demonstrate the nature of life of the Japanese Americans in America during the World War II. Otsuka chooses not to name the main characters but instead refers them to the father, the mother, the son, and the daughter. However, the author gives many minor characters names. In writing, naming of characters provides the author and the reader with an easier task. The readers will follow the story and the roles of the characters of a novel when the author has named them. However, the author chooses to refer to the main characters with their titles. The reason for choosing this writing style is that it enables the author to portray a special meaning to the nameless characters. Choosing not to give names to the main characters in the novel shows the loss of identity of the nameless. The novel portrays that the characters have names, but the author does not refer to them by their names. The characters also have difficulties in using their names in the American society where they live. When the mother and the children leave the internment camp, they discover that many things have changed and are not willing to use their names because they think that their names might cause trouble for them. The children say that â€Å"We will change our name†¦we would never been mistaken for the enemy again. † (Otsuka 114). The statement by the children shows that they are not the only family undergoing the problems. The statement shows that anyone identifying with the Japanese community has the problems using their identity. The children want to change their names to be similar to the Native Americans. The statement also shows that the Americans viewed the Japanese as the enemy. The children were even ready to keep silent if their mother was to call them on their real names, as the people will know their identity. Here, the author illustrates the loss of identity of the Japanese Americans. The Japanese in America have to behave in the same way as the Native Americans, which is not by choice but circumstances force them. Through this, the author demonstrates the hardships that the Japanese Americans went through in the hands of the Native Americans. Here, the author shows the despair of the Japanese. The nameless Japanese in the internment camps lived a cruel life. The Japanese had to live under supervision all the time. The Native Americans deprived of them their freedom. Leiding talks of the theme of freedom on his review, â€Å"†¦themes of freedom and banishment†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Leiding 1). Everything the Japanese had to do was to be under the supervision of guards. For example, the fences kill one man in the camps. The guard said that he had armed the man but he did not hear of anything. Here, the author aims to show that the Japanese lost their freedom together with the loss of their identity. The guard kills the man because he thinks that he is intractable. By killing him, he deprives him his dignity and thus his identity. Here, the author demonstrates the humiliation the Japanese went through. The Japanese did not have the right to own property. For example, when the family came back from the internment camp, they found that they could not live in that house again because new people had occupied their house. Although a lawyer was to rent their house off when they were away, they could not find any records. After that, the mother struggled to raise her children as their father was in jail. Here, the author demonstrates the discrimination by the authorities, as the authorities could not protect the property of the family just because they were Americans (Seaman 1). At last, the family admits that the authorities have deprived them many rights, and for that reason, they cannot protect their property. Here, the author demonstrates their resignation. Conclusion The novel by Otsuka aims to portray the humiliation, despair, and resignation of the Japanese Americans during the World War II. The authorities discriminated the Japanese Americans in the society and denied them basic freedoms and rights such as freedom of movement and the right to own property. The authorities killed or arrested the Japanese Americans who were defiant. For that reason, the Japanese Americans lost their identity leading to despair and resignation. How to cite When the Emperor Was Divine, Essay examples When The Emperor Was Divine Free Essays In her novel, When The Emperor Was Divine, Julie Otsuka characterizes each family member as individually lost, in order to demonstrate how this loss of identity can redefine one’s reality often for the worse. The novel portrays the story of a Japanese-American family separated and incarcerated after the outbreak of World War II. The novel begins in 1942 and reveals the family living in Berkeley, and discloses the family’s ordeals of leaving their homes, not knowing what will happen to them, and living knowing their world will always be different. We will write a custom essay sample on When The Emperor Was Divine or any similar topic only for you Order Now Otsuka utilizes the loss of identity and fear in order to demonstrate how they can lead to the family’s instability after a prolonged isolation. Throughout the novel, Otsuka chooses to leave the main characters nameless while naming many unimportant characters. As they are taken away from their home and placed on a train to internment camps, the family is all given the same exact ID number causing each of the family member to lose and hide elements of their identity. In other words, the children explain  ¨[they] would change [their] names to sound more like theirs[classmates]. And if the mother called out to [the children] on the street by [their] real names [they] would turn away and pretend not to know [the mother]. [They] would never be mistaken for the enemy again!† (Otsuka 114). By using this information, this shows how the use of their names can promote trouble and for this reason causes them to lose a major part of their identity. In addition, there are also many examples of Japanese Americans not having a right to their name, â€Å"[They] were just numbers to them, mere slaves to the Emperor. [They] didn’t even have names. [He] was 326. (Otsuka,119) ¨ This quote exemplifies Japanese Americans not having any right to their name and losing one’s identity and self purpose. Being deprived of one’s name is a major key in the loss of each characters identity. In relation of the authors choice of not naming the characters, Otsuka demonstrates how America viewed the Japanese people and in other words, with the right to use their names being deprived, they also lose their identifications. Throughout the novel, Otsuka connects events to demonstrate each point of view each situation could have on the different characters.Throughout the book, loss of identity is a theme that is recurring even on a further level. Because of the ordeals in the internment camp, this causes the mother to lose herself. Soon, after the father had been taken from their home, the mother gets rid of anything revealing they were Japanese. In order to eliminate any ties to her Japanase self she had, â€Å"[L]it a bonfire in the yard and burned all of the letters from Kagoshima†¦the family photographs†¦She ripped up the flag of the rising red sun† (Otsuka 75). After having burned all ties to her Japanese heritage, the mother has her children hide their Japanese identity in order to protect themselves by saying, â€Å"No more rice balls†¦.. And if anyone asks, you’re Chinese† (Otsuka 75). For their own protection the mother tells her children to not go by their Japanese identities thus, losing herself because her Japanese heritage is what she previously had lived by. This essential reason for hiding their identity is what had deprived the Japanese Americans during this time; Japanese Americans had to hide who they were to fit into the society the world was created around them. The novel concludes with the father who likewise has lost his original identity with the prolonged isolation. During the time the father is separated from his family, his identity becomes majorly uncertain and loses his self purpose. Before the father was taken from his home, his children describe him as a caring and fun-loving father who would always be there for them. The children’s view of their father through their memory is shown as â€Å"Our father†¦ was handsome and strong. He moved quickly, surely, with his head held high in the air. He liked to draw for us. He liked to sing for us. He liked to laugh†(Otsuka, 132). Although description of the father is rare throughout the novel, we can manifest that the children’s view of their father is positive and optimistic. However. After the father’s detainment and is reconnected with his family, he is no longer kind and easy-going as he was before. When, the father returns from the railway station he is unrecognisable to his children, â€Å"Because the man who stood there before us was not our father. He was somebody else, a stranger who had been sent back in our father’s place† (Ostuka, 132). However, the father’s change in appearance is not only one representation of the father’s ordeal in the camp and his loss of identity. As the father had returned to his family there were major changes in is personality, he loses his identity to be a social man, the father isolates homself and chooses to become silent, By the end of the nove, we can conclude the fathers’ loss of identity was represented by his change of his role in the family and indicated through the massive changes that was caused by the war. How to cite When The Emperor Was Divine, Papers