Analysis Of When The Emperor Was Divine By Julie Otsuka

In When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka, the father is taken away and the mother and children are sent to an internment camp during World War II due to suspicion of Japanese spies in America. They begin to lose their Japanese identity before the family leaves for the internment camp, when the woman burns most of their possessions that represent their Japanese heritage, even family photos. The family is forced to follow harsh rules in the camp and after they return home in order to conform to American norms and avoided standing out. Throughout the novel, their names are never mentioned and at the internment camp but they are identified by a family number for three years and five months. The young girl holds on to her American views, while …show more content…
They also have many items that represent their American influence. They have a book about birds, portraits of Princess Elizabeth and the Gleaners, and Joe Palooka comics. The boy has a baseball glove that was the first of his things that he packed. The girl listens to Dorothy Lamour. Before the family left for the internment camp, their lives show a pleasant situation of coexistence. They stay in contact with their Japanese heritage and also have interest in Western styles and pop culture. This blend of cultures is wiped away when the man is assumed to be a spy and is taken away and the family leaves for an internment camp. Before leaving home in Berkeley, California, the woman lights a bonfire in the yard and burns the Japanese items in the house including letters from Kagoshima, three silk kimonos, records of Japanese opera. She ripped the flag of the rising sun and smashed the tea set, Imari dishes, and the abacus. At the camp, they are quickly stripped of their Japanese side. It is not only the adoption of more American ways, it is the total swap of lifestyles, a complete loss of Japanese culture and a forced whole gain of American culture. They are not allowed to speak in Japanese. There are no chopsticks at the mess hall. There are no books in Japanese. They can not worship the emperor. When asked if they were Chinese or Japanese, the mother tells the boy and girl to respond that they are Chinese. Even when they returned home after more than three years, they strived to nothing to make them stand out. They were instructed to stay in small numbers, speak only English, and blend in best they could. Nor were they no longer able to embrace their Japanese culture, they could not even identify as