No-No Boy

The novel, No-No Boy by John Okada is about the Inability to function as either Japanese or American. The novel focuses on Ichiro, who is a twenty-five-year-old Japanese man released from prison camp and jail for refusing to join the U.S. Army. The novel is set in Post World War II and is narrated in a third-person point of view. The narrator shares the story of Ichiro, who is a first generation Japanese American. Ichiro struggles to find his place in society and after Pearl Harbor is bombed Ichiro refuses to join the military. Ichiro is a no no boy. He answers no to two important allegiance questions. Ichiro refuses to serve in the American Army and in result put in jail for two years after internment camp. No no boys were seen as disloyal to the United States, for which they were imprisoned. The novel starts with Ichiro moving back to his hometown Seattle, where he grew up. After Ichiro moves back his struggles only seem to get worse. He comes home to his mother who seems to not be in the right state of mind. To his father who is an alcoholic. To his brother who thinks he is a coward for not joining …show more content…
The author was able to get his points across in just first thirty-five pages and he was able to evoke emotion and gave a greater insight into what actually happened and the impact it had on Japanese Americans. The storyline was really interesting and so I was hooked throughout the book. The novel contained dialogue which I enjoyed because that brought out the personalities of the characters which helped understand them. No-No Boy was a well-written book. It was repetitive at times but the story provoked in me different thoughts and emotions and I would definitely recommend this book to others because this was the first major text written from the Japanese American perspective and would give a deeper insight into many do not know much about the Japanese American