Otsuka Research Paper

Another color that Otsuka uses throughout her book is black, which is commonly used in Japanese culture to symbolize mystery, desolation, and in some cases, destruction. She often mentions the color black to describe the barracks in the internment camps, symbolizing that these camps are unwanted and therefore are isolated away from American society. The trip to the internment camps was humiliating, long, and exhausting for the Japanese. During the first night of internment, the boy looks outside of the window and observes “the endless rows of black barracks all lined up in the sand. In the distance, [there was] a wide empty field where nothing but sagebrush grew, [and] then the fence and the high wooden towers” (51). In this quote the color black makes the setting more …show more content…
The air shimmered” (103). Black, along with the colors white and yellow, is used to describe a very hot environment. This environment is very undesirable, and in this case the color black is used to symbolize the unwanted barracks. A parallel can be drawn; since the Japanese are in the barracks, they are also unwanted and forgotten. Similarly, when it rains, the weather and environment becomes very unwelcoming and foreboding. The ground is unable to hold any water and as a result, “the ground quickly turn[s] into mud. Black puddles [stand] on the gravel paths and the schools were shut down for repairs” (77). The color black is used in the puddles to make them seem more mysterious; nothing can be gleaned from them. Also, the rain causes the school to shut down, making the color black seem very destructive. Lastly, the color black can also be seen when the mother and boy gaze outside of the window to look at the snow, “[standing] there quietly in the darkness watching the snowfall across the black barracks’ roofs” (86). While the color black may seem to be used with the color white to paint a very welcoming picture, in reality it is still used as a very mysterious