Ruth Awasa Research Paper

Ruth Awasa, a Japanese American internment camp survivor, once stated, “Sometimes good comes through adversity” (Awasa). After viewing and researching several articles and pictures on densho.org, I gathered some pieces of knowledge about the Japanese Americans that resided in the Minidoka Internment Camp in southern Idaho. The internment camp residents I believe faced treatment there that was not justified for their situations. Additionally, the Japanese Americans there, especially the younger people, I argue, had a positive attitude throughout, like Ruth Awasa. Minidoka was in a very desolate and barren place in the state, so it was easy to become depressed over the surroundings that the Japanese Americans faced. Ultimately, I realized that …show more content…
I argue that the Japanese Americans were faced with a double standard of trying to act like an American citizen, while also feeling like they should be far away from the United States, as Americans did not favor them. It was very hard on the young people that had residence on the internment camps, but I admire the strength they had in attempting to have lifted spirits and not let anything get them down. Ultimately, I argue that even though the Japanese Americans were associated with Japan, they did not deserve the treatment they faced at interment camps, such as Minidoka in the western state of Idaho. Yes, maybe they should have been monitored on their activities to make sure that they would not attack any other place in the United States, but I do not believe that they should have had to endure all that negative treatment that they faced at the internment camps in that era. Like Ruth Awasa’s quote mentioned, individuals can ultimately make a negative situation positive, and I strongly believe that is how the Japanese Americans acted when dealing with the double standard and the rough conditions in the internment