War and Conflict
Part 1
Remembering the Wars
World War II
Partially caused by the outcome of WWI
More than 78 million casualties worldwide
(more civilians than soldiers)
Nazis came to power in 1933
Jews became targets of the Third Reich
• The Holocaust
• Bernard Malamud
 “Armistice” and The Natural
U.S. Involvement
December 7, 1941—Pearl Harbor
Japan attacked Navy Base
2,000 sailors killed
Japanese Americans forced into relocation
camps in 1942 (Farewell to Manzanar)
Citizen-soldier experience
John Steinbeck
Battle of the Bulge quote on 1073
War in the Pacific quote on 1074 and
Holocaust quote
Traditions across time
Viet Nam
Over 58,000 U.S. soldiers killed
Enormous domestic conflict at home
Farewell to Manzanar
By Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
and
James Houston
Critic’s Corner
By Elaine H. Kim
See handout from sourcebook, page 9.
Setting
Key factors:
Historical period
West coast location
Socio-political situation
Using setting to convey mood
Irony
Verbal
Situational
Chapter 2—Jeanne is afraid of own race.
Dramatic
Conflicts
Internal
Jeanne’s struggle to be true to herself.
“
“ feelings of shame at being imprisoned.
Resentment v. patriotism
External
Jeanne v. dad
Dad v. prejudice
Family trying to maintain family and self-respect.
Packing List
In 2-3 minutes, make a list of everything
that you would currently take with you from
your home if you didn’t know where you
were going, and how long you would be
gone. Everything would have to fit into 1
standard-sized suitcase.
Share your list with a partner.
Report out to the class with rationale.
Chapters 1-ll Discussion Starters
Which character from this section of the
book can you see most clearly in your
mind?
Which changes from Ocean Park are
especially damaging to the Wakatsuki
family? Explain.
Chapters 1-11, cont.
How would you describe the mood created
by descriptions of the setting during
Jeanne’s first 24 hours at Manzanar?
What reasons might the writers have for
providing details about the earlier years of
Mr. And Mrs. Wakatsuki’s lives?
1-11, cont.
In what ways do American laws, fears, and
suspicions place Mr. Wakatsuki in a double
bind?
Do you think that a forced internment, like
that experienced by the Wakatsuki family,
could happen in America today? Why or
why not?
Writing Prompt
Imagine you are one of Mr. Wakatsuki’s
friends and fellow fishermen in Ocean Park.
You have just learned that he has been
arrested and the family is being sent to
Manzanar. Write a short persuasive speech
that you could deliver at the next city
council meeting.
Discussion Starters 12-22
Which scene from this section of the book
remains most memorable for you? Describe
and respond.
How does the move to Block 28, near the
pear orchard, change life for the Wakatsuki
family?
12-22
Jeanne begins to come of age during her
years at Manzanar. In your opinion, which
of her experiences there especially influence
this? Explain.
As the time nears to leave Manzanar Jeanne
and her parents experience internal
conflicts. Which of these is the most
understandable, and why?
12-22
How would you sum up the factors that
combine to cause Jeanne’s increasing sense
of isolation after leaving Manzanar?
In your view, what does Woody gain from
his visit with Great-Aunt Toyo? Explain.
What does Jeanne lose as a result of her
experiences at Manzanar?
What does the title mean?
Writing Prompt
Jeanne samples everything from baton
twirling to religious instruction in her
search for “that special thing I could do or
be by myself.” Write a journal entry about
your own search for something special.
Compare your search to Jeanne’s.
Related Readings discussion
starters: “I Remember Pearl…”
With what new facts, thoughts or questions does
this essay leave you?
Inouye calls the Tolan hearings a travesty. How
would you explain his assessment?
“The evacuation did not disgrace those who
went,” writes Inouye, “but those who sent them.”
Do you think that Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
would agree with this statement? Why or why
not?
I Remember Pearl Harbor
Why do you think surviving internees consider the
U.S. government apology more important than the
money promised them?
Inouye compares Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki
museums with the U.S. apology to Japanese
Americans. What can be learned from this
comparison?
Would the Wakatsuki family agree with Inouye?
Writing Prompt
How might other American citizens have
prevented the damage done by the order to move
Japanese Americans to internment camps?
Imagine yourself as the editor-in-chief of a
nationally distributed newspaper in 1942. Write a
memo to your employees, giving instructions for
the topics and placement of a series of articles that
might do the trick. In creating your plan, draw on
facts from the book and from Inouye’s essay.
Wilshire Bus
What do you think of Esther after reading
this story?
What do Esther’s thoughts and memories
reveal to you about her experiences during
World War II?
Why do you think the couple on the bus
barely seems to react to the drunken man’s
comments?
Wilshire Bus, cont.
Why do you think Esther responds to the
situation on the bus as she does?
How do you think Jeanne Wakatusuki
Houston would react to this story? Give
reasons for your response.
Writing Prompt
Imagine yourself as Esther. Write a letter to
an advice column about the incident on the
bus. Outline the problem as you see it and
ask what would have been the best way to
handle the situation. Then write the
columnist’s reply.
Trains at Night
After reading this story, what is your most
vivid image of Mr. Lee?
The story touches on the townspeople’s
views not only of the Chinese but also of
the German man, the Yaquis, and the
gypsies. On the basis of these views, what
conclusions can be made about the
townspeople?
Trains at Night, cont.
The narrator mentions several reasons for the
Mexican governments “rounding up” of Mexicans
of Chinese ancestry. How would you compare
these reasons with the reasons behind the
internment of Japanese Americans during WWII?
Why do you think discrimination against various
peoples has occurred so frequently throughout
history?
From Unto the Sons
At what point in this memoir did you most
strongly identify with Gay Talese? Explain.
Houw would you describe the author’s
attitude toward his Italian heritage?
Think of the strategies Mr. Talese uses to
make a living in America with his European
training as a master tailor. What character
traits do his strategies reveal?
Unto the Sons, cont.
Compare the experiences and character
traits of Gay Talese’s father with those of
Mr. Wakatsuki in Manzanar.
Writing Prompt
Write a letter that Mr. Talese might have
written to one of his brothers fighting in the
Italian army. As you write, remember his
conflicting feelings about the war.
Lectures on How you Never
Loved Back Home
Compare the narrator’s coming-of-age with
Jeanne Wakatsuki’s in Manzanar.