Loneliness: This is quite possibly the worst feeling a person can experience, and sadly I think that everyone has experienced this at least once in there lives, I know I have. It is a total sense of emptiness and at times almost complete abandonment. It is almost like you are the only one in the world or that you are the only one that experiences this when it happens. A feeling of isolation and seclusion. There are feelings of sadness and emptiness. I know for me it seems as though no one notices you or cares to notice you, unlike what Sumiko thinks. This feeling is something that no one wants to feel for to long and often is an uninvited visitor that just does not know how to leave...
Pre-reading: Some of the things that I learn about that America has done makes me almost ashamed to say that I am from that same country, like the example of what happened to the Japanese and the Aleutians. I think that people should be proud of where they come, but sometimes it is hard for me to be proud of our country when "we" have done so many horrible things. Reading about what happened to the Japanese is something that really came to bother me, it seems totally pointless and totally against what America is supposed to be about. The Statue of Liberty is supposed to be a symbol of welcome to this country, its supposed to signify freedom and opportunity. I have heard a quote, but I can't quite remember it all but it starts out, "Bring me your tired, your weak...". I don't understand how a country with that kind of motto could turn into the country that has done what happened to the Japanese and all other races that have been oppressed and looked down upon. Reading about the Japanese makes me hope for a country one day that will never discriminate against anyone for unfair and ridiculous reasons. I believe that the only way for this to happen is for us to teach our children about the injustices that has happened to all different kinds of people and hope that they learn from those mistakes.
Post Reading: As i stated above I think the list that Sumiko made about loneliness was pretty accurate for what I have experienced in my life. I also thought that it was a very interesting way to open the book. I believe it was some kind of foreshadowing for what was going to come from the rest of the book. With this one class connection could be to ask the class to make a list of their own, it would be private so that the children would not have to worry about other children seeing it and possibly making fun of them for it. For that children that have experience loneliness in their lives already it would perhaps make them not feel so alone in this experience, they could see that other people have and can have those same kinds of feelings. It could be a good outlet for the children to be able to express some of their feelings. I think it would also work if the teacher didn't even read them, it would strictly be within the child and that piece of paper.
I loved, at first, the fact that Sumiko got the invitation to the birthday party, she was just so excited. She had never really be included in the class as much as she would have liked and it made her feel so special. It must be especially hard since she is the only Japanese in her classroom, compared to if she went to the school that was in the other county a few miles away. I was just so excited for her when she got that invitation and I was so angry once she got there and was asked to leave after being there for 5 minutes. At this point in the book one could talk about how one would feel if that had happened to them. Most children, I think, would realize how wrong and depressing this would feel if something like that happened to them. It would be a good moment to reflect on how discrimination feels. Also to go along the same topic you could talk about how people who were born in Japan could not get citizenship and the property could only be in the name of a person who was born in Japan.
The imagery in this book is fantastic.
Having a sense of belonging in a Japanese family, I believe, is something that is very important to this culture. The fact that Sumiko feels this because she is able to work and help out on the farm is something that i think is fantastic. Gender differences is also a big part of the Japanese culture and it even talked about it when Sumiko was talking about all the jobs that everyone has on the farm. A third part of Japanese culture is the idea of shame. It is something that is hard for me to understand because I am not from that culture and do not really understand this deep sense of shame that the Japanese get. It is easy for in this culture to have shame, there seem to be many stimulates for this emotion. They also take it very seriously. One could make connections to different kinds of culture when talking about this small paragraph.
One connection that could be made to a different story are the lists that Sumiko makes like Opal makes in the book "Because of Winn Dixie. You could talk about how it could be helpful to make those lists to make one feel better and to get feelings and emotion out and written on paper.
Finally when the news got out about the Japanese bombing Hawaii and they announced that the Japanese were going to have to go to the internment camps the families had to burn everything that was from Japan and that might be seen as disloyal to American. This really infuriated me because I feel that this is something that America was supposed to be about, the fact that one could come to this country from abroad and be who they wanted to be and be proud of who they are and even where they came from. People are usually very proud of their roots and do not want to have to hide the fact that they are from somewhere else. Everyone was afraid to do anything, Sumiko was not allowed to go to school, they could not go to the market to sell their flowers, despite the fact that Ichiro did anyways. I feel that everyone was just too afraid of getting arrested and put in jail or prison. The Japanese were basically prisoners in their own homes and essential in their country. They were not treated as equals.
One thing that made me the most angry was the governors speech that came across the radio. Sumiko must be very smart because she figured out the hidden meaning in his message. The fact that the Japanese have always had good behavior and never do much to break the law, in general, should be proof that they are a peaceful people and were not going to do anything to jeopardize their lives in America. This assumption is completely asinine and illogical.
My favorite quote so far that I have read in this book is the one that Bull says on page 64. "In the world of change you accept the changes that can't be helped. You suffer so you can learn so you can be a better person in your next life." I think that this is something that could be quite inspirational to everyone if they took the meaning to heart. One does not even have to believe in the concept of "other lives" but take the inspirational part about learning and living and persevering through all the hard times.
I thought it to be very ironic that Sumiko felt comfort and safety in the race track temporary camp that they were originally placed into. I can only surmise that this is true because they had no idea what was in store for them next and got used to their lives at the race track. And of course once they got to their final destination she was correct in her fears. The moment that they first arrive they are harassed by the Air Base that is close by and were scared out of their minds within the first few minutes of arriving that the Indian Reservation that they were to stay in. And to top it off there are snakes and scorpions that they also get to live with. There seems to be nothing to look forward to except "ultimate boredom", which she fears leads to inevitable death. The dust and the heat is so bad that she sleeps outside where there is threat of rattlesnakes and scorpions. The dust is so bad that when she wakes up they have oozed together and she must pry them apart. Just the fact that that happened would be oh so despairing! They end up eating snake that another man in the camp cooks over a small fire, the food is so bad. This could be an opportunity to talk about what someone has to do in face of "defeat". You could talk about eating different foods and what a person is reduced to when they are oppressed.
I like the explanation of her mothers name, Mayu. I think the reason the author includes this in the story is almost another foreshadow to the "transformation" that Sumiko will go through throughout her life time. She has always dreamed of owing her own flower shop and become more than a farm worker, even though she enjoys it.
Lastly, when the little girl that Sumiko meets tells her of how the Indians will scalp them and boil their fingers afterwards seems so ironic to me. The Japanese are being suppressed just because of where they are from, rumors, etc. And the little girl is afraid of the Indians also because of rumors. The Indians are angry because they were also forced to live in reservations and now there are Japanese that are forced to live on their land.
I think that the name of this book is very ironic, thus far from my readings. Weed flowers is thought to be a undesirable flower, it almost sounds ugly but this is far from accurate, in my opinion. Example of a Weed Flower
1 comment:
I really liked your connection back to Winn Dixie. I didnt even make the connection while reading it by myself. With these list it does seem to comfort opal and Sumiko. great catch on the similarities!
Post a Comment