Have you ever disliked a design or color and then liked something else that had the same function but a completely different color? Apples can be found in red, blue, green or yellow. The apples taste the identical, even if the colors are different. Some people will choose a color they like over another because it is their favorite. Racism and racism are the same. Julie Otsuka describes how Japanese Americans were hated because other people believed they supported the Japanese. Despite the fact that some Japanese Americans sided with them, the vast majority are not interested in war. Japanese Americans were not allowed to enter stores and called names. This has the greatest impact on children, because they are not aware of racism. Racism has a negative impact on children because it makes them adopt racist views and forces them into adulthood.
Racism affected the boy as he adopted other people’s racist beliefs. He thinks it’s normal to make racist remarks because he lives in a racist society. It was true they looked the same. Black hair. Black hair. Prominent cheekbones. Thick frames. Narrow mouth. Unknown. Unknowable. Inscrutable. He’s there. “The little man in yellow” All Americans called them “the little man”. The boy’s mind was occupied with this thought almost immediately after he saw other Japanese Americans. He didn’t realize that his thinking was racist. “In China, people were so poor that their newborns had to be fed to the dogs. In China, the Chinese ate cats for lunch and grass at breakfast. And for dinner? In China, dogs are eaten for dinner”. After being raised in America, the boy also adopted a racist belief that Chinese people were poor and ate dogs and cats. A man asked the boy, “Chink? Jap?” Later, the boy ran off as fast as he possibly could. When he turned the corner, he shouted “Jap!” Jap! The boy could have answered the man by saying merely ‘Chinese,’ but instead he said a combination of ‘Chink,’ and “Jap”. The boy may be racist, but doesn’t realize it.
The girl was affected by racism because she had to grow up. To cope with racism, the girl began to act older. “His sister was the one who left the barracks at dawn and did return only after dark.” She was always rushing now. Since they are not on a strict schedule, kids tend to take their time. It’s only ten, but the girl rushes to complete everything. The racism of the people was to blame. “She smoked” You can only smoke cigarettes after you turn 18. Because of the internment, she was forced to grow up. To cope with this stress, she smoked cigarettes. One day, he saw the girl standing in line in her Panama Hat at the mess. She hardly recognized him. Ten-year-olds shouldn’t do that.
In summary, racism had a significant impact on both the boy and girl in the novel. The boy who was raised by racists adopted their racist views. Ten-year-old girl forced to grow-up because she couldn’t cope with the stress of internment. All this occurred because Americans didn’t understand that Japanese Americans were not the same people as the Japanese they were fighting.
