Letters

The letters we read today in class were an amazing way to learn more about the Japanese American experience during WWII.  In the letters that my group read, Amy had just recently arrived at Gila River internment camp.  Her first couples of letters had some mentions about the weather, and the many dust storms.   She also talks a lot about her Christianity, and she tries to keep updated on what is going on at the church that she used to attend with Violet.  Her letters also go into detail about her health.  She is sick throughout all of the letters.  At first, her and the doctors think it may be a cold.  Since she often saw different doctors every time she got a checkup, they didn’t realize how persistent her symptoms were.  However, near the end of our chunk of letters it is clear she no longer thinks it is a cold, but “valley fever.”  Along with staying updated with each other, the letters are also a way for Amy to buy stuff from inside the camps.  This was very difficult to do, so in this situation Violet is helping them by buying the stuff for them, sending it to them, and then getting reimbursed by Amy.  In the last letter, Amy also asks for Violets advice as she is trying to decide whether or not she wants to take a job outside of the camps, which would mean relocating to somewhere in the east or the Midwest. 

Amy’s life ties into Takaki when she had the choice to relocate to the Midwest or east for a job.  This choice was offered to many Japanese Americans in the camp, and it was a way for President Roosevelt to scatter these families among the nation so they could not congregate into communities.  If they were to succeed in this, these Japanese Americans could be “worked into the community.  After all, they are American citizens” (Takaki 404).  By scattering these people, he would be able to disconnect them from the heritage and their culture.  When Amy eventually did move out of the camps, she went to Chicago.  I connected her experience in Chicago with the poem “Cincinnati” in Bold Words.  Even though she was in a completely new place, she could not escape prejudice because she was Japanese American.  This is much like the person in the poem who tells that “no one knew me.  No one except one hissing voice that said dirty jap” (Yamada 81).  No matter what, just like most other people of Japanese ancestry in the United States, Amy was unable to escape the hostility put upon her just because of her race.

I also saw a connection between these letters and the film Picture Bride.  I find it inspiring that even in times when the racism was strong against Japanese Americans, or foreigners in general, some people refused to participate in the hostility.  I found Violet to be like the white woman in Picture Bride.  Both woman, who were part of the “dominant society,” ignored social norms truly cared for and wanted to help the Japanese Americans.  They did what they could to help these people, because they looked past skin color and religion, and saw people who were just like them.