When the Emperor Was Divine (#1)

For this book it is important to have some background knowledge about the U.S internment camps and the reclassification of Japanese-Americans after the Pearl Harbor attack. The U.S wanted to relocate Japanese families to the mid-west. This act was exposed as being a way to keep these families from harm, but in actuality it was an attempt to separate possible Japanese spies from outside contacts. The U.S government wanted to prevent any further trouble so they decided to collect Japanese-American families living on the west coast and move them to internment camps where they would reside together. It was certainly nothing like the concentration camps used over in Europe, but nonetheless our country didn't want it to be publicized and viewed as cruel treatment. Though it wasn't nearly as bad as the concentration camps, families were still negatively effected. In the first chapter the mother is the main focus. It begins with her taking notice of signs speaking about the repositioning of Japanese-Americans. She takes note of what objects are allowed to go with the families and heads home to pack up and move out. Her children are aware of the move, but may not entirely understand why; at least, the boy doesn't comprehend, but I feel the girl may be somewhat aware of the situation. Anyway, the mother goes through the household items deciding what to leave behind and what to pack up. Pets were not allowed to be brought along so she had to do something about their bird and dog. She released the bird into the wild and killed the dog by impaling it with a shovel. Even though it was the 1940s I think she could have come up with a less barbarian method to getting rid of the dog; however, I guess with lack of time and being under stress perhaps nothing better could come to mind. In any case, while reading this initial section I really got to thinking about their situation and how I would respond to such an event. I can't imagine having to leave behind several personal belongings and a life you've worked so hard to achieve. They seem like a decent upper-middle class family and to have to be relocated and lose everything just seems so upsetting. It's actually beyond upsetting, it's devasting. Such a change can really inflict emotional damage, but in the case of this family it may bring them closer together. Aside from being separated from the father who was imprisoned for having possible Japanese connections, I think the mother - daughter - and son are going to stick together and try to look past this setback.