Kazuko’s attitude toward the American people during and after her relocation.
Kazuko Itoi is the authentic (Japanese) name of the writer Monica Sone, who was born in the United States to Japanese parents, first-generation immigrants. As the story progresses, this balance of the two components of her personality periodically changes depending on external factors. Her faith in the ideals of American democracy has been repeatedly tested. Despite all the hardships, Kazuko was able to keep it to herself and realize her beliefs and find internal support more clearly.
In the first chapters, Kazuko considers herself more American than Japanese. She did not think about her national identity in principle until age six. Her bright, active personality fits more into American culture than Japanese traditions’ strict and demanding world. She speaks angrily about the requirements for behavior in a Japanese school: “The model child is one with deep rigor mortis […] no noise, no trouble, no back talk» (Sone 24-25). This forces her to develop a calmer, more accommodating version of her personality to integrate into the strict framework of the ex-pat community. However, Kazuko does not reject everything related to Japan: she takes a trip to an ethnic homeland with interest and truly enjoys traditional Japanese holidays.
Unfortunately, complex historical events bring even more problems to the formation of Kazuko’s personality. As US-Japanese relations deteriorate, her former self-identity is shattered. The society to which she identified herself alienates her as a “Japanese,” refusing to see anything else in her except for the shape of her eyes. The situation gradually worsens, and at the same time, Kazuko’s intrapersonal rift intensifies. Kazuko bitterly notes that she becomes a “two-headed freak, a Japanese and an American, neither of which seemed to be doing me any good” (Sone 158). With the outbreak of war with Japan, she and her family are forced to leave their former lives and settle in internment camps – first in Puyallup, then in Minidoka. At this critical moment, her belief in her identity is most vulnerable. Experiencing injustice and oppression, she can never connect this discrimination with the ideals of the American democracy she firmly believes in. Kazuko concludes sadly:” It was because I had Japanese ancestors. It was also because people had little faith in the ideas and ideals of democracy” (Sone 177). Here, finally, her Japanese environment, family, and close people come to the fore and provide her with the support that helps her overcome adversity. She gradually begins to realize what strength and opportunities her background gives her, and she is imbued with gratitude to those close to her who helped her grow as she is. This support helps her find at least a little optimism and believe in a better outcome.
Despite the difficult situation, Kazuko tries not to give up and gets a job. At the first opportunity to break out of the camp’s isolation, she leaves to work as a dentist’s assistant in Chicago. Although the position offered is far from acceptable, Kazuko feels better in freedom and gradually picks herself up piece by piece. In a new place, she develops a warm relationship with Dr. Richardson, the local pastor. At this point, religion becomes her mainstay in finding her identity questioned by the war. She sees in Christianity the necessary support for her American ideals of democracy, which “are based essentially on religious principles and her (democracy) very existence depends on the faith and moral responsibilities of each individual” (Sone 237). The benevolent attitude of those around her, and the message of tolerance and acceptance that she finds in religion, allows Kazuko to strengthen her faith in American democracy and Americans as its bearers and guardians. Thus, Kazuko no longer feels separate from American society: she is a Japanese woman but also an American. Despite all the delusions that others experienced about her, she was able to look at this as a temporary situation. Kazuko believed in her bright future as she realized the strength and resilience of democratic ideals and those who follow them.
She finally regains her self-confidence when she enters Wendell College. Student life, the atmosphere of acceptance and friendship, regardless of nationality, helps Kazuko blossom. She again becomes curious and energetic; her interests are striking in variety. After a harsh camp life, communication with the same active young people from all over the world helps her finally reconcile the “Japanese” and “American” in herself and find strength in this duality. She now refers to her multicultural background as “a real bargain in life, two cultures for the price of one” (Sone 236). Her Japanese heritage, which used to be a hindrance, has now become one of her strengths and no longer conflicts with her “American” upbringing and beliefs. In college, Kazuko realized that people of different races and religions become Americans primarily by sharing democratic views and faith in the ideals of civil society.
Important qualities for a mature person are acceptance, faith in people around and one’s beliefs, and the ability to see a good outcome even under challenging circumstances. These qualities helped the novel’s main character to go through all the trials and remain faithful to her inner ideals. Kazuko could accept her origins and her family’s traditions but also remain loyal to America, her homeland, which allowed her the opportunity for self-realization and important moral guidelines. An essential result of the book is the metaphysical “unification” of two Kazuko – Japanese and American – into a single whole. This integration is not her weakness, as she thought in difficult times, but her strength, uniqueness, advantages, and richness of life experience.
Work Cited
Sone, Monica Itoi. Nisei Daughter. University of Washington Press, 1979.