When the Emperor Was Divine: Chapter 4 Questions

1. Who is narrating this chapter? ----The girl and the boy
2. What has changed while the family was away? ---The trees on the streets were taller than usual, the cars more run down, and the rosebush, which was planted by their mother, was no longer there.
3. What has happened to the family’s furniture and to the money they were supposed to get for renting their house? ----The furniture was gone, all except the card table, folding chairs, a metal stool, and a broken gooseneck lamp; They never received the money that they were promised tot them for the residents living there while they were away.
4. Why doesn’t the narrator tell us what words have been written on the wall? What earlier episode in the book does this recall? ----
5. Why does the family choose to sleep in the back room? What sort of things have happened to other people coming back from the camp? Who might be saying the words printed in italics on page 112? ----They wanted to sleep with their mother so they would feel safe; some people died during combat, while others got wounded and just came home; the neighbors
6. How quickly do the children and their mother adapt to freedom? What habits of their internment do they still cling to? ----Not so quickly; they still sleep all in the same room.
7. How do the family’s neighbors treat them on their return, and how does this compare to their behavior earlier? On the rare occasions that someone actually asks where they’ve been, why does the mother respond so vaguely? ----They do not act as if they’ve been away at all
8. How much money is the family given on its release? What is the significance of this sum? ---- twenty-five dollars; It was the same amount given to criminals on the day that they were released from prison.
9. How does the narrator describe the men coming back from the war? What do the fragments of dialogue tell us about them? What is the effect of these stories of Japanese atrocities? Does it lessen your sympathy for the family? How do these stories make the children feel? ---- The men coming back from war were praised with victory parades in their honor.
10. What measures do the children take to fit in following their return? How does their new behavior correspond to popular stereotypes of Japanese Americans? ----They didn’t say much to anyone and if they ever made a mistake they always apologized, no matter what it was for; Japanese were blamed for everything.
11. “If we did something wrong, we made sure to say excuse me (excuse me for looking at you, excuse me for sitting here, excuse me for coming back). If we did something terribly wrong we immediately said we were sorry (I’m sorry I touched your arm. I didn’t mean to, it was an accident, I didn’t see it resting there so quietly, so beautifully, so perfectly, so irresistibly, on the edge of the desk. I lost my balance and brushed against it by mistake, I was standing too close, I wasn’t watching where I was going, somebody pushed me from behind, I never wanted to touch you, I have always wanted to touch you, I will never touch you again, I promise, I swear…)” [pp. 122-23] Are these things the narrator is actually saying or only thinking? Who is being addressed? How does the emotional tone of the paragraph change as it progresses? --- These are things that the they would say if they ever thought that they did something wrong; It seems as if Japanese were in fault for everything.
12. Why do the children keep seeing their old possessions around the neighborhood, and why does their father appear among them? Are we meant to take this literally or as an ironic metaphor? In what ways does this passage echo earlier false sightings of the father? ----While they were away people took their things, because they thought that the people were not ever coming back.
13. Why does the mother take a job? What reason does she give for turning down the job in a department store? What does she say are the secrets of being a successful housecleaner? ----She needs to make more money to provide for her family; she refuses because She was afraid that she would offend herself because of who she was; the secrets are you just smile, say yes ma’am, no ma’am and do whatever you are told.
14. How does the narrator describe the father? How does this description compare to earlier ones? They see their father very different. They describe his face as wrinkled. His suit was faded and worn, his head was bare, he moved slowly with the aide of a cane; Their father that they remembered was handsome and strong. He used to read to them and draw for them.
15. How has the father changed during his incarceration? How do the children seem to feel about these changes? ----He seemed to always have something else on his mind. He wore the same loose baggy trousers everyday and was convinced that someone was watching the house; the children felt as if this wasn’t really their father.
16. Toward the end of this chapter Otsuka writes: “Speech was beginning to come back. In the school yard. On the street. They were calling out to us now. Not many of them, just a few. At first we pretended not to hear them, but after a while we could no longer resist.” Who is calling out? What is it that the narrators are unable to resist? Do you find this passage hopeful or ominous?----The neighbors; this passage is very hopeful.

When The Emperor Was Divine: Chapter 3 Questions

1. What is the significance of this chapter’s title? ---- It’s the title of the book and this chapter is very significant. To the little boy, the emperor was like a holy, divine god.
2. Why does the boy keep thinking that he sees his father? ----He couldn’t tell really because he thought that all Japanese men looked alike; black hair, slanted eyes, High cheekbones, thick glasses, and thin lips.
3. When the boy thinks, “For it was true, they all looked alike,” [p. 49] he of seems to be echoing something he has heard elsewhere. Where might he have heard this? He might have heard this from the Americans because the Americans thought that all Japanese were alike.
4. What is the significance of the things the boy hears through the walls of his barracks? Sayonara is, of course, Japanese, but what language is Auf wiederseh’n, and what is the irony of hearing it in this setting? ----He hears Japanese-American speaking French. The irony is that in reality you don’t really hear Japanese speaking French, they usually speak Japanese
5. Why does the boy’s mother warn him never to say the Emperor’s name out loud? Why does he later say it to himself, and why does he dream about the Emperor’s ships? ---- She doesn't want him to get into trouble for espionage. He thinks that he will save them by saying it to himself. He dreams about the Emperor because he knows that the Emperor wouldn't put them in internment camps
6. In what different ways do the three characters spend their time in camp? How does this reflect their characters? ----The mother starts working a lot more and the little boy tries to do things differently and wonder about. The little girl just stays to herself and tries to stay normal. They sat on benches; played marbles and Chinese Checkers; roamed through the barracks; played cops, robbers, and war; sat in their rooms; read; wrote letters; made things; and waited.
7. What is Mrs. Kato’s predicament, and how might it symbolize the common condition of the internees? ----Mrs. Kato can’t really realize what is going on, and sometimes thinks that she’s at home, this symbolizes the awful conditions of the internees.
8. How reliable is the information the girl gives her brother? Where else have we seen her make authoritative-sounding statements that may not necessarily be accurate? This isn’t very reliable, she has also made statements like that when he asked her about what happened to the photographer taking a picture of that stampede and when she talked of her father.
9. The letters the father sends the boy have been censored by an official. What things does the boy leave out of his letters back? Why might he do this? He leaves out things about his dreams or the turtle's scrabbling claws because he thinks they will censor it.
10. What sort of things does the boy remember about his father, and what do they reveal about him? His father was a small handsome man with delicate features. He was extremely polite and he was always on time. His father was never disloyal to the US.
11. Why does the mother fear that her husband may no longer recognize her? ---She began to get wrinkles and bags under her eyes. She thought that the sun had aged her
12. When the boy asks his sister what time it is, what is the irony of her answer? Where else in the book do characters lose track of time? ----6 o’clock; her watch had read six o’clock for weeks; their mother didn’t know what the day was.
13. What happens to the inmates who sign up to harvest crops? ----At the end of the season, they came back wearing brand-new Florsheim shoes. Some said they would never go again because they were treated harshly.
14. What is the significance of the boy’s dream about doors? Where are Peleliu and Saipan? What are the claws the boy hears scrabbling, and why might their sound be growing fainter? ----He would never get to the emperor; Japan; the turtle wanting to get free but he eventually gives up.
15. What detail of the father’s arrest does the boy find most troubling? What eventually makes him feel better? ----He’d never saw his father leave the house without his hat; he saw Elizabeth’s face and it cheered him up.
16. What is the significance of the objects the boy’s mother destroyed? ----They were all items from Japan; This shows that she had to leave her past behind.
17. What does the father mean by, “It’s better to bend than to break?” [p. 78] Compare this to the mother thinking, “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.” [p. 99] How useful or relevant does this advice seem in the context of the novel? What does it suggest about these people’s characters and values? Do they actually abide by these sayings? ----Its better to conform to these new things rather than to let it destroy you. If you caused trouble you would be labeled disloyal; No they do not abide by these sayings.
18. Why does the girl make the boy turn away while she undresses? In what other ways does her behavior change during this time? ----She thinks that she’s going through Puberty; she’s beginning to act weird.
19. Why does the boy feel responsible for the tortoise’s death? Do you think he is? His sister says, “We’ll resurrect him,” but is she just joking? Does the boy believe her? ----He was responsible for the turtle; he should have taken better care of it; he’s not really responsible; she is serious and he does believe her.
20. The boy is particularly bothered because his father didn’t look back at him from the car in which the FBI men took him away. What significance do you think he places on this? What alternative reason might the father have had for not turning? He doesn’t think that his father really cares about him anymore; he was too proud and ashamed to look back at what he was leaving.
21. How does the mother change in the course of her internment? What memory seems especially affecting to her? ----She looks very tired and sick; she is worried about the pearl earrings she lost on the train.
22. Why is the family in the next barracks sent to Tule Lake? What is the irony of punishing people imprisoned as enemy aliens for refusing to pledge allegiance to the nation that’s imprisoned them? ---- the man said that he was not willing to serve in the US armed forces on combat duty. The people that are already punished just moved around into another imprisonment.
23. What is it that the boy sees blooming inside a peach tin? How is this connected to his vision of the tortoise? Do you think this vision is real or a fantasy? ----He sees a flower in the paech tin; it would not survive under his care; real.
24. Why is one of the inmates shot? What hypotheses are given for his seemingly reckless behavior? ----He was trying to escape; others said he was just walking the dog and had been reaching out to pick a flower.
25. On page 104 the boy imagines his father returning by various means (horse, bike, train), and dressed in various outfits (a blue pinstriped suit, a red kimono). What is the significance of these different guises? What, in particular, is the meaning of the pearl? ----Each outfit portrayed something different; the pearl symbolized hope for the mother.

Political Cartoon Analysis:

1) What do you see in the cartoon? Make a list. Include objects, people, and any characteristics that seem to be exaggerated.All the Japanese look the same. They all look happy. An "Out of Harms Way" sign is false. All Japanese have TNT.
2) Which of the items on the list from Question 1 are symbols? What does each symbol stand for?TNT is a symbol that represents that these actions will set off consequences that they will have to face later as a result of this. The Military zone represents moving innocent people in to a place where they do not deserve to be.
3) What is happening in the cartoon?The Japanese are going to internment camps.
4) What is the cartoonist's message?Japanese can't be trusted and they are all spies. Japanese are a threat to society.
5) Do you agree or disagree with the message? Explain your answer.I do not agree with this message because these people were in no way a threat to society and the government had no reason to treat them in the manner that they did.

Document Analysis: Executive Order 9066

1. What was the reasoning used to justify the issuance of Executive Order No. 9066?---- "WHERE AS the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities."
2. Under what authority did President Roosevelt issue Executive Order No. 9066?---- Under all executive orders Roosevelt authorized and directed the Secretary of War and the said Military Commanders to take such other steps as he or the appropriate Military Commander
3. To whom did President Roosevelt designate authority to carry out the evacuation? ---- The Secretary of War and the Military Commanders.
4.Give specific examples of the powers authorized by the President to be used in carrying out the Order.--- President Roosevelt claimed to “hereby further authorize and direct all Executive Departments, independent establishments and other Federal Agencies, to assist the Secretary of War or the said Military Commanders in carrying out this Executive Order, including the furnishing of medical aid, hospitalization, food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other supplies, equipment, utilities, facilities and services.”

When the Emperor Was Divine: Chapter 2 Questions

1. Whose point of view dominates this chapter? What clues does the author use to indicate this shift? It changes into the Japanese-American girl’s point of view and it starts off by giving a description of her.
2. How much time has passed since the family left its home and what has happened in the interim? ----Several weeks; they were riding on the train heading to Utah.
3. Why have the girl’s shoes gone unpolished since spring? ----She’s been on the train and at another internment camp for months.
4. What sights draw her attention as she gazes out the train window? ---- A church, horses, and the lake(Intermittin)
5. Why does the soldier tell her to pull her shades down? ----So the people in town will not be able to see that there were Japanese-Americans on the train.
6. What might account for the boy’s newfound interest in horses? How do the grownups around him treat this interest? What about their responses might be confusing to him? ----He’s spent lots of time in the horse stable; they find it amusing; some say that they want him to grow up and be a strong “American boy”, but he already thinks that he is American-born.
7. When the girl asks Ted Ishimoto if he is a rich man, he says “Not anymore.” [p. 33] What might account for his answer? --- He’s had to give up his money.
8. Do you think the girl’s story about her father is true? Why or why not, and if it isn’t true what might be her reason for telling it? Why does she later tell Ted that her father never writes to her? ----I think they are true because the situation that he’s been in seems threatening; she wants people to feel sorry for her.
9. What is striking about the boy saying that he forgot his umbrella? Is he telling a deliberate untruth or is he forgetting what actually happened? At what other points in the book do the characters suffer lapses of memory or remember events falsely? ----He really didn’t pack it because it was too big and would not fit; he’s forgetting about what actually happened.
10. Why might the boy draw his father inside a square?----His father was locked up in a jail cell.
11.What is Tanforan and what happened there? In what different ways do different characters remember it? ----They were prisoners for a long time; some remember the temperatures while others remember the visuals.
12. During the night the train crosses the Great Salt Lake. Given that the girl is asleep at the time, who is observing this crossing? And what might this narrator mean by “the sound of the lake was inside her” [pp. 46-7]?----The boy; although she was asleep, she could still feel the lake.

When te Emperor Was Divine: Chapter 1

1. Whose point of view dominates this chapter? ---Japanese-American Women
2.What does the woman see in the window? Otsuka tells us that “she wrote down a few words.” [p. 3] What do they turn out to be? ----A sign in the window; They were items that she would take to the internment camp
3. How much time passes between the appearance of the notice and the events of the rest of the chapter? What do we learn has happened during that time? -----9 days; we have learned that Otsuka is going to an internment camp.
4. What items does the woman buy at the hardware store? What does she intend to do with them? Why might Mr. Lundy keep insisting that she can pay him later, and why is she in turn so determined to pay him now? ----a ball of twine and tape to finish packing; Mr. Lundy knows that something will happen to her; She’s determined to pay him then, because she know that she will not be returning.
5. Which of the family possessions do the woman and her children pack; which things do they leave behind? What do their choices tell you about them? Discuss the significance of the bonsai tree, the reproduction of “The Gleaners,” and the portrait of Princess Elizabeth. ----They pack all of the things on the list, linen, forks, spoons, plates, bowls, cups, towels, and clothes; they don’t find their most prized possessions important; the bonsai tree signifies survival. It would still survive with or without them; the reproduction of the Gleaners represent the things that had to be left behind; the portrait of Princess Elizabeth represents how much she didn’t want to let go.
6.Otsuka describes the woman as someone “who did not always follow the rules.” Where in this novel do we see her doing this? ---- she killed her dog and this was not right.
7.Why does the woman kill White Dog? How does she explain its disappearance to the children? Do they believe her? Where else do we see her lying? ----They can’t take it with them because no pets were allowed; she tells the children that White Dog is going Deaf; They believe her.
8. Why is the boy so insistent on keeping his hat on? ----It was a gift for his dad.
9. The girl worries about her looks, noting that “people were staring.” [p. 15] what might be the real reason they were staring at her? ---She’s a pretty Japanese girl.
10. Why does the girl ask her mother to make her practice for her piano lesson, and why, when her mother refuses, does she practice anyway? ----She wants to have her mother’s permission because she wants to play the song that her father played for her; she does it anyway.
11. At what point in the evening’s routines does the woman begin to cry? What is the significance of “La donna é mobile,” a song whose title means “Woman Is Fickle”? While she’s drinking her whine; the woman was indeed fickle.
12. Discuss the significance of the chapter’s final sentence: “Then they would pin their identification numbers to their collars and grab their suitcases and climb up onto the bus and go to wherever it was they had to go.” [p. 22] Why is the author vague about their destination---This meant that the Japanese-Americans were told where to go; therefore they had to be there. If they were caught out of place they would be arrested; The author implies that people didn’t know exactly where they were going but they had to go there anyway.

Bernice Bob's Her Hair

1) F. Scott Fitzgerald portrayed wealthy people as confident and very conservative. An example of this is that everyone was so surprised when Bernice decided to cut her hair because they knew that it was one of her most prized possessions.
2) In this story a modern girl is described as gorgeous with long beautiful hair.
3) A flapper was a young woman in the 1920s that was known to be fashionable and stylish with a conventional style of behavior.
4) Bernice bob’s her hair because she feels as if it’s the right thing to do. She wants to be different form others and she thinks that it will make her look more appealing to society.
5) In the 1920’s people were really serious about the perfect way to dress and the perfect length of hair. Although most people today try to deal with the fashion trends and fads, some people are not that concerned with how they present themselves.
6) I don ‘t think that Bernice’s actions were justified, because its not good to get even with people. People should always be happy for others because you should “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
7) At the beginning of the story, Bernice seemed to be self-conscious about the way she looked, but at the end of the story she walked off confident and arrogant, because she was proud of what she had done. Her character had a big transformation.