Farewell to Manzanar is Jeanne Wakatsuki's memories of her experiences at Manzanar during WWII. As a child, seven years of age, Jeanne was normal in every way, cheerful, intelligent and innocent. On March 25, 1942, she and her entire family were moved to Manzanar "relocation camp" the new home for Japanese-Americans. Jeanne tries to adjust and fit in, being so young, she does not know how to hate, so she does not resist the discrimination she and her family face at Manzanar.
Manzanar is a dusty, dirty, windy desert setting with extreme weather conditions. As their bus pulled in, "The bus was being pelted by what sounded like splattering rain.", but in fact, it was blowing sand driven by the March winds. I cannot imagine the emotions that must have been going through the people's minds as they were driven through the gates, past the barbed-wire fencing, so many people, worried and fearful. Thankfully, a child's naivety and innocence takes over and as they come to a stop Jeanne yells out "Hey! This whole bus is full of Wakatsukis!" the tension is broken by the following laughter.
Even that first day at Manzanar it was obvious there would be problems, fruit over rice? What an outrage, yet fear and pride kept them from saying anything, " no one dared protest." I wonder, did anyone actually eat the concoction? Next they were led to their new homes, badly built wooden barracks. Barracks full of knotholes, and cracks that let the blowing wind carry sand in through every opening, leaving a layer of grit over everyone and everything, a bare floor and only a single thickness of wood covered with tarpaper to keep out the elements. The space they were given was divided up, rooms separated by blankets, and though privacy did not exist and solitude was rare, the family's feeling was "Our two rooms were crowded, but at least it was all in the family" Things were very bad, they had so much to adjust to, so much to contend with so much to overcome, yet somehow, amazingly, they managed.
