Analysis Of Shifting POV By Okada
Shifting POV is one of the literary strategies that is representative of Okada’s writing style. Throughout the book, the overall narrative is in third person, yet there are moments in the book where the narrative transitions from a third person POV to a first person POV to illustrate internal thoughts, specifically Ichiro Yamada’s. For instance, on pages 49-50, the page begins with the narrator recalling the serene moments Ichiro spent at university before the war. Immediately after that, however, the third person POV shifts to a first-person internal monologue. The readers can then see how this POV mediates post-war Japanese internment; Ichiro’s internal thoughts explain how refusing to serve in the military during his internment was the wrong
decision. Up to this point, he has spent two years in prison due to draft evasion, and as a result, many Americans now see him as a traitor to America. Significantly, the writer intends to use the pronoun ‘I’ to reiterate that Ichiro feels that he should have agreed to fight in the war, just so he could proudly be a university student; he wishes to live without the shame of being told by others that he should go back to Japan, due to his time spent in prison instead of serving in the army. Moreover, the author uses ‘I’ again to justify the struggle of choosing a final answer when “one’s face is not white and one’s parents are Japanese of the country Japan which attacked America” (49). Readers may also note, via Ichiro’s POV, that his decision conflicts with the social construct that nationality should overrule ethnicity, in the sense that Japanese Americans should self-identify as American and hide their Japanese ancestry. For the Japanese who outwardly declared they were American, post-interment meant that life would go on as long as their American nationality overshadowed their Japanese ancestry. However, Ichiro redefines this historical event by showing that for those who do not self-identify solely as an American, an ongoing struggle of pinpointing one’s identity in a society that refuses to accept their Japanese part remains prevalent. Thus, POV helps to redefine post-war Japanese internment as not only the imprisonment of a certain group of people, but also as the result of racial discrimination towards Japanese Americans and the social issue of defining who and what is considered American.
decision. Up to this point, he has spent two years in prison due to draft evasion, and as a result, many Americans now see him as a traitor to America. Significantly, the writer intends to use the pronoun ‘I’ to reiterate that Ichiro feels that he should have agreed to fight in the war, just so he could proudly be a university student; he wishes to live without the shame of being told by others that he should go back to Japan, due to his time spent in prison instead of serving in the army. Moreover, the author uses ‘I’ again to justify the struggle of choosing a final answer when “one’s face is not white and one’s parents are Japanese of the country Japan which attacked America” (49). Readers may also note, via Ichiro’s POV, that his decision conflicts with the social construct that nationality should overrule ethnicity, in the sense that Japanese Americans should self-identify as American and hide their Japanese ancestry. For the Japanese who outwardly declared they were American, post-interment meant that life would go on as long as their American nationality overshadowed their Japanese ancestry. However, Ichiro redefines this historical event by showing that for those who do not self-identify solely as an American, an ongoing struggle of pinpointing one’s identity in a society that refuses to accept their Japanese part remains prevalent. Thus, POV helps to redefine post-war Japanese internment as not only the imprisonment of a certain group of people, but also as the result of racial discrimination towards Japanese Americans and the social issue of defining who and what is considered American.