Dwight Okita Analysis
The poet Dwight Okita has written many poems in his career as a poet. As I am informed he is of japanese ethnicity and american nationality. In his poems Dwight talks about being japanese in the US. Unfortunately the only poem of his’s that I have access to is “In Response to Executive Order 9066.” Although I only have access to one of his many pieces of literature it still provides great insight into the mind of the poet. The thesis here
“I am a fourteen-year-old girl with bad spelling and a messy room.” This is the beginning line of the second stanza but it provides the theme for the rest of its stanza. In the context of this poem this line means although she may be japanese that doesn’t mean that she is any different from any other american
girl. The rest of the stanza goes on to talk about how she has a white american best friend, her favorite food is hot dogs, and that she doesn’t like to use chopsticks. The purpose of this stanza is to demonstrate that she just a regular american girl. The thesis here
“She was sitting on the other side of the room.” This line from the third stanza is the key point for the entire stanza. Within the circumstances of this poem this line is illustrating the point of how quickly and unquestioningly people turned on their previously japanese friends. The rest of the stanza explains more specifically animosity towards japanese people. Some of the things that were said in the poem are “You're trying to start a war,” and “giving secrets away to the Enemy. Why can't you keep your big mouth shut?” The thesis here
“three packets of tomato seeds. Denise calls them love apples.”The first stanza and last stanza of this poem is about tomato seeds. But more importantly the bond that the tomato seeds represent. “I gave her a packet of tomato seeds and asked her to plant them for me” When the tomatoes are given away the are given in a act of friendship and as a bond between the two of them. The last and final line of the poem is “told her when the first tomato ripened she'd miss me.” The thesis here
This poem was written from the perspective of a innocent fourteen year old girl as a thankyou letter to the US government. It shows just as the US stereotyped all japanese people as trators to the country, these japanese children where sterotype as these
“I am a fourteen-year-old girl with bad spelling and a messy room.” This is the beginning line of the second stanza but it provides the theme for the rest of its stanza. In the context of this poem this line means although she may be japanese that doesn’t mean that she is any different from any other american
girl. The rest of the stanza goes on to talk about how she has a white american best friend, her favorite food is hot dogs, and that she doesn’t like to use chopsticks. The purpose of this stanza is to demonstrate that she just a regular american girl. The thesis here
“She was sitting on the other side of the room.” This line from the third stanza is the key point for the entire stanza. Within the circumstances of this poem this line is illustrating the point of how quickly and unquestioningly people turned on their previously japanese friends. The rest of the stanza explains more specifically animosity towards japanese people. Some of the things that were said in the poem are “You're trying to start a war,” and “giving secrets away to the Enemy. Why can't you keep your big mouth shut?” The thesis here
“three packets of tomato seeds. Denise calls them love apples.”The first stanza and last stanza of this poem is about tomato seeds. But more importantly the bond that the tomato seeds represent. “I gave her a packet of tomato seeds and asked her to plant them for me” When the tomatoes are given away the are given in a act of friendship and as a bond between the two of them. The last and final line of the poem is “told her when the first tomato ripened she'd miss me.” The thesis here
This poem was written from the perspective of a innocent fourteen year old girl as a thankyou letter to the US government. It shows just as the US stereotyped all japanese people as trators to the country, these japanese children where sterotype as these