Julie Otsuka's When The Emperor Was Divine

The internment camps during World War 2 was seen as necessary, positive and needed to those who were not interned because of the Pearl Harbor Bombing in 1941, which was the hegemonic narrative. Many euphemisms were used to disguise the truth behind the interment of the Japanese-Americans like the words camp, opportunities and more. The place where Japanese-Americans were interned was anything but a camp, it was where they experienced no happiness or fun. It was simply a place where the Japanese- Americans were segregated from others and treated as prisoners who had to be locked in and constantly watched with machine guns being pointed at them. In When the Emperor was Divine, Otsuka demonstrates how the internment camps had psychologically damaged and traumatized everyone from how the girl starts to become distant with her family, the woman breaking down trying to cope with
In When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka, showing the girl’s kind character she writes, “I won a nickel at bingo tonight. Tomorrow we’ll go to the canteen and buy you a Coca-Cola”(72). The girl offers to buy a coke for her brother who had been wanting to drink the beverage because of the very dry weather, showing how caring she is of family. Her kindness is really shown when she decides to spend her money for the brother because when being interned at the time, earning any money was difficult. The girl was also having a hard time coping with the horrible conditions and dry dust that “made your skin burn...nose bleed...eyes sting…[and] took your voice away(64) and it took great responsibility and care to think of her brother before herself. As time went by, being trapped in the internment camps took a big toll on the girl. There were many rules she had to follow, horrible living conditions and was dehumanized. In the end, she changed completely to try to cope with her situation. In When the Emperor was Divine, Otsuka writes,“She ate her meals