Topic > The experiences of Citizen 13660

Some say that a picture is worth a thousand words but tens of thousands, millions of words express more than an image, Citizen 13660 is a well-written autobiographical and historical account that combines images and words . My Okubo express the experiences of the Japanese people who experienced internment, the state of being confined as a prisoner, for political or military reasons (Oxford dictionaries), during the Second World War. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked, the United States responded by declaring war on Japan, which caused many Japanese Americans to become targets of suspicion and distrust. Okubo was a student at the University of California when the evacuation order forced her family to move into an internment facility. Many people of Japanese descent, regardless of citizenship, were forced to abandon their homes and move to the Tanforan center for an unspecified period of time. All Japanese, including Okubo, were reduced to a number, Okubo was number 13660. Citizen 13660's story showed the dehumanized side of internment, the realism of the experience, and the emotion/lack of emotion that people had had to face. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Tanforan Internment was originally a horse racing camp, so the camp is still under construction. Once they arrived, they underwent a complete physical examination which is mandatory regardless of human privacy. They face harsh living conditions, such as living in a converted shack, poor food and exposure to extreme weather. Okubo and others lived in isolation, were investigated and dehumanized against their will. Okubo describes the shack as “. . in semi-darkness; light barely came through the dirty window on either side of the entrance. (Okubo 35)”. The camp forced Japanese-Americans to squeeze into a small sleeping space and overcrowded facilities like showers and bathrooms, so they lack privacy and personal space. This led them to spend their time aimlessly wandering, sleeping and daydreaming about freedom. Okubo said: “People came to bask in the sun in the wind-protected privacy of the grandstand booths; others came for a private dice game (Okubo 101).” Although Okubo and the others have not yet given up on the future, they question and feel uncomfortable about their circumstance, meanwhile they find purposeful activities for the time spent such as cleaning the shacks, creating art and crafts with whatever is available and help each other. . Despite living in internment, people do their best, they come together to form a big family to help each other in times of need. Okubo describes both the negative and positive sides of the camp in a truthful and matter-of-fact tone. The book illustrates the experience of living in an internment with a realistic, first-person point of view that touched people's hearts. The Japanese-Americans are moved to another camp near Topaz that has better living conditions and is well equipped, indicating that the people's hard work has not gone to waste and that the government is better prepared and less strict with the rules. Okubo writes about daily life in the camp and people's realistic point of view. However, Okubo does not write about the feelings and emotions of the Japanese-American who faced hardship, instead he only writes about the realism and facts of internment. He describes the experience in depth, saying, “The stench of the manure returned with the heat and this in turn brought back the horseflies (Okubo 106).” Maybe Okubo didn't want to sue the government for putting them in onehorrible living situation, for fear of being ostracized and hated by other Americans once they return to their normal lives. Okubo wanted to share the experience to let people know the truth about the internment, not to criticize the government. Life in the Topaz camp is more relaxed, Okubo and the others may one day return to their old home to settle a personal relationship with a police guard. Okubo said: “That day of freedom was wonderful. I was like a child. I wanted to buy everything. (Okubo 110)”.The book does not attack or accuse anyone, even if they have suffered a dehumanizing experience, but instead states the details truthfully. Although the sketches only show part of the event, Okubo used fading and shadowing to indicate that there are multiple people who have gone through the same hardships. Okubo describes life in the camp in detail with a subtle and realistic first point of view that deeply affected readers. All of the images and text give a small and subtle hint at the underlying emotion experienced by Japanese Americans during internment. Okubo demonstrates the experience in a matter-of-fact, emotionless tone, while the sketches showed underlying feelings. The graph showed a detailed feeling of bitterness that comes from the cruel standard of living that is little better than that of animals. Whereas the text is emotionless and only shows brief descriptions, Okubo also describes the positive point of view to help make things more bearable, such as making little jokes about herself in -- “Trees and shrubs appeared in the most unexpected (Okubo 150 )”. The trees and shrubs are a metaphor for the unexpected confinement in the camp, demonstrating that they never expected that situation to happen. Japanese Americans thought they were good people and law-abiding citizens and therefore did not expect to leave their home and evacuate in isolation. Okubo said: “That day of freedom was wonderful. I was like a child. I wanted to buy everything. (Okubo 110)”. The book showed no blood or death, but a tone of sadness that showed that Okubo greatly values ​​freedom. Overall the drawing shows a hidden side of the story, while the caption is devoid of emotion. Okubo wanted to write about what happened in the camp, but did not want to criticize the government by comparing it to the Nazis, as this would not be good for either side. The text expresses unfair treatment in a realistic way. of sight, while the sketches showed emotions subtly. The images express the underlying emotion, unlike the text they interpret it with a carefully placed context without direct accusations. The combination helped the reader understand the experience faced by Japanese Americans. Okubo makes the reader think deeply about the injustice done to American citizens of Japanese descent in a calm manner. It highlighted various emotions such as bitterness, hope and sincerity in citizen 13660 which deeply touched people's hearts. In the end, Okubo along with many others are allowed to leave, but she struggles deeply with being able to leave all these people behind who have nowhere to go. He felt happy for the freedom and sad for the people who have nowhere to go, as the camp has been their “home” for many years and even children have been born there. Okubo's ending with the transition from the past to the future could be worth it. The story of Citizen 13660 showed the inhumane treatment, the realism of the event, and the underlying emotion/emotion experienced by Japanese Americans. Okubo focuses on the sincere side of the people who experience it rather than attacking the government for unfair treatment. Please note: this is just an example. Get a personalized document now.