No No Boy by John Okada
The book was disturbing-not only because of a story that didn't have many moments of levity, but also because it rambled on redundantly about how Ichiro was torn between America and Japan, right and wrong, up and down and whatever else he could conjure up to keep him from working. However the book does have valid points, useful content, and alluring ideas. The book "No-No Boy" is the FIRST fiction book EVER written by an Asian-American writer and now it has a following of Asian-Americans referring to it as a voice that all yellows have been trying to get out. A voice that screams of injustice and pain from the belly of America or Japan or some gray area in-between. I will be glad to put this book on my shelf and save it for a time when I feel like my life is meaningless and I have no where to go, so it will kick me in my ass and flog me with reassurance. With that being said we can now discuss the shift in both Americanism and nationalism as it pertains to community and who gets effected/affected. Americanism by definition is a custom or other cultural characteristic typical of the people of the US, also devotion to the customs, etc. of the US. This definition is a difficult one to work with. What is typical of
The book starts out with Ichiro just getting out of prison. He didn't want to go to the internment camp nor did he want to join the army, so with his options exhausted he had no choice but to go to prison. At this time in history for the Japanese-Americans there were two things you could do. 1. Deny your heritage and pledge your alliance with the US by agreeing to go to the internment camp or 2. Accept the US as your personal savior and agree to join the army. Ichiro fell somewhere in-between. Community is defined as a body of people living in one locale 2. Body of people having religion, ethnic origin, profession, etc., in common. 3. Fellowship. America is a conglomerate of communities and each individual in these communities has a notion of Americanism and nationalism. You are effected due to the influences in your community and view Americanism and nationalism due to that effect. If you grew up in an Asian-American community such as Ichiro did, the cultural background you learned and the stories you hear and the ethical way of life you were taught will either effect you or you will chose to affect it to your own liking. There is, however a gap in the cultural background in Ichiro's case. His parents were born in Japan and Ichiro was born in the US. When his mother moved to the US she thought of it as a means to an end, the end being; making enough money in the US to take back to Japan where the family would live a fruitful life. Ichiro and Taro being born in America and
Some common words found in the essay are:
Harbor America, America Japan, Ichiro Taro, Fellowship America, Taro Ichiro's, Ma Pa, No-No Boy, Japan Ichiro, , americanism nationalism, body people, cultural background, internment camp, join army, moments levity, rare moments, america japan,
Approximate Word count = 1009
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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