Before beginning on my project, I wanted to gain some background knowledge on the Japanese American internment camps and what better way to do that than reading a book. I decided to read Jeanne and James Houston’s Farewell to Manzanar before visiting Manzanar myself. To summarize, this book follows a young girl, Jeanne, and her family’s imprisonment. She comments on how different life becomes for her from living near the west coast of California to being forcefully moved inland. She talks about her parents and how they react to the incarceration, as well as adjusting to the new schedule. She mentions how the family circuit as a whole was being broken down since her and her brothers began to be more independent from their parents, which caused them to all eat separately. Ultimately when Jeanne is able to leave the camp, she moves up north before she moves back down to Long Beach. Here, she experiences racism and prejudice from the school she attends to just doing mundane errands. Through her narrative, Jeanne tells a sorrowful story that represents so many more individuals who shared a similar experience. Reading this book as a precursor allowed me to understand the daily life of the internment camps and how the conditions were truly as bad as they seemed.

 

Furthermore, when I visited Manzanar myself, the story that I had read echoed with each ruin I passed. The size of Manzanar, itself, is astonishing. Thousands of people were placed into a tiny barack and expected to go about their daily life. The conditions were dry and dusty, and I could not imagine what it would be like to move from the beach to the desert. I am glad I had the opportunity to read this before visiting, as it adds to the overall haunting atmosphere that the camp creates. Although one can say farewell to Manzanar’s physical location, the experience of visiting stays with you.