Me as an apple
... fight for America against the Japanese. These men felt that by fighting for America they were proving the loyalty of Japanese-Americans as a whole, and would, therefore, put an end to all the discrimination and suspicion of Japanese in America. In the novel, Bull is a perfect example of this in that he is constantly trying to prove how “American” he is. Bull only dates white women, and is excessively hostile towards the Japanese men that refused the draft. To the men that fought in the war, the no-no boys were seen as traitors to the Japanese living in America, because by not fighting in the war for America they were causing more reason for discrimination and suspicion of their people. By not fighting, the no-no boys were, to them, reaffirming that the Japanese-Americans were still essentially different than mainstream Americans. The no-no boys were sent to jail for treason, for refusing the draft. These men refused to fight for a country that discriminated so harshly against their people. The Japanese at this time were being held in internment camps, and there were several laws restricting Japanese rights in America and restricting further immigration and integration of Japanese into America. By refusing to fight, these men were protesting the wrongs done by the American Government to those of Japanese heritage in America. Whereas those who fought were trying to prove the Government, and the American people, wrong in their suspicions and stereotypes of Japanese-Americans. It is ironic to note that both of these two groups were protesting the same situation, and yet had such opposing reactions. At the end of the war, when the Japanese returned to the West Coast, they were faced with, not only discrimination against their ethnic group, but also the tensions between the no-no boys and the Japanese-American war veterans. The novel, No-No Boy, follows the life and decisions of a young man named Ichiro, a no-no boy, who seeks to define his identity as an American citizen of Japanese ethnicity after WWII. Throughout the novel, Ichiro is tormented by the decision he made not to fight for America in the war. He feels this way because by refusing to fight he is essentially rejecting his American nationality. This is disturbing to Ichiro because he did not intend to reject American nationality, but only to refuse to reject his Japanese ethnicity. The intrinsic problem for Ichiro throughout the novel is, therefore, that he cannot do one without the other. By accepting his American nationality, he must reject his Japanese identity, and visa versa. The novel follows Ichiro’s life after the war has ended, as he searches to find a way to commingle his nationality and his ethnicity. He is, however, constantly faced with choice of identifying with one or the other, with no option of being both. Ichiro is not content with simply choosing one or the other, and being able to live a happy and comfortable life according to what he has chosen. There are several instances in the novel where Ichiro declines what seems to be a good offer because it offers him no solution to his problem. Ichiro has an opportunity to take a great job in Portland, with Mr. Carrick, and has an opportunity to work on Emi’s neighbor’s farm. He declines both of these offers because he feels that both of them would be eluding, or hiding from his problem, rather than searching for a solution. Ichiro wants an end to the cycle that has been created, and to simply choose a Japanese or American identity would be to become part of it. Most of the Issei (first generation Japanese immigrants) clung fervently to their Japanese heritage. They remained outside of American culture by maintaining their cultural practices and ideologies and by not learning to s...