John Okada's "No-No Boy"

Paper Summary:

Analysis of John Okada's novel. Discusses the protagonist's refusal to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Internment of Ishiro and his family in California's interment camps of World War II. Consequences of his refusal. Conflict between his Japanese familial heritage and his own acculturation to the U.S.

From the Paper:

"Ideology and Action: The Case of No-No Boy

John Okada s story of a young Japanese-American boy s struggle to survive the infamous internment camps of the World War II era and to subsequently become reintegrated into American society speaks to one of this nation s most humiliating episodes. Ichiro, the no-no boy of the novel s title, refuses conscription into the American Armed Forces after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and is interned with his family in a California camp. He refuses to take the loyalty oath to the United States, and in his own words, therefore ruined my life for you, for Ma, for Japan" (Okada, p. 115).

In other words, the protagonist of this story finds himself trapped between his Japanese familial heritage and his own acculturation to the United States. The argument that is advanced by ..."

More papers on John Okada's "No-No Boy":

• Analytical Essay # 50500 : "John Okada's "No-No Boy"
• Analytical Essay # 146873 : "Ichiro's Cultural Identity in "No-No Boy"
• Book Review # 95647 : "'No-no Boy'"

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