42 pages • 1 hour read
Jeanne Wakatsuki HoustonFarewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1973A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 3, Chapter 22Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 3, Chapter 22 Summary: “Ten Thousand Voices”
Reflecting on her time in Manzanar, Jeanne realizes that shame pervaded her post-camp life. Overall, it took Jeanne 20 years to work through her feelings about her time in the concentration camp. Regardless, she continued to focus on her future, becoming the first person in her family to both finish university and marry a non-Japanese person.
Although Jeanne and her family frequently talked about visiting the camp, they always avoided going, usually using humor to discuss their time there. At times, she began to wonder if her experience in Manzanar was real; after she left, there was very little public awareness of the camps. Jeanne recalls an incident where an older white woman spat on her and Kiyo while hurling racist insults at them. Although she and her brother remembered this event, they never spoke of it. Some years later, Jeanne met a woman who worked as a photographer in Manzanar; however, Jeanne could not find the strength to speak with her.
In 1972, Jeanne, her husband, and her children visited the camp. When they arrived at the site, they saw that none of the camp structures remained except for a few gatehouses. Jeanne and her family found a white obelisk with graves—a monument to those who died while imprisoned at Manzanar. As she walked around the camp, she heard the spirits of the people who had died. Some of the few structures that endured the demolition were the “characteristically Japanese” rock gardens built by Manzanar detainees.
As Jeanne wandered around the camp, she could nearly view Manzanar as an archaeological (rather than personal) site; however, the voices that she heard from her past did not allow her to distance herself fully. Upon leaving, Jeanne realized she could now say “farewell” to her time in Manzanar; she had learned to deal with the feelings of guilt and shame that developed during her time in the camp. The trip to Manzanar was a pilgrimage that allowed her to finally understand the residual negative feelings she carried with her from the camp.
Jeanne recalls the moments before Papa purchased the sedan—his “final act of defiance” (197)—almost 30 years prior. He drove recklessly through the camp in their new sedan, showing off for himself and making a point to those waiting for the bus. Jeanne and her family were scared. Eventually, he drove back to load the car with their belongings, and they prepared to depart Manzanar.
Part 3, Chapter 22 Analysis
Part 3 of the memoir contains only one chapter, which is the only chapter that takes place in the writer’s present. The beginning of the chapter further delves into Imprisonment’s Harmful Effects on Mental Health for Jeanne and her family. They use humor as a mechanism to process the trauma of their experience; they also avoid going to the camp to address that trauma directly. The “Manzanar mentality” is an example of the residual effects of imprisonment on children. These feelings, if not properly addressed through psychosocial support, can stay with a person well into adulthood. Considering the postwar environment, as well as the general stigma related to mental health needs, the likelihood of Manzanar residents receiving the support they needed was very small.
Jeanne ultimately had to find her own way to process her trauma, participating in what she terms a pilgrimage—a word with spiritual connotations. The journey results in greater self-awareness, and she can truly say “farewell” to Manzanar. However, this is not the “farewell” that Jeanne closes the book with; rather, she juxtaposes her “pilgrimage” with the family’s departure from Manzanar after the war and in particular with her father’s actions the day they left. His flaunting of the car reveals his pride and anger, and it is telling that Jeanne calls it his “final act of defiance.” Though on the one hand a literal truth—after leaving the camp, Papa would have no need or opportunity to “defy” its administrators—it is also a reminder of his downward spiral during and after his imprisonment. Although Jeanne can ultimately lay the experience to rest, she ends the work with an homage to those who couldn’t.
