This is just a quick thought that I had in class today about things that have happened in Okada’s book so far.
The Kamasukas lost their son who fought for the U.S. in WWII. And then Ichiro’s mom takes Ichiro over to their home to make them feel worse about their son’s death! She pretty much tells them that if Bob had just pledged allegiance to Japan like Ichiro, he might still be alive. But I think that the Kamasukas bought the house and put down permanent roots in America because they needed to believe that their son’s death was not in vain. He died for a country and they need to live in that country to see that his death was worth it for their life in America.
A Note about the Reading for Class Today
I really like the Kamasukas, at least so far. I kind of wondered when I was reading this part if Ichiro’s mom actually knew the whole story about Bob or not. It almost seemed like she didn’t know that he had died, but she had to have known that he chose to join the American army.
As for the second part…yes, I think the Kamasukas literally “bought in” after that. But I wonder if they felt like they had to because their other option would be rejoining a culture that, like Ichiro’s mother, would not appreciate or empathize with them over their son’s death.
I think this is interesting because I definitely didn’t think of that connection where they feel like they need to live in America since their son fought for it. That totally makes sense in terms of the feelings with this book!