Emperor Was Divine Thesis

Though one wouldn’t think it, Germany wasn’t the only country guilty of having targeted an entire race of people. Though definitely not as extreme as Germany’s actions, the US was also guilty of this act, having targeted the Japanese American people after Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor. Arresting potential ‘spies,’ forcing people to move, and putting them all in camps were the main things the US had done to the Japanese people. In the book When the Emperor Was Divine written by Julie Otsuka, this event is shown through the eyes of the Japanese people as they go through this. Though many themes are most likely prevalent in the story, the one that sticks out the most is that an entire races fate should not be determined by one event.

The evidence supporting this theme is the signs that were pinned up and mentioned in the
Evidence of this is the signs talked about in the last paragraph. We know from the last paragraph that these signs are aimed at the Japanese American Population and that the cause for the Order described on the signs is the Pearl Harbor event. This relates to the Genetic Fallacy as the government is assuming that all the Japanese are dangerous or against them because of said event, and are moving them out of the way in order to feel safe. More evidence for this fact is the woman’s husband’s arrest. The reasoning for his arrest is that he was a ‘spy,’ though the only evidence for this is his Japanese background, further showing the Genetic Fallacy. This relates to the theme because of the Pearl Harbor event. After the event, the Japanese’s reputation was lowered, which led to the all the Japanese-American relocation and possible arrest as they were seen as a threat to the US because of the event, thus, judging their affiliation by their