Write a 4-6 page (double spaced) paper responding to 2-3 of following prompts, with specific, detailed references to the graphic novel (i.e., your paper must demonstrate that read the entire graphic novel, and thought critically about it), and placing the graphic novel within the historical context we discussed this semester:
How did existing (and generations old) anti-Asian sentiment lay a foundation for Japanese incarceration during WWII?
How did the fact that Takei experienced incarceration as a young child effect his experience of Japanese internment? What about how he remembered internment? How was his fathers memories of incarceration different, since he experienced them as an adult?
At one point, Takei (as a teenager) accuses his father of passively consenting to internment by not resisting the order to report for transportation to a relocation center (page 141). Throughout this class we have seen the power, but also personal danger, of protesting injustice in the United States. What choices were available to Japanese-Americans in 1942? What happened to those who resisted orders from the U.S. government throughout the war?
Who were the heroes of Takeis narrative? The villains? Why? (This may seem like a simplistic question, but basically all stories feature both heroes and villains, no matter how complicated or flawed. Feel free to answer these questions in all their complicated glory!)
Takeis narrative (along with many graphic novels) jumps back and forth between different time periods (usually one historical timeline that moves through roughly chronologically, and then one or more later, more present, timelines). How do these time jumps impact the narrative and your reading of it? How does it enhance the narrative?
American citizens and residents with ancestry in countries (or ethnic groups, or religions) the U.S. is at war with have continued to be targets of violence and legal restrictions. (For example, anti-Muslim sentiment after 9/11 and during the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.) The end of Takais book raises the question of how can we ensure that an unconstitutional injustice like Japanese incarceration doesnt happen again. How should we weigh valid safety concerns during wartime (often the focus of new laws/restrictions) against the fundamental individual rights that define our government and society (often overlooked, especially at times of war)? This is a big questionI get that! But as voters, future voter, or residents of the United States, this is something worth thinking about. How crucial are individual liberties to our nation? And what do we then do to protect them? You may be asked to weigh in on such a decision at some point in your life (unfortunately). How can the history we have discussed this semester help inform your views on such future weighty decisions?
Pick a page or a couple-page-long scene that you found particularly powerful and discuss it in more detail. How do the illustrations, framing, dialogue, narration, and visual effects meld together to immerse you in the story and/or provoke a strong response from the reader? What did you learn from this scene? How did it make you feel? How did it help you grapple with the heavy subject of the graphic novel?
Papers must be a minimum of 4 full pages, double spaced, in 12 point Times New Roman font. This is the minimum requirement to get a passing grade. However, keep in mind that A-level papers are often/typically longer than the page minimum. There is no penalty for writing more than the page requirement (write as much as you need to in order to make your argument well!)
Papers must include an introduction and conclusion, contain a clear organizational structure, and provide evidence from the reading to back up your argument.
Your essay MUST include specific examples from the graphic novel you chose to support the claims or arguments you make.
You must also incorporate relevant information from the weekly lesson and/or textbook to support your argument, and to draw connections between the personal experiences the author recounts and the historical events, movements, and/or themes discussed in this class.
You may NOT use any sources in writing your paper outside of the assigned readings, course textbook, and class lesson material. DO NOT use the internet as a source for your paper. Your papers will be checked with plagiarism software when you submit it. Any copying of ideas or information from an internet source will be considered plagiarism and will result in an 0 on the paper.
You MUST provide citations for all direct quotes you use from the readings. Use the following citation style:
“Whatever quotation you want to use, in quotation marks.” (Author’s Last Name, page #)
Papers not citing sources will docked points.
You do NOT need to provide a Works Cited page.
