WRITE SHORT PARAGRAPH ABOUT ASSIMILATION IN AMERICA IS NOT THE HEART THAT FITS IN WITH THIS ESSAY:
A Privileged Experience of Assimilation
The Cambridge dictionary defines assimilation as “the process of becoming similar to others by taking in and using their customs and culture”. The word’s definition involves no particular negative undertone, yet in so many cases is a process that causes an abundance of internal and external problems, particularly for immigrants. This negative experience of assimilation is a key theme in both America is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo and No-No Boy by John Okada, as both of the protagonists face the challenge of adapting to American culture while carrying the burden of their past. Both stories emphasize the sacrifice it takes to acclimate oneself into a new place, especially one that often rejects immigrants through systemic racism and cultural exclusion.
In No-No-Boy the protagonist, Ichiro, faces this conflict when he returns to Seattle after four years spent in an internment camp, and prison, due to rejecting the draft, a decision that drastically changed his life. Ichiro was just 21 when he refused to join the US military. Finally after four years, Ichiro, now a 25-year-old, struggles with being a Japanese American living in the post-World War II United States. Ichiro’s story in No-No-Boy incorporates themes of isolation, tragedy, and the contrast between Japanese and American identities to emphasize the struggles one faces during assimilation and how this can lead to a fractured sense of self, and emotional conflict.
In No-No Boy, John Okada employs the theme of isolation through Ichiro’s struggles as a Japanese American grappling with his identity in the aftermath of World War II and the pressures to conform to a society that rejected him and other Japanese Americans. Upon Ichiro’s return to Seattle in the first chapter of No-No Boy, he faces prejudice not only from American society, due to his identity as a Japanese-American, but additionally from fellow Asian Americans as Ichiro remained loyal to Japan in his rejection of the draft. Many Japanese Americans viewed “No-No-Boys” (Japanese Americans who refused to join the US military) as a threat to their American assimilation. This is highlighted in Ichiro’s interaction with Eto, another Japanese American. Eto approaches Ichiro with excitement and familiarity stating “What the hell. Let’s have a drink. On me.” However, when Ichiro rejects the proposal, Eto quickly realizes that Ichiro is a “No-No Boy”. His demeanor changes as he spits on Ichiro calling him a “Rotten, no-good bastard.” and claiming that he’ll “piss on [him] next time” (p.5). This interaction underscores the hatred that Japanese Americans who enlisted in the military had for those, like Ichiro, who refused to serve, viewing their decision as an undermining of their effort to assimilate into American society after the war. Although Ichiro is a Seattle native, he begins to feel out of place as the third-person omniscient narrator explains that “he felt like an intruder in a world to which he had no claim” (p.3). Ichiro’s estrangement within the Japanese and American communities leads him to a pessimistic mindset, ultimately regretting his decision to not enlist in the American military. His sense of alienation highlights the lack of identity and guilt that many Japanese Americans struggled with as they were ostracized from both Japanese and American society after World War II.
INSERT PARAGRAPH HERE AND COMPARE ASSIMILATION AND TALK ABOUT ASIAN AMERICAN ASSIMILATION IN AMERICA IS NOT THE HEAR BY ELAINE CASTILLO INCLUDE AT LEAST ONE QUOTE