Publicación: The Things We Lost to Call America Home: John Okada's No-No Boy and the Multiple Effects of Racism
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2022-07-06
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info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
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Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (España). Facultad de Filología
Resumen
La Segunda Guerra Mundial y sus consecuencias fueron periodos de gran intensidad para la comunidad japonesa americana en los Estados Unidos. Durante el conflicto, el gobierno estadounidense implementó políticas racistas que llevaron a más de cien mil japoneses y japoneses americanos a campos de detención. Con el final de la guerra, las familias se vieron obligadas a olvidar los agravios, empezando una nueva vida en un país que los había tachado flagrantemente de enemigos. Una década después, el veterano de guerra y Nisei John Okada plasmó en su única novela la traumática experiencia de los campos y el estrés de adaptarse a la sociedad americana en los años posteriores. No-No Boy describe la lucha de un joven japonés americano de segunda generación quien, tras pasar dos años en la cárcel por su supuesta deslealtad al gobierno americano, vuelve a Seattle convertido en un paria. Este trabajo analiza los distintos efectos del racismo sistemático americano en la figura de Ichiro y la representación que hace de él John Okada. La internalización de las políticas racistas por parte del autor permea la novela y crea una narrativa problemática que refuerza y a la vez cuestiona la asimilación como la única alternativa para la aceptación de la comunidad japonesa americana en la sociedad americana. El concepto de racismo se aborda siguiendo la narrativa de Ichiro como personaje y como narrador, profundizando en el estrés provocado al intentar aculturar su herencia japonesa a la cultura americana. El entendimiento imposible que Ichiro hace del biculturalismo como una identidad partida desembocará en autodesprecio y trauma, condicionando su relación con su familia, a quienes rechaza intentando distanciarse de todo lo japonés. Además, la internalización del racismo tiene un efecto en la comunidad, que lidiará con las secuelas del internamiento en silencio, condenando a aquellos que no quieren o no pueden adaptarse a las expectativas. En el último capítulo de este trabajo se investigan aspectos que apuntan al sesgo del propio autor, quien hace una descripción benévola de América en su esfuerzo por hacer su obra aceptable de acuerdo a los parámetros literarios de la sociedad blanca. En resumen, este trabajo pretende describir el racismo como una enfermedad infecciosa que condiciona todos los aspectos de la vida de sus víctimas, incluyendo los esfuerzos literarios de John Okada, quien critica las políticas de asimilación a la vez que refuerza la representación de una América idealizada.
The Second World War and its aftermath were intense periods for the Japanese American community in the United States. During the conflict, the U.S. government implemented racist policies that forced more than one hundred thousand Japanese and Japanese Americans into detention camps. With the end of the war, these families were compelled to leave such grievances in the past, starting from scratch in a country that had flagrantly labeled them as enemies. A decade after the internment years, John Okada, a Nisei veteran, wrote in his only novel the traumatic experience of the camps and the stress of adjusting to American society in the following years. No-No Boy depicts the struggles of a young second-generation Japanese American who, after spending two years in prison for alleged disloyalty to the U.S. government, comes back to Seattle as a pariah. This dissertation analyzes the mult Ichiro and his complex portrayal by John Okada, whose own internalization of racist policies permeates the novel and creates a problematic narrative that both reinforces and contests assimilation as the only choice for America of ethnic minorities. The concept of racism will be studied following the narrative of Ichiro as character and narrator, delving into the acculturative stress provoked by trying to reconcile his heritage with his Americanness. His impossible understanding of biculturalism as a hyphenated identity will force him to a life of self-hatred and trauma, conditioning his relationship with his family, which he rejects in an effort to distance himself from his Japanese tradition. Moreover, the internalization of racism will take a toll on the synergies of the community, who will deal with the effects of the internment in silence, and will condemn those unwilling or unable to accommodate with white expectations. In the last chapter of this study, it is explored those aspect own bias in depicting America as a potentially welcoming country for Japanese Americans, offering hints at the author the white literary tradition. In all, this study aims to depict racism as an infectious disease that conditions every aspect of the life of its victims, including the narrative efforts of the writer, who ambivalently criticizes assimilationist strategies and reinforces them in an idealized depiction of America.
The Second World War and its aftermath were intense periods for the Japanese American community in the United States. During the conflict, the U.S. government implemented racist policies that forced more than one hundred thousand Japanese and Japanese Americans into detention camps. With the end of the war, these families were compelled to leave such grievances in the past, starting from scratch in a country that had flagrantly labeled them as enemies. A decade after the internment years, John Okada, a Nisei veteran, wrote in his only novel the traumatic experience of the camps and the stress of adjusting to American society in the following years. No-No Boy depicts the struggles of a young second-generation Japanese American who, after spending two years in prison for alleged disloyalty to the U.S. government, comes back to Seattle as a pariah. This dissertation analyzes the mult Ichiro and his complex portrayal by John Okada, whose own internalization of racist policies permeates the novel and creates a problematic narrative that both reinforces and contests assimilation as the only choice for America of ethnic minorities. The concept of racism will be studied following the narrative of Ichiro as character and narrator, delving into the acculturative stress provoked by trying to reconcile his heritage with his Americanness. His impossible understanding of biculturalism as a hyphenated identity will force him to a life of self-hatred and trauma, conditioning his relationship with his family, which he rejects in an effort to distance himself from his Japanese tradition. Moreover, the internalization of racism will take a toll on the synergies of the community, who will deal with the effects of the internment in silence, and will condemn those unwilling or unable to accommodate with white expectations. In the last chapter of this study, it is explored those aspect own bias in depicting America as a potentially welcoming country for Japanese Americans, offering hints at the author the white literary tradition. In all, this study aims to depict racism as an infectious disease that conditions every aspect of the life of its victims, including the narrative efforts of the writer, who ambivalently criticizes assimilationist strategies and reinforces them in an idealized depiction of America.
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Palabras clave
John Okada, No-No Boy, racism, Asian American literature, internment camp, racismo, literatura asiático americana, campo de internamiento
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Facultades y escuelas::Facultad de Filología
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No procede