Farewell To Manzanar Cover Image

Farewell To Manzanar

by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, James D. Houston

Start Free Trial

Editor's Choice

What does Jeanne, in Farewell To Manzanar, imagine hatred looks like?

Quick answer:

Jeanne imagines hatred as a "dark, amorphous cloud" that threatens to envelop her family, reflecting her fear of hostility upon returning to the West Coast. Influenced by wartime propaganda and anti-Japanese sentiment, she worries about facing animosity from former neighbors and organizations like No Japs Incorporated. This imagery highlights the pervasive and destructive nature of the prejudice Jeanne anticipates encountering.

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

In the story, Jeanne imagines that hatred looks like a "dark, amorphous cloud" that will descend and enclose her family forever. This frightening imagery describes how Jeanne feels about her family's journey back west. Essentially, no one in Jeanne's Japanese American community is thrilled with the idea of returning west.

To facilitate her family's move, Jeanne's father purchases a car. In chapter 19, we are told that Jeanne's father has to make three trips to finish relocating the entire family from Owens Valley to Long Beach.

Certainly, the relocation process is an arduous one. However, Jeanne and her family most fear the animosity they will face in the communities they once belonged to. To Jeanne, hatred is a nebulous, malignant force that has the power to destroy her family.

In fact, Jeanne worries that three years of war propaganda, "atrocity movies, hate slogans, and fright-mask posters" has turned their former neighbors against them. Additionally, Jeanne fears that organizations like No Japs Incorporated and the Pacific Coast Japanese Problem League have fomented continued distrust of Japanese Americans. So, we can see that Jeanne is most concerned about the hatred that will greet her family on the west coast.

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

You can find the answer to this question in Chapter 19 -- the one entitled "Reentry."  This chapter describes what happens as the Wakatsuki family is allowed to leave the camp at Manzanar.

Papa buys a car and the family heads back to Los Angeles.  As they do that, they start to worry about what kind of a reception they will get from all the white people.  They worry that they will be hated.  Jeanne imagines that the hate would look like a "dark, amorphous cloud" that would come down on them.

So the best answer of these would be B -- a dark cloud.

Get Ahead with eNotes

Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Approved by eNotes Editorial