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Jeanne's father is taken away.
Two FBI men come to arrest Jeanne's father for delivering oil to offshore Japanese submarines. Jeanne's mother weeps in sorrow.
Character Development (Negative): Jeanne becomes confused as to why her father was arrested for such a trivial thing like delivering oil.
Relation to Theme: Now that the leader of the house is gone, her family struggles to adjust to the new towns. They also struggle to make enough money to support the whole family. -
Jeanne's family of 12 is forced to move
After the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, the government forces Jeanne's family to move several times in order to keep the Japanese in one area.
Character Development (Negative): Jeanne transfers to unfamiliar schools. Accustomed to having Caucasion classmates in Santa Monica, Jeanne becomes afraid of the new Oriental faces that stare at her.
Relation to Theme: Jeanne's idea of home becomes fuzzy as her family is constantly moving. -
The Wakatsukis are moved into the Japanese internment camp
The Wakatsukis ride in a bus and are driven to Owens Valley to the Manzanar Japanese internment camp. They eat dinner and are moven into Block 16.
Character Development (Positive): Jeanne, still young, is not aware of what is happening and why they are moving. Instead, she sees this as an exciting chance to get out of Los Angeles County.
Relation to Theme: Jeanne's family and relatives are forced to move into small barracks together and their personal space is no longer respected. -
Theme: Sometimes the only thing you can do when your life takes an unexpected and different route, is cope.
After just a few weeks in Manzanar, the family stops eating together in the mess halls. They disperse and no one does much to stop it. She also has no control over her life, and is forced to deal with it. -
Jeanne's father returns to Manzanar.
Jeanne's father, who now carries a cane, returns after nine months, but looks as weary and tired as ever. After his return, he drinks and hits and argues with Jeanne's mother every day.
Character Development (Negative): On the day of his return, Jeanne cries after seeing how much her father has aged. However, as she sees her father's behavior, she begins to fear him.
Relation to Theme: The respectable father that Jeanne once knew is gone. -
The Wakatsukis become accustomed to life in Manzanar.
Jeanne and her family move into a larger block, block 28, where they stay until the end of the war. They decorate their houses and Jeanne and her siblings even go to school in Manzanar.
Character Development (Positive): Jeanne tries out many different activities such as baton twirling, ballet, and odori.
Relation to Theme: Jeanne's time in Manzanar lengthens and her life begins take a more normal route. -
Woody, Jeanne's brother, is drafted and leaves.
Woody leaves with 18 other men who were also drafted. Eleanor, Jeanne's sister, and her husband Shig, also leave Manzanar.
Character Development (Negative): Jeanne's older siblings start to leave to live their own lives.
Relation to Theme: Jeanne's family is separating, and there is not much Jeanne can do about it. -
The Wakatsukis move out of Owens Valley.
Jeanne, her mother, father, and some of her younger siblings move to Long Beach. From there, Jeanne tries to go back to living her life and goes to a public school.
Character Development (Negative): Jeanne struggles to go back to living a regular life and belong. She participates in many clubs such as the scholarship society, athletic league, and yearbook staff, but is not satisfied.
Relation to Theme: Jeanne has trouble living a normal life and belonging.
