“May your choices represent your hopes, not your fears” (Nelson Mandela). Mandela suggests that each individual's choices have the potential to reveal their hopes or fears, regardless of the situation. This concept can be applied to Julie Otsuka, as it recounts a moment of terrifying fear. In the novel When the Emperor Was Divine, a family is taken to internment camps and stripped of their identity. The internment of Japanese Americans was a devastating chapter in American history. However, due to Otsuka's choices in recounting this tragic event, a sense of hope is heightened as a Japanese-American family suffers a horrific fear. Otsuka's use of stylistic choices enhances the depiction of the internment camps by highlighting prejudicial but significant perspectives of the era. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Adverse viewpoints are revealed throughout the story as Otsuka chooses to leave specific Japanese-American characters unnamed. While at camp, the boy “…wrote his name in the dust on the table. All night, as he slept, more dust blew through the walls. In the morning his name had disappeared." Although he wrote his name, it is unclear what the boy's name is, as he never reveals it. The dust erases his name, but the boy makes an immense effort to maintain and express his identity. On the other hand, since his name and many others are unknown, the lack of individualism is conveyed. Names represent a person's identity, and since names are unknown, from a superficial perspective, everyone is the same, especially in the eyes of the American kidnappers. Additionally, when the family returns home, the boy and girl both mention how they aspire to be more like those around them: “We would change our names to sound more like theirs. And if our mother called us by our real names in the street, we would turn our backs on her and pretend we didn't know her." As mentioned above, the absence of names was initially due to a lack of individualism and a forced loss of identity. However, as the children recount the chapter, their desire to change their name highlights their shame, illustrating the idea that, despite their efforts, the camp has altered their identity. By leaving the characters nameless, the reader is able to sense the lack of individualism and self-deprecating shame that many Japanese Americans went through during that time. Throughout the story, Otsuka bridges distinct moments, which further accentuates the significant perspectives of Japanese-Americans. Americans. While the boy, the girl and the mother are on a train, they are gradually taken towards the internment camp. The girl notices that outside “the church bells were ringing and… a man and a woman were crossing a bridge on bicycles… The woman was laughing and her red hair was flowing loose behind her in the wind. Bicycles, bells and bridges represent euphoria, serenity and an idealistic way of living. Clearly the atmosphere on the train is much worse than outside, indicated by the idea that the girl recognizes everything outside the train. However, instead of describing the atmosphere inside, he reveals the darkness of the train by juxtaposing it with the girl's candid perspective of this utopian exterior. The level of inequality between Japanese-Americans and everyone else is ridiculous, but a sense of isolation is also demonstrated. Otsuka's choice to place such distinct moments on a moving train portrays the entityof isolation. As the train moves away from home, the family moves away from freedom. Therefore, the girl gradually becomes more and more separated from those outside. When the last curtain on the train was lowered, “the darkness was total… the girl could not see anyone and no one outside the train could see her. There were people inside the train and people outside the train and between them there were shadows. Lowering the shadows illustrates the atmosphere of the train, as previously mentioned. However, the shadows are a symbolic representation of the discriminatory separation between Japanese-Americans and “[all] those outside the train.” Otsuka makes a deliberate choice when pairing moments inside and outside the train. The devastation that occurred during this time period is emphasized by its juxtaposition with the “outside” perspective. Otsuka's choice to pair moments inside and outside the train emphasizes the isolation and inequality that occurred during this time period. Additionally, Otsuka makes distinctive choices with chapter titles, which result in meaningful perspectives becoming apparent. In the chapter "In a Stranger's Backyard", the family returns home after internment. The children notice that their mother's rose bush is missing from their yard. As they searched neighbors' yards, they "never stopped believing that somewhere out there, in some stranger's yard, [their] mother's rose bush was blooming wildly." Initially the rose bush was in the backyard, but once taken, the children imagine it in a backyard. Such an important perspective is illustrated by the conceit of children. When people intentionally make shameful decisions, they hide their actions to avoid punishment. By deciding to plant the rose bush in a backyard, the strangers hide their crime. Furthermore, the idea that a stranger committed such a crime is crucial. The children's father had previously been kidnapped by a stranger, and after the internment, the children reflect on the moment their mother opened the door to a stranger. The children ask themselves: “...and why was our mother so ready to open the door to a stranger? Because strangers had already knocked on our door. And what had happened? Nothing good. Nothing good. They had taken our father away." In both cases it was a stranger who committed the crime. A stranger had previously taken the father. On a larger scale, at the time, every Japanese-American was taken by “a stranger.” Strangers whose sense of entitlement and actions were unjustifiable. Those who made up the United States government were strangers to ordinary people, especially Japanese Americans. Thus, the family's theft of the rose bush corresponds to the U.S. government's theft of the rights and freedoms of Japanese Americans. Otsuka's use of repetition in the quote emphasizes the idea that “nothing good ever happened” whenever the door was opened to strangers. Therefore, since the children assume that a stranger stole the rose bush, it is clear that their missing rose bush was sentimental. The rose bush symbolically represents the freedom and rights that were stolen from Japanese Americans and the hidden actions of those who caused this. Otsuka's intentional titles allow the reader to recognize the impact the internment camps had on so many Japanese-Americans. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay By making deliberate stylistic choices, Otsuka highlights.