Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment

Although “manzanar” means “apple orchard” in Spanish, the camp is located in a desert. In 1943, Jeanne and her family are able to leave their small barracks and move to Block 28. As a dietician at the camp hospital, which is close to Block 28, Mama was able to plan the move there. The conditions of the new block are better; the family now has double the space and improved facilities. Although Papa continues to brew alcohol, he does not drink as much. He spends his time “dabbl[ing] in hobbies he would never have found time for otherwise” (97), including building furniture, gardening, and watercolors. In particular, Papa loves to paint nature such as the mountains, which remind “a man that sometimes he must simply endure what which cannot be changed” (98). Many in Manzanar are now focused on enduring their present situation rather than changing it, in part because the conditions have improved.

Within this “narrowed world” (100), life continues. Manzanar comes to resemble the outside world more as the administration offers extracurricular activities, social events, and different forms of entertainment. Jeanne and her siblings participate in sports, dance, bands, and part-time work. Pictures of Jeanne’s siblings, as well as camp life in general, appear in their camp-produced “yearbook.