How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The attack on Pearl Harbor had been terrible and unexpected, sure, but it paled when compared with the bombings of Shanghai or the sacking of Nanjing—according to his father anyway. Henry, on the other hand, couldn't even find Nanjing on a map. (5.10)
Henry's father doesn't seem all that worried about the events of World War II because he's seen worse in his lifetime. To him, war is just something that happens and that you ride out.
Quote #2
Seattle's thick fog, which slowed down traffic on the streets and made trouble for ships sailing in and out of Elliott Bay, had become a blanket of comfort, hiding homes and buildings from phantom Japanese bombers or artillery from suspected Japanese submarines. It seemed like there was danger everywhere […]. (11.25)
Henry doesn't experience his childhood during a safe and carefree time. He has to be aware of all the horrible things that could happen because of the war, and how the enemy could be lurking behind every corner.
Quote #3
The war affected everyone. Even here at the Black Elks Club, the blackout curtains were drawn, making the mood feel secretive to Henry. Like a place hidden from the troubles of the world. (12.48)
The Black Elks Club already feels intimate since it's a sort of safe haven from racism, but because blackout curtains have to be drawn at night, the mood at the Black Elks Club is even more intimate.
Quote #4
"They just listening to music. Why you taking them away?" The old man in his white, sweat-stained shirt hoisted his suspenders, casting a long shadow across the dance floor from the halcyon lights behind him, like God yelling down from the mountain. In his shadow lay the Japanese patrons, both men and women—facedown on the dance floor, guns pointed to their heads. (12.73)
But the war even finds them when they're listening to music at the Black Elks Club. The FBI swarm the place and forces all the Japanese people lying facedown on the floor—even though they're just teachers and businessmen and other ordinary, law-abiding citizens.
Quote #5
Henry sat and listened to his father read from the daily newspaper, citing each new arrest of Japanese locals. All of them now bound for federal prison. Henry didn't understand. They were taking schoolteachers and businessmen. Doctors and fishmongers. The arrests seemed random, and the charges were vague. (15.2)
To Henry, the arrest of Japanese American citizens doesn't make any sense. It seems like the FBI doesn't have any real reason for taking these people away other than the fact of their ancestry.
Quote #6
"Henry, the entire West Coast has been designated as a military area." Henry listened, not understanding what this meant. "Half of Washington, half of Oregon, and most of California are now under military supervision." (15.14)
You'd think that finding out their hometown was designated a military area would scare Henry's father, but in fact, he's delighted. He knows what this really means: It's only a matter of time before the government forces all Japanese American citizens to evacuate.
Quote #7
Was it fear? Hatred? Or just youthful boredom that drove Denny here, to Japantown, where families hid and locked their doors, hiding their precious possessions, fearing arrest. While Denny stood on the corner, painting "Go Home Japs!" over American flags posted on store windows. (22.12)
The amount of hatred Henry sees against Japanese people is mind-boggling to him; he can't understand how his classmates are so angry that they're running around at night and defacing businesses.
Quote #8
"I don't know how to tell you so it makes sense. You were born here. You're American. Where your father comes from, it was nothing but war. War with Japan. They invaded northern China, killing many people. Not just soldiers but women and children, the old and the sick. Your father, he grew up this way. He saw this happen to his own family." (26.21)
Henry just doesn't get his father and his feelings toward Japanese people, but this is partially because he hasn't lived through his own horrible war with Japan. His father remembers the atrocities of such a war from his childhood. Memories like these don't easily fade away.
Quote #9
Camp Harmony was always intended to be temporary, just until permanent camps could be built—away from the coastlines, which were seen a a vulnerable target for bombing or invasion. In these coastal communities, every Japanese citizen was a potential spy—able to keep track of the comings and goings of warships and ocean-based supply lines. (37.2)
Talk about paranoid. It's not enough for the government to force all Japanese American citizens out of their homes—they're going to move them to an internment camp in another state in order to keep everyone in line.
Quote #10
"A man, I think his name was Okamoto, was shot for stopping a construction truck from going the wrong way. One of the soldiers escorting the convoy shot him. Killed him right there," Mr. Okabe said, swallowing hard. (41.63)
The camps are a dangerous place for Japanese American citizens, too. Mr. Okabe has seen his neighbors get shot down for simply redirecting traffic when a truck goes the wrong way. Yikes.