When the Emperor Was Divine: Forgetting An Identity

     Although there was great suffering during the three years and five months this family spent in internment camps, readjusting to their lives as "normal" Americans had to have been equally, if not more, difficult. Throughout the novel, the theme of hiding one's identity, but being constantly reminded that you just don't fit in, is one that haunts every member of this family. Upon returning to school, the kids are looked down upon; none of their old friends try to remember them, none of their friends' families invite them to join, and no one calls out to them to play. Even children are ashamed or afraid of a culture that society has told them is bad; they haven't even made an effort to come to learn that on their own terms.
     However, in spite of the way the child were affected, the parents' pain seemed to be of greater burden. Not only did they have to try and hide their own identities, but they also had to protect those of each other and their children. And trying to support and provide for a family was made that much more difficult by society because while this family was trying to "forget" and hide who they were, the rest of the country was trying to make sure everyone knew. For example, when the mother tries to find a job she was turned away multiple times because the owner of each establishment did not want to "offend" their clientele or customers. It was so discouraging that even she said, "I was afraid I might accidentally remember who I was and...offend myself" (p. 129) which, I'm sure was meant in a sarcastic manner, but it is also clear that she needed no reminder of just how much she didn't belong; now, then, or ever.
    This feeling was shared by her husband upon his return to the family, but his was more that he was just trying to forget. He didn't share with his family why he had been taken, where had been taken, or if any of the claims against him were true. "All he wanted to do, now that we were back in the world, was forget," Otsuka described; and it wasn't just the accusations that she was suggesting (p. 133). The father wanted to forget his culture, his damaged reputation, and the fact that he would never find a place in society.
     Unlike the other books, which do explore areas of forgetting one's identity, this book emphasized that theme to a much greater extent. These people were forced to abandon their culture, much in a way that America had abandoned them. They were stripped of their names, their traditions, and their memories and were forced to carry a number of identification, a strong disposition, and fake smiles. Faking became their way of life, and even when they weren't supposed to have to forget anymore, they knew no other way than to hide who they were; and who they are.