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Chapter 5
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Buddha in the Attic, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Gender and Autonomy
Racism, Assimilation, and Cultural Identity
Community and Inter-Asian Prejudice
The Power of Collectivism
Summary
Analysis
War breaks out, and the Japanese women begin to hear of a mysterious list supposedly containing mostly Japanese names—people who are “known dangerous,” “potentially dangerous,” or with “pro-Axis inclinations.” Believing that they are too “simple” to cause anyone trouble, the women try to convince themselves that their husbands aren’t on the list and will be safe, but they stay indoors to be cautious. It’s December as they try to carry on as normal, but as the women converse with one another, they hear news of Japanese men being deported or even shot. Although they want to dismiss the rumors, Japanese women and men can’t help but be worried about their situation.
Considering the racism that the Japanese women and their husbands face on a daily basis, it’s easy to understand why they’d feel unsafe despite not having participated in any anti-American war efforts. Fear quickly settles in among the adults of the Japanese American community, demonstrating the constant stress of being an immigrant in a foreign community. This isn’t the first time they’ve felt targeted in the United States, after all, as white townsfolk have constantly tormented them despite their sustained efforts as laborers. (It’s also worth noting that the anti-Japanese hysteria in this period was motivated entirely by racism; investigations have found no instances of Japanese Americans committing treason.)
Themes
White neighbors and neighbors of color alike begin to treat their Japanese neighbors as enemies, sending them threatening letters, boycotting their businesses, and sometimes running away from them entirely. Unable to escape the widespread claims of their complicity in sabotaging America in the war, the Japanese women and men give in and begin to burn any of their belongings with ties to Japan. Uncertain and afraid of what will happen to them, the Japanese women try to continue as usual with their same jobs but feel overcome by fear, spending every night scrutinizing newspapers with their husbands in an attempt to figure out what exactly is happening.
Much like the Japanese American children’s efforts to distance themselves from Japanese culture by taking on American names and mannerisms, their parents now find themselves in a similar position, feeling as though they have no choice but to get rid of their Japanese belongings. This parallel gives context to how the Japanese American children likely thought of their choices to reject Japanese culture: like their parents now, they saw rejecting Japanese culture as a way to stay safe and fit in.
Themes
At 3 in the morning, a Japanese man who works as a prominent berry grower is taken away. He is the first person his Japanese neighbors know to suffer this fate. Suspicion fragments the Japanese community as they grow to distrust one another, but with January comes an official order from authorities that all Japanese people must surrender any items deemed “contraband” and abide by new travel restrictions and curfews. As February rolls around, more and more Japanese men are taken away, arrested, and have disappeared, leaving their wives to wonder what exactly has happened to them.
Just as the racism of white bosses pitting minority workers against each other caused animosity between workers of differing ethnicities, the racism of suspicious white Americans subjects Japanese men to violence and divides the Japanese American community. Although racist ideas surrounding foreigners are to blame for what happens to the Japanese men who disappear, the Japanese women and their husbands blame each other instead, with the racial hierarchy being so rigid that they seemingly don’t even think to blame the white townsfolk who’ve been mistreating them this whole time.
Themes
Now without their husbands, many Japanese women must adjust to their new circumstances. While the women whose husbands have not been taken away begin to act more patiently and gently with their spouses, wanting to savor the time they have together, some women admit that they prefer living alone. Nonetheless, the Japanese community grows more fragmented as they remain suspicious that their fellow Japanese neighbors will betray them, and they begin to hear rumors that entire Japanese communities are being uprooted.
It’s interesting to note that some of the women get to experience a taste of independence and autonomy in the midst of the danger facing the Japanese American community. Living without their husbands for the first time since arriving in the United States, these women get to make their own decisions and lead their households—an exciting opportunity, if not for the unfortunate circumstances.
Themes
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Japanese community members receive official evacuation notices and begin to prepare for the worst. Older children drop out of school and quit their jobs to return home to help their parents in the fields one last time, or to assist their parents in finding people to take over their businesses. Non-Japanese neighbors start asking if they can buy their Japanese neighbors’ furniture, and some visit their favorite Japanese businesses one more time. In denial that their lives are about to change forever and hoping that someone will intervene, the Japanese community continues working and cleaning—but they also continue packing.
Despite the Japanese American children’s efforts to distance themselves from Japanese culture in their earlier adolescence, the older children’s decision to return home to help their parents reveals that they still love and care for their families even if they were once ashamed of their upbringing and cultural background. At the same time, the division between the Japanese American and white American communities is more clear-cut than ever. As the white townsfolk swoop in to purchase their Japanese neighbors’ furniture, they don’t seem to sympathize at all with their struggles, instead viewing this as an opportunity to refurnish their homes.
Themes
