Farewell to Manzanar: Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

In December, a newly-arrived camp director issues every family a Christmas tree as an apology for all the hardship that lead up to the riot. For Jeanne, the holiday season is dispiriting—there are no good presents, the weather is terrible, and Papa is completely drunk.

In February, another period of uncertainty arrives with the Loyalty Oath—a document asking each person over seventeen to affirm their willingness to serve in the U.S. Army and their “unqualified allegiance” to the U.S. This becomes an even more “divisive” problem than the riot, because everyone is involved. Even Papa leaves his isolation to participate in the debate.

Jeanne is too young to understand the quandary; she only knows that men are constantly coming and going from the barracks, and when Mama and Granny try to stop their arguing Papa shouts at them.

Papa also argues with Woody about the oath, telling his son that if he goes to war he must believe completely in what he’s fighting for, which he can’t do because internment has undermined his faith in America. Woody refuses to disrespect Papa by arguing with him, but he insists that as an American citizen he will sign the oath and join the army as soon as possible. Woody knows that his filial duty is to listen to Papa talk, even though he’s already made his decision.

The Loyalty Oath stems from the desire to incorporate Nisei men into the armed forces. Japanese civic groups have been pushing for this, in order to prove Japanese loyalty; the U.S. government also needs more volunteers. The oath is supposed to “weed out the disloyal” in preparation for such a process, but it’s actually a ridiculous idea; no actual saboteur would admit his disloyalty, while the indignity of signing an oath against Japan after such harsh treatment in American makes many internees “militantly anti-American.”

Even though Papa rails against the oath, he knows he will sign “Yes Yes”—in other words, answer yes to all the questions. If he doesn’t, he believes he might be sent back to Japan, forever separated from his family. However, it’s hard to stick to this decision in the camp, where anti-American feeling is running high and some groups are trying to pressure people into signing “No No.”

A block meeting is scheduled to discuss the oath and Papa decides to attend, even though he knows people will gossip about him as an “inu.” However, he wants to prevent people from bullying the whole block into signing “No No.” Woody wants to accompany him, but Papa insists the meeting is only for heads of households. He dresses up in his best clothes, sobers up, and walks out of the barracks alone.

During the meeting, Jeanne plays hopscotch with other girls in the windy yard. Walking home, hears men yelling inside the mess hall and recognizes Papa’s voice calling the other men “trash” in Japanese. Suddenly, the door opens, and a man emerges, chased by Papa, who hits the man with his cane and jumps on top of him, fighting in the dust.

As Jeanne later finds out, when Papa speaks during the meeting people begin murmuring and calling him an “inu.” The man Papa is now fighting is the one who made the accusation aloud. Jeanne has never seen him so angry; the fight only stops when some other men drag him away.

A minute later, a sandstorm hits. The men drag Papa into the barracks and Jeanne follows him. He sits silently inside while Mama pours him tea, and Woody and Chizu arrive to discuss the day’s events. A friend of Chizu’s also visits, and as Jeanne goes to bed she and Papa begin to sing old Japanese songs around the fire. Eventually, Papa begins to sing the Japanese national anthem as everyone else hums along; he makes the song into a “deep-throated lament,” and tears begin trickling down his cheeks. Jeanne has seen him cry only rarely, usually while listening to someone else play music.

Later, Jeanne learns that Papa had grown up singing the national anthem every morning at school. Unlike other countries’ anthems, it’s not a martial song but actually an ancient poem which expresses hope that Japan will endure “until this tiny stone will grow into a massive rock” covered in moss. The endurance it describes is both national and personal, describing both the country and an individual’s life.

Outside the house where Papa grew up in Japan stood a large stone lantern. Every morning, someone poured a bucket of water over the lantern, so that over the years moss grew over the stone. As a boy, Papa learned that the anthem referred to the specific type of moss which grows over stones like these.