Farewell to Manzanar: Chapter 12 Summary & Analysis

Manzanar means “apple orchard” in Spanish, and in fact there were once orchards in the town before drought dried it up in the twenties. A few groups of fruit trees survive, and in 1943 the Wakatsukis move to Block 28, which abuts one of the old pear orchards. Papa cares for the trees and the family harvests the fruit and stores it in a specially dug root cellar.

Mama has arranged the move, arguing that she needs to live in Block 28 because of its proximity to the hospital, where she works. As a result of the loyalty oath, some families are finally being relocated outside the camp, where “sponsors” vouch for their loyalty, and inside living space is opening up especially for people like Mama who are shrewd enough to pounce on a recently-vacated apartment. In Block 28, the Wakatsukis have twice as much space; Ray and Woody cover the walls with sheetrock and install linoleum on the floors. There are three colors of linoleum through the camp, and many families cut into small pieces in order to create elaborate, tile-like patterns in their barracks.

Papa continues to brew moonshine, but he’s drinking less and spending more time outside. He doesn’t take a formal job but instead “dabbles” in hobbies he’s never been able to pursue, like carving furniture and even hiking outside the barbed wire fence—after the authorities have given permission. His favorite pastime is collecting stones and building a rock garden outside the doorway.

Papa also paints with watercolors, usually portraying the mountains in the distance. Mount Whitney is visible from the camp, and it reminds Papa and the other Issei of Fujiyama, a mountain in Japan. For the Issei, natural phenomena like mountains are reminders that one must “simply endure that which cannot be changed.”

After the move, life settles into a pattern that remains undisturbed for the rest of the war, as everyone resolves to make the best of internment. Gradually, internees are making the camp livable. They create rock and vegetable gardens that are visible even from outside the fence and provide fresh vegetables for the mess halls. Men who had once been gardeners build a park with ponds and waterfalls, where people walk in the evening to look at the mountains. On the gravel paths, it’s possible to forget that one is a prisoner, and even enjoy being in Manzanar.

As Manzanar becomes more orderly and familiar, people stop wanting to leave, especially when doing so means setting off into the unknown. Within the camp, where people create new roles or recreate their old jobs, it’s possible to forget that “America had accused us, or excluded us, or imprisoned us.”

Manzanar becomes a town with both Asian and American elements. The parks and rock gardens are reminiscent of Japan, but there are also “churches, Boy Scouts, beauty parlors […] glee clubs, and softball leagues”—everything that an American small town would have. Every morning, Mama goes to work in the mess halls and visits young mothers; she always wears a homemade sun hat to protect her skin from the heat.

Woody has capitulated to Papa and agreed not to volunteers but to wait until the army drafts him; in the meantime, he works at the general store. Enterprising Kiyo uncovers arrowheads in the sand and sells them to old men. Ray plays in the football league; sometimes Caucasian teams visit for matches. Lillian is a high school student and sings in a country band called The Sierra Stars, while Bill leads a dance band called The Jive Bombers, which plays for regular weekend dances.

In 1944, the high school creates and publishes a yearbook called Our World. It portrays students wearing sweaters and holding books while they walk past the barracks and barbed wire, cheerleaders with pompoms, and students performing in a play about “a typical American home.” Each senior gets a headshot, accompanied by the name of the high school from which they would have graduated under normal circumstances.

The yearbook also contains snapshots from other aspects of camp life—chickens in coops, dentists’ office, and drying laundry. On the last pages there is a large photograph of a guard tower against the background of the Sierras, and a well-tended path that curves along a row of elm trees. A woman is walking down the path; Jeanne knows that this road leads towards the edge of the camp, but the barbed wire is invisible in the photo. In retrospect, the image seems “both stark and comforting.”