No-No Boy: Chapter 9 Summary & Analysis

Mrs. Yamada’s funeral is held seven days after her death. Ichiro sent Taro a telegram, but his brother does not come. Mr. Yamada, meanwhile, loves the attention he has gotten in the wake of his wife’s passing.

Ichiro sits in the front row of the Buddhist church where the funeral is held, and considers the casket in front of him. Mr. Yamada spent money on a fancier one, when a simple simpler model would have worked.  His father has been sober since Mrs. Yamada’s death, and has instead been “drunk with the renewal of countless friendships” and the attention from the community.

At the service a priest speaks, followed by a series of old men. Ichiro feels as though he is “hearing about a stranger.” He has trouble believing that Mrs. Yamada was ever, young, pretty, and sane. After the funeral, as the hearse takes the casket to the funeral parlor for cremation, Ichiro tells Mr. Yamada that he feels sick. Mr. Yamada insists Ichiro come along with him, but Ichiro instead spies Freddie across the parking lot, and joins his friend in the car.

Ichiro knows he should see Mrs. Yamada’s funeral through, and understands that she sacrificed to give him the life he had, and probably meant well. Still, he believes she made him make the wrong decision in front of the draft board, although now he understands what should have been done, and what should be done in the future. She is dead, and Ichiro is free, and he will do his best to find work and live a normal life.

Freddie takes Ichiro to a drive-in where they get hamburgers and coffee. They talk about their lives. Freddie thinks Ichiro is stuck in a rut, but Freddie believes he is “livin’ it up,” drinking, going out, and having sex with 2-A. Freddie is jumpy because he cut Eto after Eto harassed him at a bar, and now Eto’s friends are after him. They have already tried to hit him with a car, and he anticipates they’ll try to hurt him again.

The conversation moves to their families. Ichiro is not hungry, perhaps because of grief, and Freddie tries to be sympathetic. Freddie remarks that he wouldn’t be sad if his parents died, but “guys like you take it hard.” Freddie, in contrast, believes his parents are “old country” and should never have left Japan. He blames them for messing him up, and so feels no pity for them.

Freddie also observes that his parents have nothing left to live for. Ichiro is surprised by this insight, but agrees. The Issei who have been unable to assimilate have nothing to do but save money and try to return to Japan. Ichiro tries to get Freddie to engage in a deeper conversation, but Freddie cannot, or will not. Ichiro is reminded that Freddie is “constantly concerned with living,” because if he ever tries to slow down, he will “sink into the nothingness” below.

After eating, Freddie and Ichiro drive around town. Freddie is driving dangerously fast, but will not slow down. They talk about working. Freddie recommends Ichiro try visiting Christian Reclamation Center, where other no-no boys have been able to get jobs. He has a friend, Gary, who works at the Reclamation Center now, after being forced to give up a job at a foundry.

Freddie drops Ichiro off at the family store. Ichiro makes tea and plays with Taro’s old deck of cards. He thinks back to his childhood, when he would listen to the radio or a phonograph, which Mrs. Yamada disliked. One day, while he was gone, she came into his room and smashed the phonograph to pieces, even cutting apart the wires. She denied him access to music, comic books, and other aspects of American culture. He thinks that she should have made some small concessions, and that doing so would have “kept her sons a part of the family.”

Ichiro hears a knock at the door. Emi has come to visit and give her condolences for Mrs. Yamada’s passing. Ichiro invites her inside and they talk. She tells him that Ralph has asked to get a divorce. She also tells him Mr. Maeno has offered him a job again, which he turns down. She tells him she’s lonely, and asks Ichiro to come see her again, but he responds that he’s not good for her. Emi turns to leave.

Before Emi can leave, Ichiro changes his mind and decides to join Emi, and the two of them go dancing. They find a club with an orchestra and dance together. Ichiro is happy. He feels like it doesn’t matter that he rejected the draft, and it doesn’t matter that he’s Japanese. He feels the way he used to—and realizes that maybe he can change his attitude and “love the world the way I used to.” There is room for him in the world if he can see past his bitterness.

After dancing for a while, Emi and Ichiro sit down. They don’t speak, but smile at each other. A middle-aged man comes over, and although Ichiro is suspicious, he relaxes when the man buys them a drink. Emi and Ichiro discuss the man. Ichiro wonders if he had Japanese friends, or is Japanese but doesn’t look it, or if he just liked the look of him and Emi.

Ichiro arrives home late that night. Mr. Yamada is tying up packages to send to Japan. Mr. Yamada doesn’t expect he will be lonely after Mrs. Yamada’s death. He will keep the store and plans to make improvements to it. Mr. Yamada even seems happy, although his wife has just died. Ichiro thinks, “the packages were the symbol of his freedom,” and his new future.

Ichiro sees that Mr. Yamada was not sick like Mrs. Yamada had been. Now that Mrs. Yamada has died, he is able to “exercise his reasonable ways.” He tells Ichiro it is important to live in the real world. Although life is not always happy, it can still be good. Mr. Yamada tells Ichiro he can take his time readjusting to society. He can go back to school if he wants, but he doesn’t have to. Ichiro knows Mr. Yamada is doing “what he should have long ago,” but believes it is too late.