The Freedom Writers Diary: Part II: Diary 20 Summary & Analysis

Ms. Gruwell takes her class on a field trip to see a movie, Higher Learning, about discrimination and prejudice. After the movie, they are able to talk to panelists who have become successful after overcoming many obstacles. This student recalls her favorite panelist, a Japanese man whose family immigrated to the United States but who, after Pearl Harbor, was sent to a Japanese internment camp.

Similar to this panelist, this student was forced to live in an internment camp during the war in Cambodia. The living conditions were harrowing, as they had to endure health problems and often lacked sufficient food. The camp also destroyed her family, as it ended up turning her father into an abusive, uncaring man who has lost his dignity and self-worth. Like the Japanese panelist who, at ten years old, was considered an enemy, this student concludes that war destroys people’s mental and physical well-being, simply because of prejudice.