Coyote Smells Poor Summary

With the withdrawing of Japan from the League of Nations, their attack on Pearl Harbour and then their battle against the Allied Forces during the Battle of Hong Kong, Prime Minister Mackenzie King thought that it was necessary to take precautionary measures against the Japanese by interning them, just in case any individual or group planned to aid their country. Many Japanese were outraged, as most were innocent. They were then taken to internment camps located in the interior of British Columbia, where they faced poor living conditions, had no electricity nor any running water. “The experience was horrific. We barely survived after long days of work and being given nearly expired food,” said a Japanese mother who was involved in the experience. The property and valuables of the Japanese were seized by the government and weren’t returned. This injustice with the Japanese is what led to this apology.

The Japanese in the Second World War were perceived as comical, but also dangerous. They were like children with knives, immature and rash but just as dangerous as grown men with knives. The propaganda encourages Canadians to work hard, they use the stereotypical hardworking trait in the Japanese and even threatened that if we could work just as hard we could beat them. When Japanese refugees arrived in Canada they were immediately segregated and discriminated against. With the overwhelming numbers of the Japanese pouring in, they were mistreated frequently. They were hated for their leader’s ideals and actions.

In Jamie Ford’s historical fiction Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, this split narrative focuses on two eras: 1942 and 1986. Within these era’s, Ford’s novel focuses on a Chinese boy, Henry Lee, and what it was like to grow up in the international district with prejudice everywhere, especially in his own family being a first generation American. His novel tells the story of Henry, as well as a Japanese girl by the name of Keiko. The novel tells the story of these two young friends and the hardships faced when the government sends Keiko and her family away to the Japanese internment camps in the Northwest in the 1940’s. His novel displays the effects

With the start of the war, the government put some time restrictions on Japanese people for being in public, Japanese fishermen were ban from Canadian waters. The government also introduced the War Measure Act in order to remove all people of Japanese origin from coast of British Columbia into internment camps in the interior parts of B.C. (Porter & Uyeyama, 1984). Those who showed even a mild resistance to this policy were sent to Prisoners of War Camps in Petawawa and Anglerin in Ontario (Sugiman, 2004, p. 54). In the internment camps people were forced to live in shacks that were hastily prepared (Sugiman, 2004, p. 54), faced daily hardships (Sugiman, 2004, p. 63), and some Japanese women were subjected to sexual harassment by RCMP guards (Sugiman, 2004, p.64). In addition, while Japanese Canadians were at the internment camps, the federal government sold all their properties such as homes and fishing boats, for less than half of their price (Porter & Uyeyama, 1984). Thus, even though many of these people were neutralized Canadians and Canadian born, the federal government failed to recognize their loyalty to Canada as Canadians, simply because of the way they looked, and treated them as enemy aliens and betrayed them during the

There are many things that happened to Japanese-American immigrants during World War 2 that people in this time period aren’t really familiar with. A story from a Japanese woman, Jeanne Wakatsuki-Houston, who was born and lived in this era, with help from her husband, James D. Houston, explains and sheds some light during the times where internment camps still prevailed. The writing piece titled “Arrival at Manzanar", takes place during her childhood and the Second World War. In the beginning, Jeanne and her family were living a calm and peaceful life in a predominantly white neighborhood, until disaster struck the world and they were forced to move due to escalating tensions between Japanese Orientals and white Americans. At the time, Japanese-Americans, like Jeanne, were forced to live in an internment camp, which is a prison of sorts, due to the war with Japan. The text is being told through a first person point-of-view in which Jeanne herself tells the story through her experiences during the war. In that story, which contains only a part of the original text, much of the setting took place either prior to and during the time she was sent to the internment camps and describes her struggle with it. This story clearly states the importance of family and perseverance which is shown through her use of pathos, definition, and chronological storytelling.

He creates tension and division between the Natives and the Napikawans (whites) to illustrate the relationship and encounters between the colonizer and colonized. He breaks the traditional stereotypes that Natives are savage by limiting the perspective to the Natives. From the Natives’ point of view, the reader is able to understand that the Napikawans formed treaties with the Natives, introduced new diseases, and scam a majority of their land. Fools Crow incorporates Pikuni’s words and theology with English vernacular to represent the intermingling of cultures. Welch deliberately excludes the translations of the Pikuni’s words to represent the resistance and rebellion of the Natives against European ways. It also illustrates the struggle on Napikawans to communicate and understand the colonized’s culture. On the other hand, Welch, a Native American, writes Fools Crow in English to depict mimicry and altering one’s culture to adapt to European standards. Welch uses oral storytelling to preserve the Pikuni’s culture as the Napikawans oppress the Blackfeet way of life. Welch effectively shows the first encounter between Napikawans and Natives from the indigenous perspective. As a descendant of Natives, I felt Welch brought awareness of Native life pre and post European contact. In Western society the indigenous people are viewed as savage and wild creatures who only smoke tobacco and

The internment of Japanese Canadians during WW2 was noted as being historically significant at the time due to many suffering from forced relocation, internment camps, and being referred as “enemy aliens or “undesirables”. Beginning in early 1942, in regards to the War Measures Act, all Japanese Canadians living near the British Columbia coast were called to move to the Okanagan Valley (Cranny & Moles 159). They were then relocated and placed in temporary relocation centres. Shortly after 21,000 were removed from their homes (Marsh 11), businesses owned by Japanese Canadians were sold by the government to pay for the detention in camps (Marsh 1). Conditions in internment camps were poor, Tom Tamagi, a Japanese Canadian described his experience

The autobiography illustrates personal experiences of discrimination and prejudice while also reporting the political occurrences during the United States’ involvement in World War II. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States government unleashed unrestrained contempt for the Japanese residing in the nation. The general public followed this train of thought, distrusting the Japanese and treating them like something less than human. In a country of freedom and justice, no coalition stepped up to defend the people who had lived there most of or all of their lives; rather, people took advantage of the Japanese evacuation to take their property and belongings. The government released demeaning propaganda displaying comical Japanese men as monsters and rats, encouraging the public to be vigilant and wary toward anyone of Japanese descent. The abuse of the Japanese during this period was taken a little too lightly, the government apologizing too late and now minor education of the real cruelty expressed toward the nation’s own citizens. Now we see history repeating itself in society, and if we don’t catch the warning signs today, history may just come full

On December 7th, 1941 Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan and in response, the United States entered World War II. Suddenly Japanese-Americans were a threat and internment camps, such as Manzanar, were created to detain them. They would now face indignities and prejudice because of their heritage. Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston grew up behind barbed wire fences and shares her experience at Manzanar in her novel Farewell to Manzanar, revealing what it meant to be someone affected by the exclusion acts. In this coming-of-age tale, Houston struggles with the difficulty of self-discovery and the harsh reality of being a Japanese American during World War II.

The United States of America a nation known for allowing freedom, equality, justice, and most of all a chance for immigrants to attain the American dream. However, that “America” was hardly recognizable during the 1940’s when President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, ordering 120,000 Japanese Americans to be relocated to internment camps. As for the aftermath, little is known beyond the historical documents and stories from those affected. Through John Okada’s novel, No-No Boy, a closer picture of the aftermath of the internment is shown through the events of the protagonist, Ichiro. It provides a more human perspective that is filled with emotions and connections that are unattainable from an ordinary historical document.

The core of the Japanese experience in Canada lies in the shameful and almost undemocratic suspension of human rights that the Canadian government committed during World War II. As a result, thousands of Japanese were uprooted to be imprisoned in internment camps miles away from their homes. While only a small percentage of the Japanese living in Canada were actually nationals of Japan, those who were Canadian born were, without any concrete evidence, continuously being associated with a country that was nothing but foreign to them. Branded as “enemy aliens”, the Japanese Canadians soon came to the realization that their beloved nation harboured so much hate and anti-Asian sentiments that Canada was becoming just as foreign to them as

Every culture has its traditions and folktales. Commonly, Native stories tend to make use of trickster figures to promote some sort of moral across. Coyote is one of the most frequent trickster figure amongst this narrative. This wild animal can at times be helpful, but more often than not his foolish and rash personality can meddle with the surrounding environment. Much like Zeus transformed into a swan in Leda and the Swan, Coyote could also change forms. Sometimes he’s an animal, other times he’s a person, or even at times he’s half human-half animal. Since trickster figures can change their physical shape, their personality is no different. It can vary, from the wise and brave fool such as the Coyote from Louisa McDermott’s Coyote Kills the Giant, to the plain unwise and meddlesome such as Coyote from Thomas King’s A Coyote Columbus Story. If one wants to examine Native American literature King’s and McDermott’s Coyote stories can be used to endorse an in depth investigation. Humour, irony, and proper oral techniques in both, Coyote Kills the Giant and A Coyote Columbus Story, demonstrate that Coyote stories can not only be fun and foolish, but also educational and powerful.

The core of the Japanese experience in Canada lies in the shameful and almost undemocratic suspension of human rights that the Canadian government committed during World War II. As a result, thousands of Japanese were uprooted to be imprisoned in internment camps miles away from their homes. While only a small percentage of the Japanese living in Canada were actually nationals of Japan, those who were Canadian born were, without any concrete evidence, continuously being associated with a country that was nothing but foreign to them. Branded as "enemy aliens", the Japanese Canadians soon came to the realization that their beloved nation harboured so much hate and anti-Asian sentiments that Canada was becoming just as foreign to them as

“Coyote and the Enemy Aliens” is a satirical commentary that effectively expounds on the intense objectification and dehumanization of Japanese Canadians during the colonial Canadian era. By depicting the grotesque living conditions, the Japanese were subjected to, King is able to critique the racist perspectives of the Canadian society. King condemns the actions of colonial white-men, depicting them as creatures engulfed in moral blindness that strive to fabricate an ideal white world. Moreover, King vividly portrays the idea of social dynamics, expounding on the helplessness of Citizens against dominant political powers. King also introduces an idea of conformity, showcasing how citizens gradually adapt to

In the third essay Michi Wegilyn mention an important fact of how Canada removed its small Japanese minority a month before United States did that, and how this might had set a precedent for United States. Moreover, Canada treated Japanese harsher by confiscating their property in order to use it for supporting internment