No No Boy

1256 Words6 Pages
Not a No-No Boy? Human being, smartest animals on the planet yet one can only learn so much about themselves. The novel No-No Boy by John Okada made me a bit frustrated but yet entertained. The author presents Ichiro as a boy who faces few bad decisions and negative outcomes, however it is not the end of his world. "No-no" boy, which means during World War II he said no to serving in the U.S. Army, and refused to swear allegiance to the United States of America. Ichiro was sent to an internment camp for two years, and two years in prison for refusing to join the U.S. Army. When Ichiro returned from internment camp and prison, he's not even close to be excited. Not only he blamed his parents for his wrong decision in the past, his mother still believes that the Japanese won the war, and will send them back to Japan sooner or later. Ichiro's past lead him into numerous of pain and struggle, even involved his family into it. Ichiro and his friends Kenji and Freddie soon will encounter trouble and hardships that will make Ichiro's mind clear and aim for a better future. Ichiro understands that since the day he chose to not serve in the U.S. Armed Force his life has been going downhill. "No-no boy, huh? Rotten bastard. Shit on you." (3, 4) Said Eto, who was friendly the moment he saw Ichiro but mood dramatically changed as soon as he found out that Ichiro is a no-no boy. No-no boy basically are the equivalent of an outcast. Not fighting for the rights of their own kind, people tend to not show respect to those who didn't serve in the U.S. Armed Force during World War II. Not only that Ichiro is not accepted by the outside world, he also had to deal with his crazy mother, who still believe that Japan has won the war. "The boat is coming and we must be ready." (13) said Mrs. Yamada. What really made it worse for Ichiro is that his own mother

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