can anyone help me get started? im so lost, i have no idea how to start etc... im up to writing the essay.
Japanese Picture Brides in Context
When talking about her second novel, The Buddha in the Attic, in a recent interview for The Daily Beast, Julie Otsuka admitted that she did tons of research: “I read a lot of oral histories and history books, and old newspapers. I had to learn about two worlds: the old Japan from which the picture brides came, and the America of the 1920s and 1930s which they immigrated to. I kept many notebooks filled with detailed notes about everything.” That research resulted in a historical novel that tells a captivating story about the experiences of Japanese immigrant women.
Following Otsuka’s lead, you are going to read newspaper accounts about Japanese picture brides that appeared in the mainstream press in the early decades of the twentieth century. These newspaper articles offer a glimpse into how the dominant culture viewed Japanese picture brides and their husbands as well as their cultural practices pertaining to marriage.
This assignment is designed to provide you with a sense of how Japanese immigrants were perceived by members of the dominant culture in order to help you better understand why Otsuka has taken up the task of writing a novel about picture brides.
The Seattle star. (Seattle, Wash.), 30 July 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87093407/1919-07-30/ed-1/seq-1/>
Honolulu star-bulletin. (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii), 10 Nov. 1917. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014682/1917-11-10/ed-1/seq-21/>
The Washington herald. (Washington, D.C.), 26 July 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045433/1919-07-26/ed-1/seq-1/>
The San Francisco call. (San Francisco [Calif.]), 14 Aug. 1910. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1910-08-14/ed-1/seq-30/>
The day book. (Chicago, Ill.), 15 April 1913. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1913-04-15/ed-1/seq-28/>
HOMEWORK/STEP ONE: Choose one newspaper article and write an outline of initial impressions. What stands out in the headline? What is the article about? How are Japanese picture brides portrayed? Be sure to pay attention to the content of the article as well as any accompanying photographs and captions. If there is a photograph, what story does it tell? Does it reinforce the point of the article?
STEP TWO: Write a one-paragraph summary of the newspaper article. Be comprehensive. Use the questions in Step One to guide you.
STEP THREE: Write a (3) page response paper discussing the similarities or differences between the representation of Japanese immigrants in the newspaper article you read and Otsuka’s treatment of them in the novel. In what way(s) does Otsuka’s novel reflect the ways in which the press represented Japanese picture brides and their husbands? In what way(s) does Otsuka’s novel seem to challenge these representations? What are the long-term effects of these representations on the women? Think about their lives after they arrive and have started their new lives.