No-No_Boy

No-No Boy No-No Boy John Okada was a Japanese American of the second generation. He was born in the Seattle area as an U.S citizen. During 1957 Okada pointed out a specific crisis that American citizens of Japanese heritage faced during and after WWII. Okada’s book titled No-No Boy questions the ideal of loyalty in an unjust and unequal society of bitter realities and emotional conflicts. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Japanese, including those living in America, became the enemy. Those living on the West Coast were placed in internment camps. The Japanese in America during this time were questioned of their American patriotism, and were held under the suspicion of holding on to their loyalty to Japan. Therefore, the more the Japanese held on to their Japanese culture, the less ”American” they were viewed to be. The Nisei generation (which were the second generation of Japanese immigrants who are therefore born American citizens) was given a loyalty survey, intended to sort out those who were “loyal citizens” of America and those who were not. Two of the questions asked were very controversial for Japanese Americans. They were asked, if they would be willing to fight in the American army japanese, american, ichiro, america, no-no, fight, war, two, problem, one, novel, freddie, way, questions, men, loyalty, generation, faced, boys, both, because, young, therefore, suspicion, society, same, refusing, okada, nationality, living, kenji, japan, heritage, fighting, ethnicity, during