When the Emperor was Divine 2…….

                                       

I look at “When the Emperor was Divine” as a dream of hope and freedom. I think Julie Otsuka uses a lot of description in this novel, which is very fair. I think without the description of places, people and things, the reader can’t have the feel of how everything was or how bad it was. I think she tried her best to make the reader believe or imagine how everything looked like or settled. I think she describes it really well that how people lived in those barracks and the dessert that was so hot without any trees or anything else to look at it. We discussed in the class that in Julie writing, there is a lack of emotions I think the reason why she didn’t put emotionsinto it, because she knows the story of those poor people, who went through a lot. And it could be the reason that her heart turned into rock and she didn't want to put her pain in front of the reader. She wants to hide her emotions and let the readers feel the pain.  I felt really sad while reading the description of those barracks and how people try to make it feel like home. I feel very sad for those people, who were all shattered and left the hope of getting back to their houses. I felt really bad for children, who lost their childhood in those barracks. They did had chance to play, but everything was just so restricted. The fun, the freedom, or the feel of home and family that we have while playing at home or school, barracks can’t give that to those children who spent those years in there. I think while living in barracks, there is still a hope of getting back home. People, especially the kids and elders are trying to remember their houses by looking at the paths that are going to their houses and the children by playing the games that they learned at home. “Mrs. Kato, who talked to herself night and day. The boy often saw her standing in her doorway with a small wicker suitcase, trying to remember the way home” (55). So, the hope of freedom is everywhere. The boy who wanted to see the horses and wanted to become a jockey tries to find freedom everywhere. Whenever he gets a chance, he tries to make the situation feel like as he’s living his dream. “On the train ride into the desert he had slept with his head in his sister’s lap and dreamed he was riding an enormous white horse by the sea” (52). I think not just the boy, but everyone else is also living their life of freedom or following the goals in their dreams, because they don’t know if they are going back or not. So why not make the dreams our life. I think that the boy has a feel of that he’s not going back home, because when his mother tells him that her face cream is finish and she should’ve brought two. The boy replies her saying that “Maybe three”. So, I think at some points the boy is broken and he’s trying to make the dessert and the barracks his home by playing checkers and other Chinese games. The condition they were living in were really bad, especially the “dust”. “It made your nose bleed, eyes sting, voice away, gets into hairs, shoes, pants, mouth, and your bed”(64). I would say all these people who lived there were really very brave. The conditions that they had to go through were really bad and we can’t even imagine them. I thank God from all of us, who are far away from those conditions and pray that no one else would have to go through all that ever again.