Character Clues

Character Analysis

Direct Characterization

Wakatsuki Houston uses direct characterization a lot, and she's almost always trying to tell us what someone is like… especially if that person is her father. Check out this key paragraph about Papa:

That's how I remember him before he disappeared. He was not a great man. He wasn't even a very successful man. He was a poser, a braggart, and a tyrant. But he had held onto his self-respect, he dreamed grand dreams, and he could work well at any task he turned his hand to: he could raise vegetables, sail a boat, plead a case in small claims court, sing Japanese poems, make false teeth, carve a pig. (1.6.28)

Wakatsuki Houston's not giving us room to interpret Papa's character for ourselves—nope, she's telling us straight-up what to expect from this guy. You just can't get more direct than that.

Family Life

Roles, roles, roles. Ever wonder if you're who you are just because of the role you have in your family?

Tell that to the Wakatsuki clan—their lives are ruled by their familial roles.

Like when Kiyo hits Papa in the face in order to defend Mama from Papa's abuse. Hitting your father is a huge no-no in any family, but it's an even greater sin in a Japanese household because it's "like bloodying the nose of God" (1.7.21). Oops.

Even though we can stand up and cheer for Kiyo's bravery, Kiyo's still a son who knows his place in the family, which is why, after two weeks of hiding out, Kiyo returns "to admit that he had been in the wrong and to ask Papa's forgiveness. He too wanted some order preserved in the world and in the family" (1.7.23). So Kiyo isn't just brave—he's also subservient to the patriarchal order that surrounds them.

Ultimately, Kiyo's subservience makes him no different than the rest of the Wakatsukis when Papa's in the picture.

Occupation

Ask any Wall Street banker or corporate lawyer, and they'll quickly tell you that you are your job. You know who else will tell you this? Papa, an Issei Japanese man whose whole culture is built on being the patriarch of the family.

That's why life after internment is such a major downfall for Papa. He has no job to return to, so he can't be the classic husband and father who provides for his family. All of this "put[s] him right back where he'd been in 1904, arriving in a new land and starting over from economic zero. It was another snip of the castrator's scissors, and he never really recovered from this, either financially or spiritually" (2.19.13).

Work doesn't only define a character negatively though. Sometimes it gives a character the chance to highlight who they really are. Take Mama's cannery job for example: it shows Mama off as a responsible, routine and family-oriented person:

So she went to work with as much pride as she could muster. Early each morning she would make up her face. She would fix her hair, cover it with a flimsy net, put on a clean white cannery worker's dress, and stick a brightly colored handkerchief in the lapel pocket. (2.19.14)

Mama's all about workin' it, and her willingness to work a low-end job coupled with the pride she takes in her appearance (though you might want to hop on over to the "Symbols" section for more discussion about make-up) show us her resilience in action.