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Shomeret's Reviews > No-No Boy
No-No Boy (Classics of Asian American Literature)
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I found The No-No Boy on K.P. Kollenborn's Blog after I had read her novel Eyes Behind Belligerence. Since Eyes Behind Belligerence and No-No Boy had protagonists dealing with being Japanese American during and after World War II, it seemed natural to compare them. Both Kollenborn’s Jim Yoshimura and Okada’s Ichiro Yamada are what was known as “No-No Boys�. This means that after they had been interned, they refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the United States, and they refused to serve in the military during WWII. Yet these characters could not be less alike in their response to their experiences. Jim never doubted that he had made the correct decision. Ichiro was completely angst-ridden, and continually referred to his “mistake�.
A reader might ask who is more typical of “No-No Boys�, but I don’t believe that characters in a novel can or should be considered representative of an entire group. If an author is successful in creating characters that resemble actual human beings, then they are unique individuals that represent no one but themselves. If some readers respond to a character as being true to their own experiences, there may still be other readers who don’t identify with the character.
This is why I think that a better question for a reader to ask is why Jim Yoshimura and Ichiro Yamada had such disparate responses. This question can be answered by examining these characters� backgrounds as they are portrayed in their respective novels. Jim and Ichiro are on opposite sides of a spectrum of behavior. I don’t think that either should be regarded as typical. They can be considered portraits of individuals in a time of a crisis ably portrayed by their authors.
I did prefer the character Kenji in No-No Boy. It isn't because Kenji fought in World War II. I genuinely respect the position of No-No Boys. (view spoiler) Yet unlike Ichiro, Kenji accepted himself. I think that when people like themselves, they are more likable to others.
For a different version of this review, see my blog at:
A reader might ask who is more typical of “No-No Boys�, but I don’t believe that characters in a novel can or should be considered representative of an entire group. If an author is successful in creating characters that resemble actual human beings, then they are unique individuals that represent no one but themselves. If some readers respond to a character as being true to their own experiences, there may still be other readers who don’t identify with the character.
This is why I think that a better question for a reader to ask is why Jim Yoshimura and Ichiro Yamada had such disparate responses. This question can be answered by examining these characters� backgrounds as they are portrayed in their respective novels. Jim and Ichiro are on opposite sides of a spectrum of behavior. I don’t think that either should be regarded as typical. They can be considered portraits of individuals in a time of a crisis ably portrayed by their authors.
I did prefer the character Kenji in No-No Boy. It isn't because Kenji fought in World War II. I genuinely respect the position of No-No Boys. (view spoiler) Yet unlike Ichiro, Kenji accepted himself. I think that when people like themselves, they are more likable to others.
For a different version of this review, see my blog at:
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Reading Progress
April 14, 2012
–
Started Reading
April 14, 2012
– Shelved
April 14, 2012
– Shelved as:
historical-fiction
April 20, 2012
– Shelved as:
my-reviews
April 20, 2012
–
Finished Reading
