Perspective

Desert Exile was written by Yoshiko Uchida, a second-generation (Nisei) Japanese American who was born in the United States. Yoshiko's parents, Dwight and Iku Uchida, were Issei or first-generation Japanese-American immigrants. Yoshiko and her sister Keiko grew up in a loving upper middle-class Japanese-American home. Their lives were full of activities, including church, school, social events and community get-togethers. Both children had excellent educations but grew up feeling alienated from their classmates and fellow Americans.

Yoshiko's perspective, therefore, is a mixture of the Japanese and the American. While considering herself American, Yoshiko always had to face the fact that Americans viewed her differently despite her best efforts to fit in with them. She hardly spoke Japanese and spoke flawless English, but she had to remain in her Nisei social enclave to have close friends and feel accepted. Thus, Yoshiko's perspective is also that of one who is somewhat...