Chapter 1, What is Pearl Harbor? Summary and Analysis

Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Houston, is a coming of age story set in the internment camps of World War II used to separate the ethnic Japanese-Americans from any possible espionage activities. The Japanese Navy bombs Pearl Harbor, setting off a mass anti-Japanese hysteria.

The main character is introduced in this first chapter along with her large family. Jeanne goes with her mother and the other women of the Japanese-American fishing fleet to the two older brothers, Bill and Woody.

The main character is introduced in this first chapter along with her large family. The excursion to send off Jeanne's Papa and the rest of the fishing fleet becomes one of the most important days in Jeanne's life. The events of this day in December 1941 introduce the problems Jeanne and her family must...