Chapter 2, Shikata Ga Nai Summary and Analysis

Jeanne is introduced to life among the Japanese. She and her family begin to feel the mutual fear between the Japanese-Americans and the Caucasian citizens of the United States, especially those on the West Coast. For the first time in her seven years, Jeanne feels different, and unwelcome, among Japanese-speaking children, and Caucasian children. This fear and suspicion of her, as Japanese, affect her life for many years.

The arrest of Jeanne's Papa turns her secure world upside down. Her family has been living in Ocean Park, a Caucasian suburb near Santa Monica. Theirs is the only Japanese family in the neighborhood, and Jeanne and her brother Kiyo are the only Japanese attending their school. They speak a little Japanese, but mostly English, and try not to be labeled or grouped by anyone.

Jeanne has...