LS5603: Historical Fiction 2—“Eyes of the Emperor” by Graham Salisbury

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY
Salisbury, Graham. Eyes of the Emperor. New York: Random House, 2005. ISBN 978-0-440-22956-8

2.     PLOT SUMMARY
            Eddy Okubo, an American boy whose parents are Japanese-American, lies about his age to join the army during World War II. However, soon after his enlistment, the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, and all those with Japanese heritage are looked on with suspicion.   

            Eddy and a few of his army friends (also Japanese-American) are asked to join a top secret research project. The project? The army wants to train dogs to hunt and kill Japanese, and they need people to practice on. Eddy and his friends struggle with patriotism and loyalty against a system that saw them the same as the enemy.

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS characters, plot, setting, theme, style, authenticity
            The plot and the characters come to life on the page. This book would be an excellent choice for reluctant male readers especially; there is action and camaraderie and the entire book carries an undercurrent of tenseness, whether from the attack on Pearl Harbor, Eddy’s strained relationship with his father, or the very difficult jobs they are assigned to do. Salisbury brings his characters to life with banter and very human moments set against a backdrop of the world seeming to turn upside down for the characters.

            Even though the main characters are fictional, some of the side characters are named and based off of the soldiers who actually went through this research project. Some of the scenes in fact actually happened, and the places the characters visit can still be visited today (though one of the islands is now private property). Salisbury, in his author’s note, mentions he was able to interview several of the soldiers from this incident and notes that this is one of the first time dogs were used in the military.

            Often modules and time taken to talk about WWII in classrooms revolves around Europe and what happened there, especially in regards to the atrocities that were done to the Jews. Most students have read Anne Frank’s Diary, possibly Number the Stars by Louis Lowry as well. While this is to be lauded, it is important to remember the events that happened on U.S. soil as well. Although Japanese internment camps were not Auschwitz, they are not a bright point in our history and yet must still be remembered so it does not happen again. Books like Eyes of the Emperor make an engaging way to start that conversation.  

                                                                     

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

•  From School Library Journal: " The immediacy of the writing allows readers to imagine themselves as one of the boys. A story with huge implications for observers of current events." 
• From Booklist:  “The cruel training, the vicious prejudice from many officers, the camaraderie among the soldiers, and the mixed-up news from family bring a view of American history seldom told and open up the meanings of homeland and patriotism.”

5.     CONNECTIONS
Other books by Graham Salisbury

• Hunt for the Bamboo Rat (Prisoners of the Empire) ISBN 978-0375842665
• Under the Blood-Red Sun ISBN 978-0440411390
• Night of the Howling Dogs, ISBN 978-0545176354

 Other materials about Japanese Internment Camps

• http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/ - this is a documentary about six Americans who were in camps as childrens and their personal journey. Includes links to the documentary, the behinds the scenes, and resources for teachers.
• http://amhistory.si.edu/ourstory/activities/internment/ contains a link of recommended books about life in internment camps. It also has a “food” activity so that students can recreate some of the food ate at internment camps such as “Spam Musubi” or “Weenie Royale”
• http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/exhibits/ww2/threat/internment.htm contains information about daily life and how camps were organized.