Keep Memory Alive Analysis

Words: 912
Pages: 4

Non-Fiction Analysis A human being is defined as a man, woman, or child of the species Homo sapiens, distinguished from other animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance (google). What happens when a scientifically definable human being is treated like they are unworthy of the title? Two of these occurrences are exemplified in “Keep Memory Alive” and “Uproots of a Japanese-American Family”. In each author’s own way they manifest the pain and tough living conditions for humans determined by their race or religion. Both stories share knowledge about occurrences of tragedies, dehumanization, and past faults that have the potential to better our future. The main point the author of “Keep Memory Alive” …show more content…
Yoshiko Uchida explains the day-to-day life experiences of her and her family when they were sent to internment camps because of their Japanese race. She uses detail to create an image in your mind to cause you to remember the struggle and enormity of the situation. Living conditions were tough, the food was terrible, and there was little to no privacy. Though, as wanted in the message in “Keep Memory Alive”, not everyone stayed neutral. Even though the Uchida family were Japanese, they had American friends outside of camp that sent them items and goods. The Uchida family was not forgotten. They still struggled, though, even with the help. There was rarely hot water, and often circumstances of insanitary conditions. “One morning I saw a woman emptying bedpans into troughs where we washed our faces.” The significance of this detail is to make you think about the tough conditions this family and many others had to live through. Would you like to live like that? There is always the possibility of this happening to anyone. All humans are just normal people living their normal lives until someone somewhere decides that certain humans are a threat and throws them into internment camps. All humans are susceptible to injustice, but all humans can also stop injustice by remembering …show more content…
Although “Uproots of a Japanese-American Family” is described in more detail than “Keep Memory Alive”, they have the same purpose. They explain a tragedy, describe the atrocity of dehumanization, and remind us to remember these acts to prevent similar events in the future. The lesson I would apply to my life would be to never stay silent when innocent others are being dehumanized for their race or religion. Wrongful actions are different from practices or beliefs one has the right to practice. One should be punished and one should be freed to practice their rights. Society should save the punishment for those who actually deserve it and should speak up if they do