1. Tone and Diction
“Shikata ga nai” means “it cannot be helped now” or “nothing can be done about it.”
For the following excerpts from the novel, think about how the tone and diction fit the meaning of “Shikata ga nai”

2. “Shikata ga nai”
“In a few hours he and the girl and their mother would wake up and go to the Civil Control Station at the First Congregational Church on Channing Way. Then they would pin their identification numbers to their collars and grab their suitcases and climb up onto the bus and go to wherever it was they had to go” (21-22).

3. “Shikata ga nai”
“She looked at her watch one more time and then she stared up at the sky, as though she were thinking. ‘Right about now,’ she said, ‘I bet they’re having a good time.’ Then she started walking again” (66).

4. “Shikata ga nai”
“The next day, for the first time ever, she sent the boy and his sister to school with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in their lunch pails. ‘No more rice balls,’ she said. ‘And if anyone asks, you’re Chinese.’ The boy had nodded. ‘Chinese,’ he whispered. ‘I’m Chinese’” (75).

5. Tone and Diction Tone- narrator’s attitude towards subject
Diction- choice of words to communicate tone
Theme: Shikata ga nai…..
Otsuka often uses a quiet tone and subtle diction

6. Symbols
Symbols of Americana- Woolworth’s, YMCA, Victrola record player, Joe Palooka comics, etc.
Symbols of Japanese culture- homemade plum wine, rice balls, ivory chopsticks, barley water
How are each of the following slides symbols in the novel?
What might Otsuka be suggesting about the experience of internment for these children based on these symbols?

14. Theme: What does it mean to be a Japanese American?
THEMES
Intellectual freedom is often curtailed by Censorship.
People often encounter disparities between Spiritual faith and Rational considerations
Individuals must come to terms with the relationship between one’s personal moral code and larger political justice

15. Tone and Diction: “Confession”
Tone- narrator’s attitude towards subject
Diction- choice of words to communicate tone
Otsuka often uses a quiet tone and subtle diction throughout the first chapters.
“The next day, for the first time ever, she sent the boy and his sister to school with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in their lunch pails. ‘No more rice balls,’ she said. ‘And if anyone asks, you’re Chinese.’ The boy had nodded. ‘Chinese,’ he whispered. ‘I’m Chinese’” (75).

16. May 22 – Warm-up
Otsuka often uses a quiet tone and subtle diction throughout the first chapters.
“The next day, for the first time ever, she sent the boy and his sister to school with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in their lunch pails. ‘No more rice balls,’ she said. ‘And if anyone asks, you’re Chinese.’ The boy had nodded. ‘Chinese,’ he whispered. ‘I’m Chinese’” (75).
How is this a quiet tone and subtle diction?

17. Tone and Diction: “Confession”
How is the tone and the diction different?
Angry, frustrated
Lists
Italics
Hyperbole
Addressing someone directly

18. Irony: “Confession” Verbal irony Irony of situation
What is ironic about this chapter and its “confession”?
Verbal irony
Irony of situation