Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Watashi wa Amerikahitodesu (私はアメリカ人です): I Am American”

Students will explore how the American government’s racist and oppressive treatment of Asian Americans during World War II, as portrayed throughout Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, raises questions about what it means to be a citizen of the United States.

When internment begins in 1942, Henry’s father forces him to wear a button that says, “I’m an American.” He does this because he recognizes that white Americans are generally ignorant to the distinction between individuals of Japanese and Chinese descent. To protect Henry from ostracism and abuse, Henry’s father forces him to wear the button, which asserts his Americanness at all times.

“A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans & the U.S. Constitution,” an online exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum’s site, “explores a period of U.S. history when racial prejudice and fear upset the delicate balance between the rights of a citizen versus the power of the state.” Focusing on the experiences of those Japanese Americans who were imprisoned in detention camps (like Keiko and the rest of the Okabes), this exhibit is “a case study in decision-making and citizen action under the U.S. Constitution.” In this exercise, you will connect the people, places, and processes you read about in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet to real-life experiences as portrayed in this exhibit.

• Break into small groups of 3 or 4 students each. In your small groups, briefly read through and look at the photographs from the 6 sections of the exhibit: Immigration, Removal, Internment, Loyalty, Service, and Justice.
• Each group should have a blank sheet of paper with “What is an American citizen?” written at the top. Divide the paper into 6 sections, mirroring the structure of the exhibit.
• For each section of the exhibit, cite sections, events, or details from Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet that deal with the topic described in that section. For example, under the “Immigration” section (which describes Asian Americans’ experiences assimilating to United States culture), your group might point to Chapter 3 and the language barrier that Henry’s parents face as Chinese-only speakers.
• After completing each section, discuss in your small group the ways in which Japanese Americans had their citizenship and their Americanness undermined during this period.
• Once all groups have completed this exercise, each group should present their findings to the class, citing one thing they learned from the exhibit that deepened or changed their understanding of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

Teaching Suggestion: Your students may find it useful, as they embark on this activity, to brush up on the requirements of becoming a US citizen. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services website describes the primary ways in which one obtains citizenship through being born to US-citizen parents, as well as the process of becoming a US citizen, for those who were born to non-citizen parents. Furthermore, in this Boundless article (“Is U.S. Citizenship Right for You?”), the author explores the potential benefits of becoming a naturalized American.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who would benefit from a more guided approach, provide students with the following prompts for their small-group discussions (see the fourth bullet point above): (1) What forms of verbal attacks on their citizenship did Japanese Americans face during this period? (2) What forms of bureaucratic undermining of their citizenship did they face? (3) What basic human rights were Japanese Americans denied in the internment facilities? (4) In what ways were Japanese Americans asked to prove their loyalty to the American government?