"She crossed California Street and bought several bars of Lux soap and a large jar of face cream at the Rumford Pharmacy...At the newsstand on the corner of Grove she bought a copy of the Berkeley Gazette...The Burma Road had been severed and one of the Dionne quintuplets -- Yvonne -- was still recovering from an ear operation" (Otsuka 4).












Introduction

Did you know that in the 1940s less than 50% of American homes had indoor plumbing? That the minimum wage was only 43 cents per hour? Julie Otsuka portrays the family in her novel as deeply American. She emphasizes the irony of their internment as enemy aliens by including dozens of references to the music, products, and activities that were part of American life at the time.

Examples of Americana from the Book

The girl, like many her age, likes "Boys and licorice and Dorothy Lamour" (Otsuka 13).

As well-to-do Americans, the woman and the girl would have been able to buy some of the latest fashions in clothing.

The family doesn't own a television but the boy has a favorite radio show, "Speaking of Sports," and likes the music of Sammy Kaye.

More About the 1940s

Immerse yourself further in the popular culture of the 1940s with a trip to the King College library site, American Decades.