Citizen 13660

While the graphic novel’s textual narrative is in first person, Okubo draws herself into the accompanying scenes so that the illustrations appear from a third-person perspective. How do these dual perspectives through text and illustrations contribute to the larger themes of the graphic novel? What do these perspectives offer that a singular one does not?

How does Okubo portray the balance of factual experience and her reflections? How does this balance affect the overall tone of Citizen 13660?

What is the sense of Japanese American internees’ experiences with internment life in contrast to what the outside world perceives of it? Describe several instances in which life within the camp and outside of it are at odds with one another.

What were the principal challenges of internment life? How did the camp detrimentally affect the livelihoods of Japanese Americans politically, economically, and culturally?

Despite the hardships of internment life, Japanese American internees managed to create moments of reprieve. Discuss the ways in which the internees responded creatively to the challenges of the camp. What does this suggest about how the internees coped with internment life?

After several months at the Tanforan Assembly Center, Okubo and her brother were sent to another internment camp at Topaz. What can be inferred about the US administrative decision behind the move? How did the two camps compare to one another?

Discuss the structural similarities between the Tanforan Assembly Center and Topaz camps. How were both camps constructed in like fashion? What effects did these spaces have on Japanese American internees’ health and well-being?

Discuss the ramifications of Question 28 and the loyalty test on the internees’ political and personal lives. What was the significance of this test? How did it come to impact the internees’ political sensibilities as well as their relationships to one another?