We Are Not Free

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 13-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 13 Summary: “Company of Kings”

Twitchy, 19. June-October 1944.

Twitchy is in Italy with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. His buddy, Bill Hayami, teaches him some of the area’s history. He has another friend, Kaz, who reminds him of Frankie. They see their first raid at Anzio, but the action they see in Belevedere is much more intense. A boy they know is killed. In Monteverdi, they find a cellar filled with wine, and Twitchy steals four bottles. They are assigned to take a hill, Hill 140, and one of their sergeants, Toshi Tamura, proves his bravery by independently taking on a group of Germans.

In mid-July, Twitchy’s squad clears Germans from a small village, Luciana, giving the Americans the high ground over the port city of Livorno. On the second day, Bill is shot in the arm by a sniper. While resting in Vada, Twitchy runs into Frankie who gives him a butterfly knife like the one he used to have in San Francisco. Twitchy’s squad marches to Lyon where a train takes them to France. On the way, they find a supply of C-rations and steal 20 cases.

The 442nd Team now has a reputation for fearlessness, which Twitchy proves in a firefight with the Germans. He runs out of bullets but finds a German gun and kills the snipers attacking him and Bill. They take a hill and then learn that the Germans took it back, so they must go retake it. On the way, they walk through a minefield where a mine accidentally deploys. Kaz is wounded, but Twitchy later hears that he’s going to survive.

At the end of October, Twitchy’s squad is passing through a German roadblock when Bill knocks Twitchy to the ground after spotting a sniper. Bill is killed, but Twitchy doesn’t have time to mourn because another battalion is surrounded by Germans and needs help. Twitchy’s squad advances twice but is pushed back. On the third try, they all know it is a losing battle, but they still follow Sergeant Tamura. Twitchy is hit in the leg. He tries to slow the bleeding, but “can’t apply enough pressure” (292). He dies remembering the first time he saw snow, and the snowball fight he had with his friends—and he thinks of Keiko laughing.

Chapter 14 Summary: “We Hold Our Breath”

All of Us. November-December 1944.

In Topaz, Twitchy’s family is devastated to receive a telegram alerting them of his death. Yuki laughs when she hears, believing it’s a joke. Minnow collapses and refuses to leave his bed for days. News is sent to Tule Lake; Stan punches a wall, and Tommy comes to comfort him. Bette says Twitchy is in a better place now. Frankie writes to tell them Twitchy had three things in his pocket when he died: a picture of Keiko, a drawing by Minnow, and a half-written letter to his mother.

Frankie tells Mas it should have been himself, Frankie, who died. Yum-yum plays songs on the piano backward in hopes it will move time back. Shig comes home for the funeral. Keiko visits the post office every day to look for a letter from Twitchy, some proof that he’s still alive. The news draws them together—all but Mas. He’s alone with only Twitchy’s butterfly knife to make him feel connected to anything. Minnow finally gets out of bed. Keiko comes to visit him, and he confesses he loved Twitchy. Keiko is relieved to know someone else understands how she feels. For her, “it is a relief to be known” (305).

Chapter 15 Summary: “Japanese/American”

Tommy, 19. December 1944.

The people of Tule Lake learn that they will have the choice to either be repatriated to Japan or released to return home. Tommy’s parents choose to return to Japan, and they want Tommy to sign the forms to return with them. Tommy’s parents greatly pressure him, but he has never had a good relationship with them, and he knows this won’t change in Japan. Aiko tells him that now is his chance to break free. Tommy struggles with his two identities—that of an American and that of a Japanese. In the end, both he and Aiko stay in America.

Chapter 16 Summary: “Home”

Minnow, 17. February-March 1945.

Minnow and his mother have returned to San Francisco and are staying in a hostel at the Buddhist church gymnasium with many other camp refugees. The neighborhood of Japantown is drastically different now; for example, the businesses once owned by Japanese families are now white-owned nightclubs and saloons. Minnow and his mother spend all day searching for an apartment only to be turned away. When they stop at a diner for lunch, they are ignored and finally leave unserved. That night, Minnow suggests that they go somewhere else, but his mother refuses: San Francisco is her home, her husband died there, and she will too someday.

Stan arrives in San Francisco to look for housing for his family. He’s now thin and looks sickly, but Minnow finds him inspiring. They go to a concert, and Minnow marvels at how easily people come together for a common goal—and just as easily break apart. Mr. Oishi comes back and reclaims his and his family’s home, kicking out the keto inhabitants. One of the families refuses to leave the apartment until Mr. Oishi calls the police. The parents destroy the apartment as they leave, but their horrified daughter apologizes to Stan and Minnow on their behalf. She even says their stay in the incarceration camp never should have happened. Minnow gives her a drawing of him and his friends, “So you remember” (361).

Shig surprises Minnow by returning from Chicago. Mr. Oishi agrees to allow the Itos to stay with him until they can find their own apartment, and the Katsumotos are going to rent the upper flat. Stan is going to apply to UC Berkley. Aiko is thinking of moving back to San Francisco to work for a family at the Presidio. Keiko is returning with her parents to get the Japanese school running again. Under orders from Mas, Minnow re-enrolls in his old high school. On the first day of school, Shig walks with him. Minnow studies the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance and finally feels as though he is home again.

Chapters 13-16 Analysis

Twitchy was not one of the boys who were eager to go to war, but he takes the opportunity presented to him. Twitchy is excited at the chance to travel the world and have new experiences. At first, it isn’t anything like he expected, but the war quickly finds Twitchy and his friends. Twitchy never doubts himself or his friends, and he’s proud when their team is singled out as the bravest. Twitchy believes in his cause. He never harbored anger or resentment against anyone, never dwelled on the racism that led to his situation back home. Twitchy always saw the best in everyone and everything. That is what makes his death in combat so discordant and even ironic; his temperament is not remotely combative.

In contrast to Twitchy, Frankie is angry and has always been angry—yet, that anger seems dissipated after Twitchy’s death, and now Frankie is filled only with regret. He wishes he had been the one to die, reflecting his deep love for Twitchy, his understanding of everyone’s grief, and his own grief. Frankie has grown in the past three years—but at a great cost.

The others are also grief-stricken by Twitchy’s death, which hits them all much harder than when Mr. Uyeda was killed. Some of them knew Mr. Uyeda, but, rather than being personal, his death directly resulted from the presidential order that sent them to camp. Mr. Uyeda’s death divided the camp, creating more grief; Twitchy’s death pulls the friends together and makes them stronger.

Minnow and Keiko both suffer the most with Twitchy’s death. Minnow and Keiko both loved him and are lost in their grief. However, when Minnow makes himself vulnerable by sharing with Keiko that he loved Twitchy, they find common ground and consolation in one another. While their loss is profound, their friendship is extraordinary; these two characters try so hard to hide their true feelings and avoid letting others get close to them.

Tommy’s parents’ treatment of him makes him feel small and weak. Now, in Chapter 15, Tommy finds himself trying to understand his true identity. All his life, he has been a boy from Japantown, a disappointment to his parents (despite constantly trying to please them), and a typical American teenager. While his parents want him to return with them to Japan, Tommy knows little about the country and culture, and he knows that even if he complies with his parents, they will never truly be pleased. However, America incarcerated him and treats him like a second-class citizen. He struggles to decide whether he is his parents’ son or an all-American teenager. In the end, he remains in America.

Minnow and his mother return to a very changed Japantown. Minnow no longer feels at home and even asks his mother if they can leave. However, as his friends slowly return and things settle back into place, Minnow begins to see that home isn’t about the place; it’s about the people. Minnow has always found happiness in his friends. While the neighborhood has changed, the scenery remains. He has come full circle in the book’s final pages, reversing the walk through the neighborhood he took in the first chapter. When he arrives at his school and sees the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, he begins to feel he is home.