Paper Wishes

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism.

Manami’s voice functions as an important motif in the novel. The loss of her voice invokes The Emotional and Psychological Effects of Imprisonment on Children, while the recovery of her voice speaks to the power of hope and resilience. 

Throughout the story’s first chapter, Manami tries to speak up within her family. She asks questions and raises concerns, but she is blocked over and over by her parents’ silence. Manami is a respectful and obedient child, and she does not protest or criticize her parents, seeming to understand that they, too, are struggling to find answers. In Chapter 1, Manami’s beloved dog is ripped from her arms: In response, she says, “I shout. I kick and scream” (22). It is the first moment in which she truly voices her anger and despair, and yet it produces no effect. This tells Manami definitively that she is in a situation where her voice does not matter. When she gets to Manzanar, she feels as if the dust is coating her throat, preventing her from speaking.

Even when she is unable to speak, Manami does want to express herself, and she finds ways to communicate.