Read the Reader’s Resource on page 200 of your textbook. What do you know about the Japanese internment of World War II? If possible, read additional material about the Japanese internment. How do you feel about the role of the U.S. government in interning persons of Japanese descent? How would you feel if you were a Japanese American? Write down what you know about the Japanese internment, as well as your answers to the preceding questions. Consider these issues as you read “The Bracelet,” which provides a fictional look at one family’s experience of internment.
1. Follow along in your text as your teacher reads the first page of “The Bracelet” aloud. Jot down your immediate reactions to the story. How does the story make you feel? Does the situation remind you of any other events in history? Can you connect the feelings of the narrator to other characters or to your own life?
2. Continue reading the story on your own. Stop periodically to jot down your reactions and make connections. Consider whether the story captures the feelings of those individuals that were actually interned during World War II. What elements do you think are lacking? What elements do you think have been added? What other groups of people have been victims of prejudice? How are their experiences similar and different? Record your answers to these questions.
If you are having difficulty making connections, choose a new strategy, such as writing things down. You can read through the story, writing down important ideas and key concepts involving the setting, the characters, and the literary elements. When you have finished recording this information, you can then review it as a whole and try to make connections based on the information you recorded.
Meet in small groups and discuss your reactions to the story, the connections you made, and your answers to the questions. Do you think this story captured the essence of the Japanese-American experience during World War II? Explain.