Kenji

Kenji

Analyzing a Written Argument

The general argument made by Mike Shinoda in his work Kenji is that the Japanese immigrants were sent to internment camps because of Pearl Harbor. More specifically Shinoda suggests that Kenji and his family were unjustly sent to the internment camps and that they were sent there because of Americas fear of Japanese spies. He writes, “You have to come. All of the Japanese have to go.” Pg. 746. In this passage, Shinoda is suggesting that it didn’t matter to the United States whether or not the Japanese were innocent or not just that they were all sent to internment camps. In conclusion, it is Shinoda’s belief that Kenji and his family shouldn’t have had to go to the internment camps because they didn’t do anything wrong.

Planning Your Own Argument

In my view, Shinoda is wrong because the Japanese weren’t sent to the internment camps just for the fear of spies but for their own safety from other hate filled citizens that would have attacked them. For example, the people who vandalized Kenji’s house and said that Japanese aren’t welcome here. Although Shinoda might object that it was all just prejudice and hatred for the Japanese, I maintain that the internment camps were also for the Japanese’s safety. Therefore, I conclude that the Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps to prevent spies as well as to keep them safe from angry citizens.