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Jocelyne Baires

Professor Ditch

English 115

9 December 2019

Suffering Generates Success

During World War II President D Roosevelt creates Executive Order 9066 after Pearl

Harbor attacks the United States. The Executive Order rudely forces all Japanese Americans into

Internment camps due to the military bases that are being used by the American soldiers.

Everyone who is sent into the camps has different stories and perspectives. In the novel They

Called Us Enemy by George Takei, touches upon his hardships and struggles while living in the

Japanese Internment Camps. George Takei emphasizes the characters emotions through pictures

and dialogue. The novel coherently starts from when Takei and his family are directly ordered to

move out of their house to the day that Takei became an influencer and an actor on “Star Trek.”

Towards the middle of the story Takei begins understanding the real reason why Japanese

Americans are being tortured and disliked through his parents actions and government officials.

Most of the time one needs to suffer in order to become an influencer because educating people

about past mistakes is important for the younger generation. Suffering gives people the

opportunity to analyze their thoughts and their beliefs which can make one create change for the

world. Takei struggles through many hardships and trust with the people that he is surrounded by

however; he puts in the effort into changing his unforgettable past into a powerful message for

the younger generation. Takei’s journey is powerful and motivational because he narrates his

challenges and emphasizes how he has changed from suffering to becoming a strong advocate

for the younger generation.

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Many people struggle from multiple cases where their stress level continues to rise up

rapidly. There are some types of tragic moments that influences one to become a better person in

the future. Going through tragic moments helps one explore many ideas that are thought out

through their intense feeling from one suffering period. In the article “The Alchemy of suffering”

by Mathieu Ricard describes how there are three modes of suffering; “visible suffering, hidden

suffering, and invisible suffering.” (pp36) According to Ricard, visible suffering “…underlies the

most ordinary activities...it sends no signal and does not prevent us from functioning in the

world…” (pp36) An example of this suffering is when Takeis’ family arrives in Arkansas and

they immediately hate their new block house because, “the air was heavy and boiling.” (pp65)

However, Takeis’ mother sacrifices her life by sneaking in a sewing machine in order for the

kids to have clothes and continues to clean and take care of the family. Takei is influenced by his

mother's motivation on keeping the family healthy and safe. As Takei gets older he continues to

achieve his goals by connecting with many motivational speakers which made him a powerful

influencer. Ricard defines hidden suffering, “concealed beneath the appearance of pleasure,

freedom from care, fun.”(pp36) Throughout the graphic novel both parents of Takeis’ suffers

from hidden suffering by covering up the truth about the internment camps and also pretending

to be okay even though they are suffering the most horrifying time. Takei enforces the idea that

his mother always wanted her children to be safe and to never feel harmed. However Takei

acknowledges, “most Japanese Americans from my parents' generation didn't like talking about

the internment camp with their children.” (pp153) Instead of following many peoples ideals of

suffering, Takei takes advantage of his platform that he receives and discusses the issues that

occurs from his previous years and educates people to become more vocalized. Takei later came

to an agreement and realizes that “participating in democracy is the strength of our system.”
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(pp145) Takei has been influenced by his parents actions because his dad always reinforces the

idea of helping others and his mother's actions reinforces the idea to always stay positive.

Another suffering mode that Ricard define is invisible suffering, “is the hardest to distinguish

because it stems from the blindness of our own minds, where it remains so long as we are in the

grip of ignorance and selfishness.” Once the family arrives to East Los Angeles, Takei enrolled

into a school and soon notices that his teacher was specifically ignoring him due to the fact that

he was a “jap.”(pp171) As Takei gets older he starts to educate himself about the history of the

United States and came to an agreement that the mistakes that are made in the past, “we repeat

them over and over again.”(pp174) Once Takei became famous he quickly advocates about the

issues that occurs in the past during conferences and speeches. He notices that many non

Japanese Americans were being brainwashed into thinking that the enemies of the war are any

Japanese people. Many people who are brainwashed have no analysis of why that reason or fact

is true however, it is automatically analyzed by the information that many people throw at them.

The officers that listen to the government's orders are suffering because they are continuously

being disrespectful to Japanese Americans for no great reason.

In order for one to become resilient from an awful incident, one needs to be practice

having a positive mindset. In the article, “6 keys to resilience for PTSD and everyday stress:

teach patients protective attitudes and behaviors” by Margaret Haglund , Nicole Cooper, Steven

Southwick and Dennis Charney advises people who have serious cases of depression should

exercise some “psychological factors that protect against and aid recovery from post traumatic

stress.” Some psychological factors that Haglund addresses helps one become resilient in

actively practicing a “positive outlook, moral compass, and social support.” Throughout Takeis’

life his parents were always positive even when things were intensely rough. Once Takei grew
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older he starts to have more conversations with his dad and discusses the issues that the

government has. Throughout their journey all members of the family has goals which they focus

throughout their time in the camps. Takeis’ mother keeps the children safe and happy and the

dads’ goal is to help the community by being a block manager. Lastly Takei has social support

from his parents because both of them are role models to him and to the people in the camps

which makes it more influential for Takei to become an advocate for the younger generation.

Suffering from destructive experiences can help one analyze their morals and beliefs that

leads them in a positive direction. In the article, “What Suffering Does” by David Brooks

provides a quote from Abraham Lincoln after his Second Inaugural and it states, “Recovering

from suffering is not like recovering from a disease. Many people don't come out healed; they

come out different.” (pp286) George Takei did not forget his past however, once he became

older he understood the concept of the idea that Japanese Americans were the enemies due to his

experiences and observations from the people that he is surrounded by. Having talks with his

father made Takei realize that something needs to be done. Takei is traumatized from the

hardships he endures when moving from place to place and getting treated harshly for no reason

but that doesn't stop him from achieving his goal by communicating to the younger generation

and making sure that they don't make the same mistakes. (pp143) Brooks also states “They hurl

themselves deeper and gratefully into their art, loved ones and commitments.” (pp41)

Throughout the novel George Takeis’ father became a role model to many people. As he

became a block manager he learns more about the cruel government that America has created.

He became more aware of what has been done and what he can do to make their lives easier

while living in the inhumane camps. George Takei vocalizes his story and his experience to the

younger generation which will teach them to not make the same mistakes as they did in the past.
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Ricard provides a statement, “It is essential… to connect with the depths of our being.” (Ricard

41) It is important for one to focus on their morals and goals especially when certain times are

rough. Having a father figure that Takei has helped construct his strong work ethics which then

Takei takes a stand and starts vocalizing to the world about the issues that were made in the past

to help create a better world. Even though George Takei grew up not understanding why they

were there exactly which is devastating in the future because the truth is horrifying.

The environment that one is in influences their future actions. In the article, “What

resiliency research teaches us: the larger recovering community plays a critical role in supporting

individuals recovery” by Bruce A Campbell states, “Environmental strategies influence an

individual's capacity for sustained recovery.” Luckily Takei is surrounds himself with his parents

who are role models to many people in internment camps. Having a family who is hopeful and

optimistic is helpful when it comes to dealing with tragedies. The information that the dad speaks

with Takei is traumatizing for him but, sharing the real truth about why Japanese Americans

were being called the enemy helps Takei vocalize the big issue that the government has in the

future. Takei enforces the truth about the Japanese Internment camps to the younger generation

which makes him a powerful advocate because it influences the younger generation to speak out

on what they believe in and it also informs the audience that anyone can have a positive outcome

from a harsh period of their lives.

In many other cases, people sometimes do not change when they suffer from a loss or a

traumatic experience. They can develop series cases of depression and anxiety which can

traumatize them forever. However the experience that one endures during a tragic event can help

one analyze the importance of life and create a better outcome of life after becoming wiser.

These stories help influence many others to make a change in what they dislike about their
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world. Takei suffers from the adjustment to living in camps that is inhumane to all humans

however, he took that opportunity to create a powerful message to the younger generation and

which create power to the community. Takei demonstrates that no matter what life throws at one,

they can still fulfill their dreams by focusing on what they truly want instead of stopping and

letting their past take over.

Throughout many people's lives, one may suffer from traumatic experiences that leads to

great changes for themselves and for the world. It is Takei's Choice to become stronger and more

powerful. Although, Takei is young throughout the war, having those memories from the camps

is devastating because he now understands the reason why they were always being discarded as

the enemy. Takei suffers from many things; however, he uses his platform to create messages to

the younger generation and emphasizes the mistakes that is made by the government officials.
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Works Cited

Brooks, David. “What Suffering Does” Pursuing Happiness: a Bedford Spotlight Reader, by

Matthew Parfitt and Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford/St. Martin's, a Macmillan Education Imprint,

2016. pp, 284-287

Campbell, Bruce A. “What resiliency research teaches us: the larger recovering community plays

a critical role in supporting individuals' recovery.” Addiction Professional, Mar.-Apr. 2010,

p.18+. Gale Academic OneFile Select, https://link-gale-

com.linproxy.csun.edu/apps/doc/A225529654/EAIM?u=csun northridge

sid=EAIM&xid=f6c348a). Accessed 5 Nov. 2019.

Haglund, Margaret, et al. “6 keys to resilience for PTSD and everyday stress: teach patients

protective attitudes and behaviors.” Current Psychiatry, vol. 6, no. 4, 2007, p. 23+. Gale

OneFile: Health and Medicine,

https://link-gale-com.libproxy.csun.edu/apps/doc/A162867162/HRCA?uc=csu northridge sid=H

RCA xid=3438527b. Accessed 4 Nov.2019.

Ricard, Matthieu. “The Alchemy of Suffering” Pursuing Happiness: a Bedford Spotlight

Reader, by Matthew Parfitt and Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford/St. Martin's, a Macmillan

Education Imprint, 2016. pp, 34-41

Takei, George/Eisinger, Justin/Scott, Steven/ Becker, Harmony (ILT). They Called Us Enemy.

Random House Inc, 2019.