No-No Boy
University of Washington Press , 1978
Reviewed by Alece Kaplan, January 2007
John Okada's novel “No-No Boy” exposes the difficult lives of post-WWII Japanese-Americans as they struggle to gain acceptance and personal identity in a disturbingly racist society. Set primarily in the International District of Seattle during the tenuous time period following WWII, “No-No Boy” explores the different approaches and attitudes that Japanese-Americans display concerning the polarized views of their identity as either “American” or “Japanese”. Many of the American Nisei in Okada's novel struggle to carve out an identity in a world that affords them only two options: self-assertion as a proud “American”, or as a proud “Japanese”. Those among the Nikkei community who chose to identify as “American” also frequently chose to accept all aspects of American culture, including the racial hierarchy responsible for imprisoning Japanese-Americans in internment camps during the war. Okada also notes that along with the acceptance of all things “American” often came the rejection of all things “Japanese”. This rejection compelled many Japanese-Americans to express disdain for their family, their traditions, and their cultural heritage. In his discussion of the various complexities surrounding racial relations and assimilation of the Nikkei community, Okada attempts to demonstrate the hypocrisy and futility of adhering to the American mainstream practice of perpetuating stereotypes and racism as a way to gain societal assimilation and acceptance.
Throughout the novel as the main character Ichiro Yamada attempts to come to terms with his identity as a Japanese-American, he witnesses the hopelessness of many peers struggling with similar issues. During WWII whether these young men spent time in a camp, jail, or the army, there is no mistake that they were betrayed by America . Each character in “No-No Boy” employs a different method of dealing with this betrayal, and unfortunately in many Nisei's case this method involves the complete denunciation of their Japanese heritage and an adoption of all things “American”, including racism. Okada portrays these individuals as desperate and misguided, their actions strongly motivated by an intense self-hatred spawned by prejudice. In the race to assimilate, Okada reveals the frightening ease with which the persecuted can become the persecutors.