TWU LS 5603 - Historical Fiction - UNDER THE BLOOD-RED SUN

Salisbury, Graham. 1994. UNDER THE BLOOD-RED SUN. New York: Delacorte Press.

 ISBN 038532099X

PLOT SUMMARY

This is a story about three generations of Japanese Americans living in Hawaii before, during, and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The main character, Tomi, has multi-cultural friends who are white “haole,” Portuguese, and Hawaiian. He struggles to figure out who he is in the sometimes dual world of being both Japanese and American.  From the baseball field to his house on another man’s land, Tomi struggles to control his anger at his situation. While his dad is gone fishing, the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and his dad is arrested, as a spy, to an island prison and then to the mainland. From his mother’s journey as a sixteen year old mail order bride, to the loss of his father, and the realization that he is the man of the family, Tomi resists the urge to fight and accepts his future as the leader of his family in Hawaii and keeper of Japanese traditions.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Tomi’s character is introduced in partnership with the Grampa’s character.  The generation gap and national heritage gap is apparent with Grampa proudly washing his Japanese flag outside. The embarrassment and fear of trouble is an ongoing theme within this book and is based historically in this time period. As Graham Salisbury writes the dialogue in English and Japanese, the reader feels the divergence of the two characters through both the spelling and the rhythm of the languages.

Tomi the son, shows his responsibility by taking care of his father’s pigeons, his little sister, Kimi, and the dog, Lucky, when she has her puppies. Tomi struggles to be as responsible when it comes to his favorite past-time, baseball. The passion Tomi shows for the sport can be identified by readers and the escape of the generations listening to the game on the radio is very authentic to the time period, when families gathered around the radio to enjoy the sport.

There are elements of racism between the wealthy Americans living on the island and the poor Japanese Americans. Remarks about the housing situations with respect to Tomi’s family living in a very small, cramped house and Billy’s room being “three times bigger, at least” are a testament to the cultural divide economically on the island.

The different high schools and the different baseball teams made up of mostly ethnically similar players define the times of the 1940s where segregation was the norm.  Labor intensive jobs were held by Tomi’s dad and their Japanese friends from fishing to tuna packers and boat builders while Tomi’s mom was a maid for a family whose mother worked as a nurse.

The animal elements in the story deliver loss when the pigeons have to be killed because they are suspicious in the activity of the Japanese war planes and the family dog who delivers puppies represents rebirth and comfort with both Billy and Kimi.

The epilogue of the book gives a brief historical summary of the fate of the Japanese Americans in Hawaii and the award of $20,000 to each survivor of the relocations. The author’s personal experience of growing up in the Hawaiian Islands and his fishing experience lend authenticity to the book’s setting and the details of the culture as the plot unfolds.

The theme of family loyalty and loyalty to your friends and country are universal. Mr. Ramos, the teacher, reinforces this by saying that people are ‘’fighting to keep the right to make their own choices, to keep the right to live a free life.”

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Book Links (ALA) 02/01/01

Notable/Best Books (ALA)

Booklist

Publishers Weekly 12/04/95

Books for the Teen Age (NYPL) 03/01/97

School Library Journal

Elementary School Library Collection 06/01/00

Wilson’s Junior High School 01/09/10

Publishers Weekly (December 4, 1995) – “Torn between his love of all things American and the traditional ways of his parents and grandparents, a young Japanese American comes of age during the political upheaval of WWII.”

 

CONNECTIONS

Salisbury, Graham. 2006. HOUSE OF THE RED FISH. New York: Wendy Lamb Books. ISBN 0385731213

·         Partner this as the sequel to the original book – takes place one year after

Mazer, Harry. 2001. A BOY AT WAR: A NOVEL OF PEARL HARBOR. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689841612

·         Partner this as another son and father book about Pearl Harbor- from a U.S. naval officer perspective

Walters, Eric. 1998. WAR OF THE EAGELS. Victoria, BC, Canada: Orca Book Publishers. ISBN 1551431181

·         Partner this as another WWII book