Question

"In response to executive order 9066" by dwight okita....Why does the speaker begin with the poem with "dear sirs"? To whom is she speaking and what is the significance of starting the poem this way?

Answer 1

The poem starts with "dear sirs" to address the authorities of the internment in a formal, compliant tone, highlighting the civility of the incarcerated against the injustice they faced under Executive Order 9066. This serves to underscore the dissonance between polite societal norms and the harsh reality of forced relocation of Japanese Americans, reflecting on themes of innocence, identity, and unjust suspicion.

Step-by-step explanation:

The poem "In Response to Executive Order 9066" by Dwight Okita begins with "dear sirs" as if it were the start of a formal letter or official correspondence. The speaker in the poem addresses the authorities responsible for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, symbolized by the impersonal and formal opening. The use of "dear sirs" immediately establishes a tone of compliance and civility, despite the underlying situation of injustice and forced relocation under Executive Order 9066. This choice of introduction also underscores the contradiction between the normality and politeness of the phrase against the backdrop of the coercive and discriminatory nature of the internment.

Executive Order 9066, signed by President Roosevelt following the attack on Pearl Harbor, led to the forced internment of over 120,000 people of Japanese descent, most of whom were U.S. citizens. The order was primarily aimed at Japanese Americans and led to their removal from the West Coast to internment camps across the country. During this period, the civil rights of these American citizens were severely violated, a fact that the poem seeks to communicate through its disarming politeness in conjunction with the harsh reality of the situation.

The significance of starting the poem this way plays into the innocent and naive nature of the speaker, typically visualized as a young Japanese American girl who does not fully grasp the gravity of the circumstances enforced by the U.S. government. Furthermore, this beginning serves as an entry point to a narrative that explores the themes of identity, displacement, and the dichotomy between loyalty and suspicion that was prevalent during this time.

Answer 2

The speaker is a 14-years teenage girl. So, she began with "Dear sirs" in the poem as a sign of respect knowing fully well that she was addressing elders.

She was responding to Executive Order 9066, to the Secretary of War precisely who was authorized to prescribe in that area.

Beginning the poem this way is significant because it gives room for the reader to understand how to address elders. Also, it creates a kind of connection between the speaker and recipient.

Explanation:

The Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order which was signed and issued during the World War II by President Franklin Roosevelt.

The author, Dwight Okija wrote about a teenage girl who was in a relocation camp for 4 years. She was accused of her best friend for being the Japanese who bombed Pearl Harbor. She tried to show in the poem that is just a teenage girl and was not part of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.