The Wall

What I read: In the last chapters, the American Indians decide to build a wall between their reservation and the Japanese internment camp.  They say it's to keep cows "inside" their own farms.  But the Japanese disagree and therefore hate what the Indians are doing.

Sumiko and Frank become friends after Sumiko saves Frank from getting beat up by Japanese boys.  In fact, Sumiko herself hits a Japanese boy with a stick and breaks his nose.  She does this to defend Frank.

Sumiko and Frank are planning to meet with each other and introduce their older family members.  Frank's older brother is a farmer and wants to meet Sumiko's cousin Bull so that they can talk about farming practices.  Bull is a very skilled farmer with lots of experience, but it's not clear if he'll be okay to meet with a Native American.

What I thought about: Reading this part reminds me of the Berlin Wall and Donald Trump saying that he wants to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.  First, the Berlin Wall was built to separate Eastern Germans from Western Germans because both sides were part of different countries.  They didn't have the freedom to go back and forth across the city of Berlin just like Donald Trump wants to stop people crossing the Mexican-American border.

In the book, the Japanese people enclosed by the wall that the American Indians have put up.  It's sad for Sumiko because it's ruining her garden that she keeps with her friend Mr. Moto.  It's not nearly as bad having a wall blocking your garden as it is having a wall blocking your freedom.

What I conclude: 
 Thinking about the fact that Donald Trump wants to build a wall makes me think that the United States hasn't learned from their mistakes they have made in the past.  For example, sending Japanese and Japanese Americans to internment camps was a huge mistake in history.  Now many Americans are excited about discriminating against a group of people again.  We think that we learn from our mistakes in the past, but that's not always the case.  That's not happening now.  By reading these chapters, it makes me think about how ignorant Americans have been throughout history and continue to be.  It makes me really sad to think about this.