Sone realizing that she is different
The opening scene of the book, and the beginning of the path Sone would take to realize who she was, began when she realized that she was different. All the other children went to Grammar school, just like her, but they were not the same. Because Sone’s parents spoke another language to her; namely Japanese, and she had to attend Japanese school as well. This was the beginning of Sone’s identity confusion.
Visiting Japan
The first time Sone remembers being in Japan is when she was getting a little older, around the time she was blossoming from a young child to become a woman. She had though that she was Japanese all the time that she had been living and growing up in America, yet when she visited Japan – the place that was supposed to be her home- she was still being left out. The Japanese didn’t think of her as Japanese, perceiving her as American instead. This caused further loss of belonging, as she didn’t even fit in in what she had thought was her country.
International college
One of the last and concluding scenes of Nisei Daughter, the book following Sone’s self-discovery of identity, is when she goes to a college filled with international students. They are all from different backgrounds with different stories and perceptions. She fits right in for the first time, becoming overjoyed. She also learns that fitting in isn’t necessary to be happy not content, as she is what defines herself. And she decides in that moment that she is both Japanese and American.
