Imprisonment vs. Freedom: Animal Imagery in 'When the Emperor Was Divine' Anonymous 11th Grade

In When the Emperor Was Divine, Julie Otsuka takes us through the journey of a Japanese-American family that is displaced to internment camps along with many other families because of the war. The novel is told through the different perspectives of the family, giving the audience a deeper understanding about what the characters faced. Their whole lives have been uprooted and simple choices they once had, have disappeared. Throughout the novel, Otsuka’s prominent use of animal motifs develops the reoccurring themes of imprisonment and freedom.

The first way Otsuka shows the themes of imprisonment and freedom, is through the White Dog. The White Dog is the first animal readers are introduced to. It has been the family’s pet and has developed a strong bond with the father, the mother, the girl, and the boy. Although the dog is part of the family, he lives outside in the backyard and is shunned away from entering the house. The life of the dog is similar to the life the family lives because they are prisoners in their own community, no one accepts them or values them as equal in society, they simply tolerate their existence, “Is there anything on my face… People are staring” (15). In contemporary language, being considered a dog is...