Define Freedom

Once the mother and the two children return to their home after three years of living in the concentration camps, they seem to have a new outlook on life itself. Not only do they appreciate things that they once took for granite, they also see the world in a new light and have a new definition of what their freedom is versus what the rest of America's freedom is (those who aren't Japanese). Each person matures in a sense by realizing that the world is truly corrupt for so many different reasons, and people just tend to put serious events and realities on the back burner so that they can avoid confrontation of any sort.

After the family's arrival back home, the mother and children are basically worshiping the water coming out of the faucet, yelling insanities that they once couldn't yell out in the concentration camps and they feasted on food that they never thought was "feastable". "We lowered our heads to the faucet and drank.. Our throats were dry from the long ride back and our clothes were covered with dust. Our mother let the water run over her hands and then she turned off the faucet and wiped her hands on the front of her dress.." The mere fact that water was so exciting shows how deprived they were at the camps. They weren't taken care of and were on constant watch of every little move. It became their life and what they were used to.

Although the family was excited to be home and do what they hadn't done in years, they were also doing what they had accommodated to at the camps; such as sleeping in the same room. Even though the children would ask their mother when they would be able to sleep in their own rooms, the schedule they ran on at the camps seemed to stick with them and make them feel comfortable. "Without thinking, we had chosen to sleep, together, in a room, with our mother, dreaming of the day when we could finally sleep alone, in our own rooms.” I also believe they slept together in fear that someone could harm them at any moment, seeing as they were the "enemy" during the war. After the experience at the concentration camps, they realized that they weren't really safe anywhere. They couldn’t' even trust their neighbors who had stolen things from the house. They were free from the camp, but in this case, they weren't free of the harsh realities of the world outside the camp.... so I ask... define freedom.