Please explain why it is appropriate to teach in Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury.
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I think that Salisbury's book is appropriate for intermediate primary or secondary school grades for a couple of reasons. The first being that historical fiction helps to bring out the events of historical consciousness through a personalized and identifiable point of view. The trials of Japanese Americans during World War II can be brought out through Eddy and what he experiences. Kids of this age who are emerging to and through adolescence will have a better idea of how to appropriate the material in such a personalized context. I also believe that the book is relevant for teaching about World War II because it presents another side of the American army during this time period. There is a fundamental contradiction that America stood against racial discrimination and the practices of prejudice in Europe with the Nazis, yet continued some of the same habits back home when it came to the Japanese. Exploring this contradiction will allow students to gain a better grasp and feel for the historical time period and the realities that governed it.
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