Silent Lessons: Education, Manipulation, and Propaganda in Joy Kogawa’s Obasan and George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy
Silent Lessons: Education, Manipulation, and Propaganda in Joy Kogawa’s Obasan and George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the themes of education, manipulation, and propaganda in Joy Kogawa’s Obasan and George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy. Both works explore the complex history of Japanese Canadian and Japanese American internment during World War II, focusing on how marginalized groups are shaped and silenced by institutional forces. Through the personal and collective experiences of the authors, this paper investigates how the educational systems, governmental policies, and media narratives serve as tools for manipulation and propaganda, controlling public perception and reinforcing discriminatory ideologies. By analyzing these two texts, the paper explores the subtle forms of resistance, education, and re-education that challenge the dominant narratives and contribute to the authors’ reclamation of agency and identity.

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