There are three tools used in both the letter and the short story to reinforce the common theme between both pieces: to explain what it means to be truly American. The letter Response to Executive Order 9066 by Dwight Okita tells a girl’s thoughts and opinions to show the theme. Through the narration, the character’s reference to her messy room makes it seem as though she is a average American girl. The internal thoughts of this character are used a number of times to paint a picture of her views of herself, including in this quote about chopsticks and hot dogs: “I have always felt funny using chopsticks and my favorite food is hot dogs.” (Okita, par 7) Which reveals that something that is part of her ancestors is something she’s not used to using, and that her favorite food is an American classic.
The second tool used to express the common theme is dialog. In the letter, things said to the character by her friend Denise show that now things are not the same between them. First, readers learn that Denise was sitting on the other side of the room from the main character, then she’s quoted as saying.“You’re trying to start a war,” she said, “giving secrets away to the Enemy. Why can’t you keep your big mouth shut?”” (Okita, par 17-20) Either because of what she’s heard on the news or from her parents after Pearl Harbor was bombed, Denise sees her as someone completely different from before. The story ‘Mericans also uses dialog to get its theme across, such as in this quote This reveals the experience of the characters in the story, with people assuming that they only speak Spanish and trying to communicate with them in a improper way.
Both the letter and the story use description to describe an event which prevents stuff from happening. For example, in the story ‘Mericans, the children are stopped from going into the grandma’s church in the story. They are not allowed in due to being who they are even though they classify themselves as Mericans. In each piece of writing the authors are trying to share a common theme. The tools showed how the authors used their writing to get the theme across. Even if other people see that person differently doesn’t mean that person sees themselves differently from the other person.
