Topic 1: The Moved Outers by Florence Crannell Means

Means, Florence Crannell. THE MOVED-OUTERS. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1945.

THE MOVED-OUTERS by Florence Cannell Means relates the experiences of Sumiko “Sue” Ohara and her family after they are “relocated” following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Sue’s father is taken into custody by the FBI, her sisters are away at school and one of her two brothers is in the army in Italy. With her mother and brother Kim, Sue faces the uncertain future first in the Santa Anita relocation camp. Determined to be of use, Sue has to face her swirling emotions, those of the “moved-outers” in the camp and with the “good” Americans on the outside.

Love and friendships are tested in this story of a confusing and frightening time in American history. Means' conviction that "all men are brothers." (Morad, 127). The images are vivid and provide "details of the daily existance...the lack of privacy, the disillusionment, [and] the physical restrictions." (Morad, 127). The story is not all bad, because Means also paints a portrait of a young woman with all the luxuries usually taken for granted stripped from her, but who still finds a purpose in working with the young children around her.

The readability of this story allows younger teens to comprehend the story, but does not take away from the humanity of the people trying desperately to survive in a country that had turned on its citizens. THE MOVED-OUTERS was published in February, 1945, which made it available seven months before the end of the war with Japan. It did not receive the “readership or visibility it deserved” because it was published when anti-Japanese feelings were rampant, either because of the war or simply racial bias. (Morad, 132). Means talked with interred Japanese-Americans at the Amache Relocation Camp near her Colorado home.



Reference List:
Morad, Deborah J. 1999. Children’s Literature Review. Vol.56. Boston: Gale Group,127.

Ibid., 131-132.

BY KELLY HALL