They Called Us Enemy: Pages 51–137

by George Takei
In this graphic memoir, actor and activist George Takei recounts the internment of his Japanese-American family during World War II.

Here are links to our list for the memoir: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. acutely
    in a sharp or intense manner
    Most of all, he acutely felt the needs of those around him.
  2. bureaucracy
    a government administered primarily by nonelective officials
    He was involved in all manner of bureaucracy — government forms, meetings, and other pressing matters.
  3. deliberately
    in a careful unhurried manner
    And then he began pronouncing the words very slowly and deliberately.
  4. assimilate
    become like one's environment
    They cannot be assimilated.
  5. infamous
    known widely and usually unfavorably
    But two questions in particular became infamous.
  6. forswear
    formally reject or disavow
    Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America and faithfully defend the United States from any or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of allegiance or obedience to the Japanese emperor, to any foreign government, power, or organization?
  7. casualty
    someone injured or killed in a military engagement
    The 442nd suffered over eight hundred casualties.
  8. principled
    based on or demonstrating morality or rightness
    In 1944, dozens of these principled objectors were transferred to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas.
  9. penitentiary
    a correctional institution for those convicted of crimes
    In 1944, dozens of these principled objectors were transferred to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas.
  10. fateful
    having momentous consequences; of decisive importance
    On May 9, 1944, one year and seven months after arriving at Rohwer, we were being relocated again...this time because of my parents' answers on those fateful questions.
  11. repatriation
    the act of returning to one's country of origin
    A minority of people applied for repatriation.
  12. notorious
    known widely and usually unfavorably
    Tule Lake was the most notorious, the most cruel, and by far the largest of the ten camps.
  13. mesmerize
    attract strongly, as if with a magnet
    I was mesmerized by the benshi — how he could be so many voices from one.
  14. disillusioned
    freed from false ideas
    Some young men in the camp became disillusioned.
  15. sporadic
    recurring in scattered or unpredictable instances
    This resulted in the delivery of food and fuel becoming more sporadic...punishing everyone.
Created on Thu Jan 09 10:12:20 EST 2020 (updated Fri Jun 20 18:00:39 EDT 2025)

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