Many Japanese-American individuals and families were taken to internment camps during World War II after Pearl Harbor for fear that they could have been spies for the <em>Japs </em>(discriminating term for Japanese people at the time) and work against USA in the war. This happened regardless of the fact that many Japanese-American had never been in Japan and were only such in heritage.
From this event, many people opted for writing accounts, poems and biographies to record what happened to them. One of the most famous ones is the poem called <em>Attack the Water</em> by <span>Janice Mirikitani. Another well-known product of these camps was Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's <em>Farewell to Manzanar.</em></span>
If it’s the Marigolds story, Lizabeth is affected by hearing the conversation because she realizes how poor they are and how they struggle to provide for the family.
