Like cups matching saucers, Mama's defiance of exploitation and devaluation befits her grief. The act, appropriate to the atmosphere of hurried exodus, suggests that the Wakatsukis have enough self-possession to survive loss as well as to trounce seedy scavengers who circle like sharks.
In contrast to the dramatic dish-smashing scene, some of the most memorable details incorporate humor, an essential ingredient in the Wakatsukis' grip on sanity as their world turns upside down and jolts them from a comfortable, secure lifestyle. For example, while searching for identity amid Manzanar's jumble of activities, Jeanne naively follows the mean-spirited advice of Reiko and Mitsue, who advise, "A good dancer must have good skin. . . . In order to have good skin you must rub Rose Brilliantine Hair Tonic in your face and rub cold cream in your hair." Jeanne's compliance captures the humiliation that most children suffer when they are victimized by jeering, unprincipled peers.
As the book draws to a close, the authors return to Ko's harum-scarum escapades, which buoy Jeanne "with the first bubbly sense of liberation his defiant craziness had brought along with it. I believed in him completely just then, believed in the fierceness flashing in his wild eyes." She concludes that laughter "would get us past whatever waited inside the fearful dark cloud, get us past the heat and the rattlers, and a great deal more."
Another useful facet of the Houstons' command of nonfiction is contrast — scenes of despair or grief or confusion offsetting moments of jubilation, particularly, the birth of a grandchild, Ray's gluttonous grazing among the mess halls, Woody's insistent patriotism, the polite sharing of a modesty shield in the women's toilet, and Papa's drubbing of a political adversary. Such diversions remind the audience that life at Manzanar encompassed the gamut of human emotions, from sadness and self-reproach to shared joys, courtesy, and pride in accomplishment. The key to contrast is the rhythmic pairing of memories, good with bad, fearful with confident, frustration with coping. A strong image in the cheerless rows of barracks is Mama, returning from her dietician's job, topped with a "bright yellow, longbilled sun hat she had made herself and always kept stiffly starched." Against the rigidity of camp routine, Mama's personal standards are even starchier as the bonnet, engulfed in heat waves, becomes "a yellow flower wavering in the glare."
