“Camp Life” by John Howard explores the everyday life of people living in interment camps in Arkansas. Howard analyzes how the formation of the Japanese culture in the context of interment camps played a key role in redefining traditional gender roles. Due to the communal structure of the camp women spent less time doing domestic activities and more time delving into once male dominated professions.

While reading “ Camp Life” I was shocked to learn Japanese interment camps existed in Arkansas, prior to reading this article I always associated Japanese interment camps with California. Recognizing my ignorance and lack of knowledge about the history of Japanese interment camps in the U.S. causes me to feel embarrassed. I know that I should know more about this history but the truth is I really don’t. Reading about the everyday routine of the people loved in these interment camp helped to open my eyes and make the history feel very real to me. While reading I was disturbed by the use of the word prisoner used to describe the Japanese people who lived in the camps. What crime did the Japanese people commit? No crime. The only criminals in this case are the American government officials who exploited and falsely imprisoned innocent people. To think the power of stereotypes is so potent that they can lead to an entire generation of people to be falsely imprisoned was heartbreaking for me.