When the Emperor was Divine

by

Julie Otsuka

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Emperor was Divine makes teaching easy.

When the Emperor was Divine Symbols

Stains

Stains are the presiding symbolic image throughout the first chapter of the novel. The first stain appears on Joe Lundy’s cash register. As Lundy and the woman talk indirectly about the imminent evacuation, he…

read analysis of Stains

Wild and Domesticated Animals

In a novel deeply concerned with what it means to be free, animals represent the various forms of incarceration. The first animal we see is White Dog, a completely domesticated animal that relies completely on…

read analysis of Wild and Domesticated Animals

The Japanese Emperor

Appearing in the title of the book, Emperor Hirohito plays a crucial symbolic role for the boy. In the Japanese culture of the time, the Emperor was considered divine like a god. However, at…

read analysis of The Japanese Emperor

Trees

In a novel rife with symbols, trees are perhaps the most recurring one. On the most basic level, trees represent home, one’s roots in the ground. On the evening before the family is relocated, the

read analysis of Trees

The Rosebush

The woman’s rosebush, the principal symbol in the novel’s second to last chapter, represents the ideal of freedom. While the family was interned at the Topaz camp, the rosebush was stolen from the woman’s…

read analysis of The Rosebush

Get the entire Emperor was Divine LitChart as a printable PDF.
When the Emperor was Divine PDF