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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSThey Called Us Enemy is a graphic memoir in which actor George Takei tells the true story of his Japanese American family's years behind barbed wire during World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, soldiers pound on the Takeis' door in Los Angeles and give the family ten minutes to leave. Young George, his little brother Henry, and their baby sister Reiko are crowded with their parents into a smelly horse stall at the Santa Anita Racetrack, then sent by guarded train to a camp in the swamps of Arkansas. To George, it all feels like an adventure. Daddy calls the trip a long vacation, and camp brings butterflies, snow, a prank gone wrong, and a visit from Santa. Beside the boy's view, the grown-up George shows what his parents were really facing and looks back on how those years, and long talks with his father, shaped his faith in "a people's democracy."
Free Battle of the Books questions for They Called Us Enemy
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about They Called Us Enemy. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a father tell his son they are going on a long vacation to Arkansas?
✓ Answer
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
On the train, George asks Daddy where they are going, and Daddy says they are going on a long vacation to a far-away place called Arkansas. When George asks what it is like there, Daddy admits he is not sure.
- First half
In what book is a smuggled sewing machine "one big, heavy, crushing disappointment" to two young boys?
✓ Answer
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
George is sure Mama saved the biggest treat for last, but when she pulls the cloth off her bundle it is her sewing machine. She brought it even though it was forbidden, because the children would need new clothes. Mama and Daddy burst out laughing, though George admits he didn't really understand what was so funny.
- First half
In what book does a boy wonder whether a huge, snorting farm hog is a dinosaur?
✓ Answer
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
The jeep ride reaches a farm, where a huge hog pushes its snout between George and Henry and snorts in their faces. George wonders if it is one of the dinosaurs Paul told them about, but the farmer says it is a hog and tells the boys to eat their Spam so they can grow big and strong.
- Second half
In what book does a floor plan label a linoleum square as the living room?
✓ Answer
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
The book draws an overhead floor plan of the family's two rooms at Tule Lake, with a labeled cot for each family member, a potbelly stove, a cot converted to a sofa, a table for Mama's sewing that is also Daddy's desk, and a blue linoleum square for the "living room." Each room was smaller than their old home at Rohwer, but together they gave the family enough space for a living room and a bedroom.
- Second half
In what book does a benshi voice a soundless film while a helper bangs wooden clappers?
✓ Answer
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
On other movie nights the films were Japanese and often missing the audio track, and Daddy explains how a benshi provides the soundtrack, speaking the characters' lines while clappers make the sound effects. George is mesmerized by how one man can be so many voices, and Daddy tells him that in the days of silent movies benshi were considered artists, similar to actors.
- Near the end
In what book is a teen amazed a former first lady knows his name, until he remembers his name tag?
✓ Answer
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
At the Stevenson campaign headquarters, Eleanor Roosevelt goes down the row shaking every volunteer's hand and thanks George by name for helping Adlai. George is on cloud nine that she knows his name, though it takes him a moment to remember the name tag he is wearing.
