Journey to Topaz: A Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation

A euphemism is the substitution of a word or expression used to lessen the impact of another harsher word or phrase. Euphemisms are typically used to make something seem more pleasant than it actually is and to obscure the true nature or intent of the words in question. In Journey to Topaz, Uchida uses the motif of euphemisms to emphasize the Orwellian conditions that Japanese Americans endured during World War II. The word “evacuation,” the official term used by the government to describe the forced removal of the Japanese population from the West Coast, is the novel’s first example of the government’s use of euphemisms to disguise injustices. The term “evacuation” connotes an action that is conducted for the safety of the evacuees—as in an emergency evacuation prior to an impending natural disaster. This term is therefore designed to imply that the forced removal and relocation of the Japanese American community was undertaken for the community’s safety, rather than out of a xenophobic and racist response to an unsubstantiated threat.

Yuki encounters additional instances of euphemistic and harmful language when her family is moved to Tanforan Assembly Center, for she is shocked to discover that the so-called “apartment” that her family has been promised is no more than a dirty stall in a horse stable.