Weedflower

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2006

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-17

Chapters 18-22

Chapters 23-28

Chapters 29-33

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 10-12 Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 10 Summary

Sumiko wears her mint green school dress on the day of the evacuation. She says goodbye to the kusabana flowers she loves so much and retrieves some of Uncle’s special seeds for new strains he was working on. She finds some labeled “STOCK—SUMIKO STRAIN” (78) and brings them with her. The family can take only a few things, and Bull makes a special box for Tak-Tak’s pet crickets. Sumiko sadly surveys the deserted community as they leave, and wonders if they’ll ever return. She knows they cannot even run away because no one would be sympathetic to them. When they reach the drop-off point, they see their neighbor, Mrs. Ono, who’s distraught at having to leave her dog behind. A long line of army trucks comes, and they all climb aboard.

Chapter 11 Summary

The trucks stop at a racetrack in San Carlos, California filled with rows of barracks. Armed soldiers stand by as everyone gets their stable assignment and fills their mattresses with straw. Ichiro learns that about 20,000 people will live at the racetrack until they’re sent to permanent camps. Dinner is served cafeteria-style on trays, and it upsets Sumiko and Tak-Tak’s stomachs. When they get up to use the bathroom during the night, searchlights sweep the camp, following them as they walk.

Chapter 12 Summary

When Sumiko looks around the camp the next day, she realizes that the details of daily life—curtains, pets, and gardens—are missing. As the days pass with nothing for Sumiko to do, she thinks of a phrase that Jiichan used when he told her about his trip from Japan to America: “the ultimate boredom” (92), which means something close to losing one’s mind. However, a few things happen to break the monotony. Soldiers check the barracks for weapons, like scissors, and Sumiko hurriedly sneaks away with her knife that she used for disbudding flowers and buries it. Also, Mrs. Ono receives a letter from the new resident in her house, who promises to take care of Mrs. Ono’s dog until her release. Sumiko joins a group of kids as they climb a ladder onto the roof and finds that normal life is visible just beyond the racetrack. In late May, Sumiko’s family is on a list to be relocated to Poston, Arizona. The thought of a change in location and weather frustrates Sumiko; the family brought heavy clothes for the cold, since Jiichan and Uncle ended up in freezing North Dakota. However, they’ll be going to a hot climate and a place that’s otherwise unknown to them. As they leave, Sumiko wonders if someone will ever find the knife she buried.

Chapters 10-12 Analysis

When Sumiko and her family must leave their farm behind, Kadohata highlights Sumiko’s love for the kusabana flowers. She says goodbye to her beloved flowers and feels touched that her Uncle developed a special strain of stock seeds and named them after her. Uncle, Bull, and Sumiko have a mutual passion for farming and flowers that Ichiro and Auntie don’t share. Kadohata establishes Sumiko’s love of flowers early through her dream of owning a flower shop and continues to develop this motif as flowers remain part of her life in the internment camps.

Sumiko gains a new perspective when she must leave her home. Leaving makes her realize that even the things she disliked about the farm were precious. This process repeats itself when she must leave the racetrack and relocate to Poston, Arizona. Sumiko wishes she’d appreciated the weather more in California since Poston will be much hotter. Furthermore, when Sumiko climbs to the top of the racetrack wall and views the normalcy of life just outside, she realizes how separated they are from the world. Even street traffic feels precious. Sumiko’s realizations illustrate how people often forget to appreciate what they have until they lose it. Things that one complains about are things one may miss when they’re taken away.

As Sumiko and her neighbors are evacuated, Kadohata highlights the fear and uncertainty they face. Kadohata details the process of evacuating: Taking only what they can carry, loading onto dark trucks with armed soldiers standing by, receiving a small, crude barrack as the family sleeping quarters, and filling their mattresses with straw. Although they aren’t treated cruelly, they’re not treated respectfully either. Through Sumiko’s character, Kadohata shows how difficult it is to think clearly when afraid and uncertain of what will happen. Tak-Tak’s questions vocalize the fears the whole family harbors. To manage her fear, Sumiko pours herself into the work of filling her mattress but is soon overcome by boredom when she runs out of jobs to do. The camp’s boredom accentuates everyone’s fear and mental strain to the point that Sumiko worries she might be going crazy. Kadohata highlights children’s behavior in the camp to show how the lack of structure and purpose takes a toll on not only people’s mental states but also their actions.