"All I Asking For Is My Body" Dialogue

“All I Asking For is My body” takes place before WWII on a sugar plantation in Pepelau, Hawaii. Kiyoshi, the narrator of this story, lives with his parents and brother, they are of Japanese descent. His father is a fisherman and his mother is a seamstress and even though they are poor Kiyoshi’s parents are very traditional and proud. Kiyoshi does not agree with his parents all the time, he respects their wishes and tries to please them. His mother does not like it that Kiyoshi spends so much time with Makot, an older boy who she feels is a bad influence on Kiyoshi. Makot’s family is Japanese also but lives in a Philippine camp. His parents are not traditional and live a questionable life according to Kiyoshi’s mother.
Makot plays with the younger kids because the older kids make fun of him and his family. I feel sorry for Makot as he does not seem to have a good role model; the book shows he mimics’ his parents. I am sure Makot treats his parents the way they have treated him. Kiyoshi’s mother knows he has got caught up with the ideas Makot has introduced him to and they are not traditional ways. Kiyoshi being respectful of his parents wants to obey them and so he tells Makot he cannot play with him anymore.
A Plantation is basically a large farm that grows crops in mass with workers that are either slaves or migrant workers which could be called indentured servants, they have a foreman which forces them to long hours and live in poor conditions with low wages and no way to get ahead and better their life. Sugar cane is the crop of choice and the labor force at this time was Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and Korean.