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Setting - Description/Explain significance/How it links to theme etc.…
Setting - Description/Explain significance/How it links to theme etc.
PLACE
Enemy Camp is set in Featherston, a small town in New Zealand.
Featherston is significant becuase it has a POW camp in the outskirts of the town, reminding everyone that there is a war on.
This emphasises the theme of war because having a POW camp with lots of Japanese prisoners just down reminds the community of the war and this leads to a lot of hatred towards them. People would drive down to the camp and yell nasty stuff like 'dirty bloody Nips' at them.
TIME
Enemy Camp is set in 1942 during WW2.
The time is significant as it is set during the war. This means that some people in the town are grieving and worrying for lived ones in the war. This leads to them have strong opinion against the Japanese in the local POW camp.
This emphasises the theme of racism and stereotyping as tension's are high in Featherston and we see people growing racist and stereotyical of the Japanese in the camp as people show hate towards them as a way of getting back at Japan for hurting loved ones.
DURATION
The story follows the life of a boy called Ewen through his diary entries which are written from October 1942 to February 1943.
The duration of the story is from just before the new Japanese troops arrive and lasts until just after the shootout. This is enough time in order to show us as reader's, what life was like in the camp before the Japanese troops came in (just the Japanese civilians in the camp), right up until after the shootout.
This emphasises the theme of racism, stereotyping and war because throughout the duration of the novel, people are constantly racist towards the Japanese and stereotype them as 'dirty bloody Nips'. The war throughout the book, seems to drive this hatred because the Japanese are fighting against the New Zealanders. Many people in the town are worrying and grieving and they want to point the finger at someone so they turn strongly against the Japanese and want nothing to do with them.
CULTURAL SETTING (including beliefs and values, which may be historical)
People in Featherston have very strong opinions about the enemy in the war. Some are very against the Japanese and the Germans due to their involvement in the war. Others are more accepting of them as they have experienced war and understand their situation.
This can create disagreements between people within the town. For example, Mrs Connell confronted Mr White about letting a student give a talk to the class about Japan. She thought this was terrible as she didn't think children should be learning about the enemy. After this confrontation, Ewen mentions how he's noticed that people like Mr White and Ewen's father who had been at war were often almost sympathetic to the enemy as they know what they are going through.
This emphasises the theme of racism and stereotyping because people stereotype all Japanese as the blood-thirsty, cruel and violent soldiers that they have heard some of the Japanese are in the war. This makes them hate all the Japanese even though some of the prisoners are only civilians that weren't fighting in the war. Some of the people of Featherston are then quite racist towards and about the Japanese and aren't' afraid to go down to the camp and show the Japanese prisoners their hatred towards them.
This emphasises the theme of war because there are many different opinions on who the enemy is in the war and how they should be treated. The war puts a lot of strain of the town and people are quite worried and are grieving. This causes some of them to have extreme hatred against the Japanese for their involvement it the war as they are battling against the New Zealanders.
ATMOSPHERE/MOOD
The atmosphere in the town begins to darken as the tension between the recently confined Japanese soldiers and the guards grow. For most, the mood is dark as the war continues and family and friends of people in the community get killed. There are quite a few worry and grief stricken people.
This makes some people have a shorter temper and be more willing to show their hate for the enemy, We see Mrs Connell at a few stages throughtout the book being rude and nasty about the Japanese. This could be because of grief, worry or stress because of the war.
As the tension grows and then breaks, Ewen and their friends witness a shooting killing poeple, including their Japanese sensei, Ito. This shows us the theme of loss of innocence.
We see the theme of war and how if impacts people's lives in may different ways including angry outbursts about the enemy.
The atmosphere also leads people to be racist and stereotypical of the Japanese soldiers in the camp.