Studentene kan spore de forskjellige temaene, symbolene og motivene som finnes i romanen og lage et edderkoppkart som merker, definerer og illustrerer dem.
Storyboard-Text
HANDS
RACISM
Westminster Main School
Both girls notice how their fathers are hard working farmers who use their hands to cultivate the land and provide for their families. Their mothers use their hands for sewing, cooking, and braiding hair. Sylvia wonders why the color of her hands matters when she compares them to her cousins, who would would have been accepted to Westminster school because they looked more "white".
The Munemitsus are imprisoned by the government simply for being of Japanese descent. The Mendez children are not allowed to go to the Westminster public school simply because they are of Mexican descent. The novel highlights how white supremacy and racism are rooted in U.S. history and the people who have fought for equality and freedom.
POSTON INTERNMENT CAMP
FENCES
SYLVIA & AKI: Themes, Symbols and Motifs
DOLLS
Fences are seen throughout the novel and symbolize the barriers to freedom and equality for the protagonists. There is an electric fence that surrounds the Hoover school and it shocks one of the students who touches it on a dare. Fences also surround the internment camp to imprison the Japanese Americans held there.
Sylvia and Aki's dolls, Keiko, the Japanese doll, and Carmencita, the Mexican doll, are recurring motifs and symbolize Sylvia & Aki's friendship. Each girl is glad and honored in the end to have a doll that represents their friend's race, culture, and heritage.