The paper titled "Documentary Narratives: A Reading of Japanese American Internment Camps in Nakamura’s Treadmill" by Mahmoud Ibrahim Radwan focuses on a critical examination of Hiroshi Nakamura's Treadmill: A Documentary Novel (1996), which deals with the traumatic experiences of Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II. The study emphasizes the novel's significance as a unique literary work that has not received the critical attention it deserves, despite its pioneering role in documenting the internment experience.
The purpose of the study is to explore the ways in which Nakamura utilizes documentary narrative techniques to present the internment camps' reality. The paper investigates how the novel blends fiction and factual elements to challenge traditional historical narratives and offer multiple interpretations of the events it depicts.
The methodology involves a close reading of Nakamura's novel, analyzing the narrative strategies employed to depict the internment experience. The study also engages with theoretical perspectives on documentary fiction, drawing on concepts such as intertextuality, plurality of truths, and the problematic nature of historical closure.
The key findings highlight Nakamura's ability to manipulate documentary narrative elements, such as intertextual references and testimonial devices, to present a nuanced and multifaceted portrayal of the internment camps. The novel challenges the notion of a single, conclusive historical truth by offering multiple, often conflicting, interpretations of the events it describes. This approach allows Nakamura to deconstruct traditional epistemological frameworks and present a more complex and pluralistic understanding of history.
The conclusions of the study emphasize the significance of Nakamura's work in the broader context of documentary fiction and its potential to reshape our understanding of historical events. The paper argues that Treadmill is not just a historical document but a literary work that invites readers to engage critically with the past, questioning official narratives and considering alternative perspectives. The study underscores the importance of recognizing the multiple truths that documentary narratives can reveal, particularly in the context of traumatic historical experiences like the Japanese American internment.