Back with Butterflies: (Post-)World War II Fiction of Américo Paredes

Abstract:This manuscript examine Paredes's short stories set in Japan immediately after WWII, which depict interracial relationships between Mexican American soldiers and Japanese women. As opposed to many white-authored mainstream narratives which often emphasize the war's end with its depictions of romantic relationships between white soldiers and Japanese women, Paredes's stories satirically expose the issue of racism, sexism, and imperialism in such relationships to claim that the war was continuing throughout the occupation. This article analyzes two stories, unpublished "21,000 Ping Pong Balls: A Story of the American Occupation of Japan," archived at University of Texas, and "Getting an Oboe for Joe" from The Hammon and the Beans and Other Stories (1994).