Silence and voice can be expressed in diverse ways. Joy Kogawa portrays different aspects of Issei and Nisei towards the meaning of silence and voice. Naomi and Stephen are growing up under the influence of their two antithetical aunts, Obasan and Aunt Emily. These aunts have contrasting views of life. Obasan remains in the traditional Japanese lifestyle and lives in her silent territory, while Aunt Emily is an energetic and outspoken woman. Under Aunt Emily's influence, Stephen represses his memories and alienates from his Japanese culture. In between silence and speech, Naomi independently finds her own identity, and achieves self-understanding through different conflicts.
Obasan is a traditional Japanese woman who lives in a shell that hides her feelings and thoughts. She ignores the prejudice trials and tribulations of the war and retains her quietness. Her house is cluttered with antique furniture and old memories. .
The house is indeed old, as she is also old. Every homemade piece of furniture, each pot holder and paper doily is a link in her lifeline. She has preserved in shelves, in cupboards, under beds - a box of marbles, half-filled colouring books, a red, white and blue rubber ball. The items are endless. Every short stub pencil, every cornflakes box stuffed with paper bags and old letters is of her ordering. They rest in the corners like parts of her body, hair cells, skin tissues, tiny specks o memory. This house is now her blood and bones. (Kogawa 15) .
Inwardly, she survives her history and memories, and denies saying them aloud. On her outward appearance, "everything is forgetfulness". Her steadfast silence is for the sake of the children (Kodomo no tame). She uses her silence to protect Naomi and Stephen away from the horrible truth. Obasan refuses to tell the truth behind their mother and the illness of their father. Naomi says that "the language of her (Obasan's) grief is silence.
When Naomi returns home to console her Aunt Obasan, she begins to relive the difficulties of her life. ... Obasan also taught me a lot about the Japanese culture and background. ... On the flip side there were also many weaknesses in the book Obasan. ... Obasan was on the most part well written and gives an excellent account of the Japanese reviews. Obasan was a good novel to help better understand our Canadian history....
In the novel Obasan, written by Joy Kogawa, an important event occurred that changed the lives of many Japanese Canadians during World War II. ... The excuse Canada had for this action was that "Japanese people were not white and could be Japanese 'spies'".2 In the novel Obasan, one of the letters from Aunt Emily says "we're a 'lower order of people'. ... In Obasan, Aunt Emily states "we're hit so many ways at one time that if I wasn't past feeling, I think I would crumble.... Obasan greatly encases these ideas and demonstrates the unjus...
Paper- Obasan This is a story of silence. ... Ever since Naomi was five, Obasan, their aunt, raised her and her brother Stephen. ... Naomi is always stuck between the two aunts of Obasan and Emily. ... Naomi does agree however with certain aspects of Obasan's being. ... "Obasan and Uncle have been the mainstay of Naomi's traumatic childhood- (Goettliev, 36). ...
Personal Journal After reading the novel, Obasan, I step out a mile for understanding the disadvantages about being go to war. For my opinion, "War" doesn"t earn any benefits. It hurts people's souls, destroys the friendship between different nations and break down the whole world ec...
In the novel Obasan, the protagonist goes through a dream sequence. There are three dreams that she experiences that are inter-realated. The dreams have a relationship between the loss of her parents, and the fears about the war that is taking place while the story is being told. This essay will ...
The poem "Day of the Bride- was written by Joy Kogawa, who is an award-winning Japanese Canadian author who often integrates ideas of culture and identity into her writing. The poem is heavily laden with historical Japanese imagery, culture and tradition. The author makes several references to eth...
--Obasan The educational value through this novel is not necessarily what the characters perceptions or even if school is mentioned in the story, but the significance is that the readers can relate to this novel through the character, the language, the proverbs and learning about Japanese-Canadian history, which is a lesson in itself. ... The historical setting is faithfully portrayed and gives the reader a clear sense of what it was like to live in that time period, such as wearing a nemaki "a nightie or Obasan making lots of sticky onigiri rice balls. ...
