Obasan is a novel written by Joy Kogawa that tells the story of a Japanese family experiencing internment in Canada during World War II. The narrator is Naomi Nakane, who was only a little girl during this time. In the present, Naomi gets a call that her uncle has passed away, so she returns to Granton, where her old aunt, Obasan, now lives alone. Returning to the house reveals a lot of suppressed memories from Naomi herself and other shocking revelations. The whole plot can relate back to Obasan’s house, as it is symbolic of several aspects: Obasan herself, memories of the suffering from the internment, and closure for questions from the internment.
Obasan’s house is old and cluttered and full of lots of junk, when looked at by an outsider. But Naomi describes every little object as being “right in its place” at Obasan’s house. Everything had its meaning, “Every homemade piece of furniture, each pot holder and paper doily is a link in her lifeline.” All these objects are memories for Obasan, who is very old and knows her time is limited. These memories are significant to her because they represent the painful past that she and her family endured during the internment in World War II.
The house also brings up memories, against Naomi’s will. When she sees a family photo taken before she was born, she looks at her mother, whom she barely knew, and wonders what ever happened to her since she went to Japan to help Naomi’s grandmother. Also at the house, Obasan gives Naomi a parcel from her Aunt Emily, filled with a journal and other written documents. The journal helps Naomi fill in the missing pieces of what happened during the internment because she was only just a small child and didn’t understand much.
Since Uncle’s death, Aunt Emily and Naomi’s brother Stephen also came by to Obasan’s house. It was almost like a reunion. When they were all together again, Naomi was presented with letters from her Grandma Kato in Japan, whom her mother went up there to help out. From these letters, Naomi finally discovered that her mother was badly disfigured from the atomic bombing, then later died from the radiation. Although not the best news Naomi would want to hear, she finally found closure to all the wondering she did throughout her childhood.
Kel,
ReplyDeletethat was like super sad! Wow, I know I just sounded like a ditz but it was really sad! The ending was at least. Anyways, I liked how you used the house and as the symbol. It is an interesting symbol that I wouldn't have thought would be a symbol (if you know what I mean).
It's ironic that the house and everything in it was her lifeline because it allowed her to keep the memories, both good and bad.
Good job!
I really like how you saw the house as the symbol :] I'm actually pretty interested in reading this book now haha! :P
ReplyDeleteLike Ari said, the ending sounds suuupperrr sad :/ with the atomic bomb and disfiguration and everything :[
good job though :]
I like the use of quotes but it doesn't fully make the argument of how the house was a symbol in some of the aspects you mentioned and seems more like a plot device. Photos are seen in the house and parcels given, but these do not necessarily make the house a symbol. Develop the argument further and stay focused on explaining the symbols. High five otherwise.
ReplyDeleteGreat job :) i liked how you used the house as the symbol i definetly would not have thought of that. I think its funny now, how you did your essay on this book, which is what I'm reading now, and I did mine on Kite Runner which is what your reading now! How ironic. I liked the use of your quotes, and how you throughally described your meaning behind it.
ReplyDeleteCyrus makes a really good point about differentiating between a plot device and a symbol. What you discuss the house moreso DOES than it REPRESENTS. With that being said, I think choosing the house was an interesting idea, but you have to work it such that you can pull a deeper, broader meaning from it than what happens in the plot. I haven't read the book, so I don't know how exactly you would do that, but I think if you were to focus on one of the things you list in your thesis like "closure" or "memories," and you proceeded to explain what's significant about the house in relation to "closure" or "memories" for different characters, or both for one character, you'd have more to analyze. ... I hope that helped.
ReplyDeleteI thinks its interesting and really cool that you chose a house as your symbol to write about since its something that people don't usually do, but I think you did well with it :) however, I do agree with the previous comment; I think you should write more about what it symbolizes/represents rather than what the house does for the characters. But I really liked your blog; I've only heard about this book from the people in our class who chose to read it for SSR, but I never really found out what the story was actually about...now that I read this, I think the story sounds really good and I'm interested in reading the book now! :)
ReplyDeleteKel, Good Choice. Listen to Cy and Noah, go into what it represents! Think like 124 in Beloved! What does the house mean in terms of the novel! Did you memorize your quotes? Remember that if you can, you should remember 1 or 2 of them! It helps with scoring! You won't have the book with you! Good Attempt! :)
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