Analysis of excerpt from Joy Kogawa’s Obasan

1. Analysis of excerpt from Joy Kogawa’sObasan Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. -MLK Jr.

2. Theme Statement • Kogawa believes that the Japanese Canadians silent, unnoticed exodus ironically reveals to the world their unwavering strength during WWII. Through changes in perspective, selection of detail, and biblical allusions, she shows her personal belief that the JC’s are also God’s children.

3. Literary Elements • Religious allusion • Metaphor • Irony • Diction • Shift in perspective • Imagery • Simile • Onomatopoeia

4. Uses religious allusion and metaphor to show JC’s tolerance and helplessness • “We are going down to the middle of the Earth… carried along by the momentum of the expulsion into the waiting wilderness.” (5-8) • “We are the chips and sand, the fragments of fragments…” (11) • JC’s are minor casualties of the war

5. Religious allusion shows irony of JC’s silent exodus • “rendered voiceless, stripped of car, radio, camera and every means of communication” (14-15) • “a trainload of eyes covered with mud and spittle. We are the man in the Gospel of John, born into the world for the sake of the light.” (15-18) • JC are blinded by society. Example of tolerance and love of God’s people • “We are sent to the sending, that we may bring sight.” (19) • JC bring sight to other Japanese

6. Final Line • “We disappear into the future undemanding as dew.” (27-28)

7. Selection of Detail – Brevity and Understatement • Short dialogue • Brevity of speech and communication through actions depict quietness • “Woman in the aisle seat opposite us leans over and whispers to Obasan with a solemn nodding of her head and a flicker of her eyes indicating the young woman.” (65-66) • “Obasan movesher head slowly and gravely in a nod as she listens. ‘Kawaiso,’ she says under her breath.” (69-70) • “Kuniko-san clutches the baby against her breast and bows forward twice while accepting Obasan’s gift without looking up.” (97-99) • Understated weight of Obasan’s actions • Gift of apples and oranges is a seemingly small deed • But is an understatement for something much larger • Paradoxically emphasizes the perseverance of the Japanese-Canadians. And the dignity that allowed them to tolerate and cope with the injustice brought upon them. • This is why Kogawa believes they are the “man in the Gospel of John, born into the world for the sake of the light.” (16-18)

8. Selection of Detail - Order • Much like how a child would look around a train • First notices the people • “The train is full of strangers…not one of us on this journey returns home again.” (45) • Then moves on to describe the things she smells, sees, hears • “The train smells of oil and soot and orange peels and lurches groggily as we rock our way inland.” (46-47) • “Along the window ledge, the black soot leaps and settles like insects.” (47-48) • “I can barely hear [the kitten’s] high steady cry in the clackity-clack and steamy hiss of the train.” (59) • Not one line of dialogue appears in the first two thirds of second section • Gives impression of a silent train ride • Emphasizes the dignity of the Japanese-Canadians and their ability to quietly tolerate their situation. • Because of their tolerance, they are able to “bring sight”

9. Structure • Split into two sections • First • First person plural—represents the Japanese Canadian’s as a whole and how they are all affected by the injustice in society. • Second • Personal account of the train ride to the internment camp • More imagery than action • Describes train’s interior • Action comes at the end • Obasan’s gift to Kuniko • Shows Kogawa’s pride in her people’s tolerance • Obasan’s benevolence intentionally highlighted • Why did Kogawa choose to emphasize such a small act? • Her actions epitomize overall character of WWII Japanese Candians

10. Point of View • First person plural in first section • Kogawa speaks for Japanese-Candians as a whole • “We are hammers and chisels…” (9) • “We are the chips and sand…” (11) • “We are the man in the Gospel of John…” (17) • “We are the Issei and the Nisei and the Sansei…” (26) • Becomes more direct in second section • Kogawa begins to use “I” and “my” • “I have a wine-colored sweater with ivory duck buttons.” (37) • “I would call her ‘o-nesan’, older sister.” (63)

11. What does this do? • Going from being a speaker for the whole to a personal recollection brings the piece to a more intimate level. • Reader better understands when Kogawa puts them in her shoes. • Directly shows the quiet tolerance and how the Japanese people pull together to persevere through their relocation. • Emphasizes and brings color to the bigger picture she is trying to paint • It is here that she reveals her attitude toward the past

12. Selection of Detail • Order • Much like how a child would look around a train • First notices the people • “Train is full of strangers • Visual, auditory, smell • Dialogue comes at end, brief • Action-oriented • Bird-like Kuniko and red umbrella exotic bird-baby face

13. Figurative Language • Simile • “My umbrella with its knobby clear red handle sticks out of a box like the head of an exotic bird,” (51-53) • This relates to how the young woman also stands out among the people in the train. • Onomatopoeia • “the clackity-clack and steamy hiss of the train,” (58-59) • Loud noises contrast with the silence of the Japanese Canadians.

14. Connection to world • Faulty hostile American attitude toward Muslims after 9/11 • Japanese attitude in reaction to recent earthquakes/tsunami