... busies herself with chores and quiet things of the sort. Naomi does agree however with certain aspects of Obasan's being. Aunt Aye is passive and learns to forgive and forget, which is how she raises Naomi. "Crimes of history can stay in history"(Kogawa, 41). She learns to leave the past war mishaps in her life alone and move on with things ... ). Although this, they have been the foundations of her life, and that is an undeniable fact. "Obasan and Uncle have been the mainstay of Naomi's traumatic childhood- (Goettliev, 36). This story is so well written it is evident that it was heavily...

• Word Count: 1170
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In the novel Obasan, written by Joy Kogawa, an important event occurred that changed the lives of many Japanese Canadians during World War II. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor the racism towards the Japanese Canadians ... crime they did not commit. 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 one breath we are damned for being 'inassimilable' and the ... the camps had very little food letting many people sta...

• Word Count: 821
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography

... preceding images and customs, the world we are living in today, and the dramatic passage between the two. Joy Kogawa is known not only for her writing but also for her involvement with Japanese-Canadian activism groups. She was born in Vancouver in 1935 ... she began her secondary education, which included study several universities. Much of Joy's material centers on her heritage and life history, individual identity and cultural diversity. Joy has now written a number of novels, poems and essays - one of which, titled Obasan, won multiple prestigious awards. "The day of the Bride dawns...

• Word Count: 637
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... the seventies with Naomi a teacher in Northern Alberta finding out that her uncle has died. When Naomi returns home to console her Aunt Obasan, she begins to relive the difficulties of her life. She recounts the struggle against the government and themselves while trying to stay in ... Canadian citizens. Obasan also taught me a lot about the Japanese culture and background. I enjoyed learning that it was custom to take a bath with your family when you were younger. I also learned that the government took away the vehicles of the Japanese and auctioned them off, which really shocked me. Jo...

• Word Count: 640
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School