Obasan: A Never-ending Past

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In life, people live in moments that later become great memories that they look back at and smile about. At the same time, people also experiences memories of undergoing hardships and unfortunate events that may cause them distress and trauma. In Joy Kogawa's novel about a family of Japanese Canadians, Obasan, it is seen that traumatizing experiences that one faces can carry a burden on them for the remainder of their lifetime. This is conveyed through internal conflicts faced by various characters in the story, the style the story is written in, and the setting the story takes place in.
Kogawa conveys that past events can impact an individual's life due to the traumatizing memories and cause them to feel conflicted. For instance, Naomi, one of the main characters, was molested by Old Man Gower, a family friend of hers. When she recalls the vivid images of Old Man Gower handling her and sexually abusing her, she claims that it was "unthinkable to be held by [such] force" (67-68). Here, Naomi cannot even bear the thought of being suppressed in the hands of Old Man Gower when she looks back at the painful memories. It is clear that the sexual violence that was inflicted against her long ago as a child still has an impact on her to the present day and causes her emotional distress just by thinking about it. Furthermore, Naomi experiences frequent nightmares of Old Man Gower sexually harassing her, contributing to her already unstable emotions and fear. She describes one of the nightmares: "The room is dark, the blinds drawn almost to the bottom. I am unfamiliar with such darkness. The bed is strange and pristine, deathly in its untouched splendor" (68). Evidently, Naomi is victimized by the horrific memories of Old Man Gower sexuall...

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...apanese Canadians faced decades back was extremely harsh and unjust. It is obvious that adding this dark setting to the already-present conflict Naomi is facing helps depict the trauma caused by her painful memories of the past.
All in all, Joy Kogawa's novel, Obasan, clearly depicts the implications of undergoing obstacles and hardships, as they can cause a person to feel distressed and traumatized for the rest of their life. This consideration was well conveyed through the internal conflicts faced by various characters within the story, the author's style of writing in the story, and the setting that the story takes place in. One can conclude from this story that even though there may be a lot of painful memories from the past, it is important to overlook them and focus on the positive memories for their own well-being and for the sake of moving forward in life.

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