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Part 1: T.E.A.
The short story “Obasan” uses the confinement of the Japanese people to support its readers in recognizing the narrator’s views and ideas as well as the dynamic of the family in the story. There are many 3 generations within this story and Obasan, the grandmother, having experienced World War 2 is fixated on her past and her life prior to the internment and full of grief over her treatment during this time. “The memories are drowned in a whirlpool of protective silence” (Kogawa, 4), as Obasan chooses quietness as a way of dealing with her sorrow. “[Her silence] is that of a child bewildered” (Kogawa, 4) and this method of dealing with her grief lead her own children to unhappiness. Their generation living a more westernized lifestyle are unable to understand the pain Obasan is holding onto. “Her daughters, unable to rescue her or bear the silent rebuke of her suffering have long since fled to the ends of the earth. Each has lived a life in perpetual flight from the density of her inner retreat-from the rays of her inverted sun sucking in their lives with the voracious appetite of a dwarf star” (Kogawa, 5). Each of these examples outlines the broken dynamic of the family. From a mother who sets herself apart from her own family by distance and silence to her daughters who feel her pain has indirectly plucked the life out of them and affected the family’s bond because of her lack of affinity with them.
Part 2:
Looking ahead to our upcoming midterm essay has made my wheels turn, and anxiousness arise just a little bit in thinking about having to write again as it has been a while! However, I do thoroughly enjoy writing and expressing my thoughts in literature so I am hoping for a topic that I will feel passionate about. A few positive tips I found useful within past experiences with this are; brainstorming (creating a map or plot of ideas and what elements I want to add in my writing), time management (begin with just thinking about what I want to write and then slowly gathering and solidifying ideas and choosing articles or points to reference [if applicable]. Rushing through an essay generally never turns out as well as it does when you are clearer headed and not pressed for time), re-read/proof-read/have someone else read (reading your work over and over helps catch simple mistakes and makes you think about your wording. Having someone else read your work is a great idea as you don’t always catch the slips and another point of view may offer a better way of explanation on a certain idea), making sure to add a good variety of word usage but also avoiding sentences or paragraphs that become too wordy.
A new literacy skill I would like to implement in my writing would be to use more imagery to show my ideas in a different sort of way rather than straight forward. I like the use of images that I have read so far within this course and I believe that they really draw the reader into thinking about the writing in a different light. The comparison of one object being another is very clever and I always respect a writer that has used imagery to creatively explain an idea.
The short story “Obasan” uses the confinement of the Japanese people to support its readers in recognizing the narrator’s views and ideas as well as the dynamic of the family in the story. There are many 3 generations within this story and Obasan, the grandmother, having experienced World War 2 is fixated on her past and her life prior to the internment and full of grief over her treatment during this time. “The memories are drowned in a whirlpool of protective silence” (Kogawa, 4), as Obasan chooses quietness as a way of dealing with her sorrow. “[Her silence] is that of a child bewildered” (Kogawa, 4) and this method of dealing with her grief lead her own children to unhappiness. Their generation living a more westernized lifestyle are unable to understand the pain Obasan is holding onto. “Her daughters, unable to rescue her or bear the silent rebuke of her suffering have long since fled to the ends of the earth. Each has lived a life in perpetual flight from the density of her inner retreat-from the rays of her inverted sun sucking in their lives with the voracious appetite of a dwarf star” (Kogawa, 5). Each of these examples outlines the broken dynamic of the family. From a mother who sets herself apart from her own family by distance and silence to her daughters who feel her pain has indirectly plucked the life out of them and affected the family’s bond because of her lack of affinity with them.
Part 2:
Looking ahead to our upcoming midterm essay has made my wheels turn, and anxiousness arise just a little bit in thinking about having to write again as it has been a while! However, I do thoroughly enjoy writing and expressing my thoughts in literature so I am hoping for a topic that I will feel passionate about. A few positive tips I found useful within past experiences with this are; brainstorming (creating a map or plot of ideas and what elements I want to add in my writing), time management (begin with just thinking about what I want to write and then slowly gathering and solidifying ideas and choosing articles or points to reference [if applicable]. Rushing through an essay generally never turns out as well as it does when you are clearer headed and not pressed for time), re-read/proof-read/have someone else read (reading your work over and over helps catch simple mistakes and makes you think about your wording. Having someone else read your work is a great idea as you don’t always catch the slips and another point of view may offer a better way of explanation on a certain idea), making sure to add a good variety of word usage but also avoiding sentences or paragraphs that become too wordy.
A new literacy skill I would like to implement in my writing would be to use more imagery to show my ideas in a different sort of way rather than straight forward. I like the use of images that I have read so far within this course and I believe that they really draw the reader into thinking about the writing in a different light. The comparison of one object being another is very clever and I always respect a writer that has used imagery to creatively explain an idea.
