Obasan Discussion

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Joy Kogawa uses interesting metaphors and other figurative language to describe and set up an image of her family's living space in chapter 29. First, she describes the conditions she worked in as being difficult, using metaphors to describe what the work is doing to her body, such as comparing her bone marrow to mud, or saying such things as "all the oil in my joints has drained out ". This is used to give a feeling of how hard it was to work under the circumstances, and the metaphors are purposely grim to portray her perception of what is happening to her. Kogawa also uses a strange metaphor for the beets, comparing their uprooting to a surgery being performed on someone (Nomi) by Aunt Emily, the stems of the beets seen as hair being scalped, and them being pulled compared to tumours or organs being removed from the walls of her chest. Perhaps Nomi chooses to compare herself with the beets because she they have become her life, and Joy Kogawa uses this metaphor to reiterate the Naomi's desperate feeling. Finally, the writing style deviates slightly in this chapter, becoming more like a monologue instead of a recounting of events, comparable to chapter 22, sounding more depressing and hopeless. For example, in when she says "facts about evacuees in Alberta? Fact is I never got used to it", the tone becomes more cynical, as if the writing style reflects her attitude and feelings. All of this chapter is comprised of unique writing styles to reflect the emotions of Nomi and her family, especially through the use of metaphors.

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In Obasan, the RCMP are portrayed as brutal overlords instead of noble protecters, to show what the Japanese perceived them as. At some points in the book, Nomi talks about how she used to admire the RCMP, such as on page 108, where she says "remember how I almost worshipped the Mounties?" and "how I'd go around saying their motto". This is used in a context where she is losing hope in them, and she reiterates their motto 'Maintain the Right' as if asking why they deviated from it. Later, she talks about how their red coats now represent fear, rather than inspire hope. This gives a portrayal of their perception by the Japanese, who are now scared of them. Finally, Nomi talks about how the RCMP are cruel to the Japanese, like how they had to give up their belongings to them or "suffer the humiliation of having them taken forcibly by the RCMP. Once again, this is used to show how the RCMP have changed the eyes of the Japanese, by giving examples of their deeds. The portrayal of the RCMP is not used to insult them, rather to give attention to what the Japanese had to deal with.