Obasan

by Joy Kogawa

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Obasan Questions and Answers

Where was Naomi‘s mother throughout the novel Obasan?

What does Naomi's dream in Chapter 6 of Obasan foreshadow?

What are some of the recurring symbols or patterns of imagery?  

Where is this quote? " 'Please tell me about Mother,' I would say as a child to Obasan. I was consumed by the question. Devoured alive. But Obasan gave me no answers. I did not have, I have never had, the key to the vault of her thoughts."

What are some quotations that support the theme of silence in Obasan?

Discuss how marginalization either empowers or hurts a community in Obassan by Joy Kogawa and Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai.

In Joy Kogawas's Obasan, Stephen says to Naomi "It is a riddle...We are both the enemy and not the enemy" (p.67, ch.12). What exactly does he mean?

Why is the title of the book "Obasan"?

What is the importance of the issue of motherhood in Kogawa's "Obasan"?

Identify the key social groups portrayed in "Obasan."

How could I write an essay about silence versus action in Obasan by Joy Kogawa?

How is the flashback technique used in Obasan?

What is the thesis of Obasan?

Discuss how marginalization hurts a community in Obasan by Joy Kogawa. Include examples from the novel. Please also include how aunt Emily's marginalization does not let readers forget Canada's racist past.

What is the secret concerning Naomi's mother in Obasan?

Describe the destructive nature of war in the movie "The Hurt Locker" and book "Obasan" by Joy Kogawa.

What does scapegoating have to do with Obasan?

Using Obasan by Joy Kogawa and The Wars by Timothy Findley, discuss how language shapes the representation of the characters. Please provide some examples.

Can someone give me few points comparing between the book, "Obasan" by Joy Kogawa and the movie "The Hurt Locker." Thank you!

Can you give me a thesis statement and outline for an essay on Obasan?

Point out examples from Aunt Emily’s diaries and news clippings, and explain how the change in society effects both Stephen and Naomi and how the family handles it.

Which of the following words have strong positive connotations in Obasan: unfurling, ornate, mazes, harvesting, spongy, stabbed alive, soft, breathe, dog eared?