Promt 3

Sorry there are no tabs and that the paragraphs aren't spaced out. It's just a mass of TEXT; blame blogger, haha.

Naomi, the main character in Joy Kogawa’s “Obasan” is torn between her racial ties to Japan and her physical state in Canada and struggles to come to terms with the two cultures she is born into the world with. By example, her parents and grandparents instill the Japanese way of keeping one’s emotions guarded; silence is best. But growing up in a country unlike Japan, Naomi is witness to many people who are outright with their words, opposite to that of her family.

What adds to the struggle is World War II, a racially spiteful time period for the Japanese living in Canada. Though she is born and raised in Canada, Naomi’s grandparents and parents have originated from Japan, forcing her to uphold her Japanese background, all the while growing up and living as a normal child in Canada. Naomi and her older brother Stephen endure the racial jokes and comments from kids at school; while Naomi remains silent through it all, Stephen has not taken on her approach and instead outwardly grows more and more angry and resentful at their cultural difference.

Naomi and Stephen’s Aunt Emily is also outspoken about her beliefs that how the Canadian government is treating the Japanese-Canadians is cruel and wrong. During the war she was part of an underground organization trying to maintain that they are citizens of Canada, not traitors in anyway because of their homeland. And in the present time, Aunt Emily tries to push Naomi to speak about her anger toward the government, that it is better to let it out then to keep it in, but Naomi reserves her silence, wondering why her aunt cannot simply accept what is impossible to change: the past.

Even up to her present life in the novel, Naomi has remained a quiet character. The reader does not know, and never does know, much about her, but is able to piece together bits and pieces from what Naomi narrates. This puzzle parallels Naomi’s childhood which was filled with many unanswered questions about the absense of her mother and grandparents, and other changes throughout her life. One aspect though, that the reader is able to pick up is that Naomi never shows any anger and hostility toward any of the questions that her aunt and uncle know the answers to. She has not shown spite toward Japan for taking away her mother, neither has she shown hate toward Canada for separating her family.

The silence though, does not help to bring back together the family, and may even have caused a further separation. Uncle and Obasan are never straight-forward with Naomi, leaving her to fill in the rest of the story, for example with her mother’s long leave to Japan. Naomi’s mother left when Naomi was very young, never to return, forcing Naomi to wonder why for years. Naomi learns later though, that her mother specifically asked that Naomi and Stephen never know of what happened in Japan because she believed it would spare them from the hurt.

At the end of the novel, the truth and the missing pieces comes to light. With this newfound knowledge, Naomi is liberated, believing that her family’s silence was a mistake; it only caused more hurt. The racism in Canada, and the Japanese’ silent reaction to it has caused rifts through Naomi’s life, but in the end, she is still apart of both cultures and is able to accept this.

Prompt 2

In Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the laws of Gilead and the morals of a human being divide the protagonist Offred, who is unable to decide between either side. For the sake of the human race, the government of Gilead has enforced laws that are deplorable to its citizens, who are basically left with almost no choice but to accept the power over them. Offred knows that Gilead is wrong to forcefully breed humans to increase the fertility rate, but fear of death holds her back from outwardly rebelling against the government.

Opinions are not allowed in this society, but thought is one thing Gilead cannot control, and at first, Offred resists Gilead internally through her thoughts and imagination. The government has wiped out the feeling of love, believing that reproduction is the bare necessity for sex. Offred though, misses her husband and longs for simple matters of the past such as love, and this desire prevents her from accepting what Gilead has taken, but she is forced to accept what is gone.

Throughout the rest of the book, Offred attempts to resist Gilead, but continuously holds back from acting out on her rebellion. As love is forbidden, so are friendships, but some secret alliances are formed depending on how much trust the citizens are able to bestow. Assigned to each other as partners, Offred meets Ofglen, who is also a Handmaid. After weeks of quiet observations, Ofglen covertly tells Offred about the underground resistance she is involved with.
Although she is excited at the news, Offred has trouble outwardly stepping out of the lines, and she remains “safe” for the time being. As a very inconclusive character, Offred breaks rules but allows her fear to make her return to what is comfortable. She begins an affair with one of the groundkeeper’s but although externally this act could get her arrested, internally, she is reopened by the feeling of love and no longer cares about escaping Gilead, even bargaining her safety with a god she doesn’t believe in.

Offred’s inability to fully rebel proves to be the main conflict for her. Eventually, she is arrested but it is not due to any resistance on her part, and despite her attempts to decide between her options, Offred was not able to overcome what burdened her.

Prompt 1: Symbolism

The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, tells the story of Gilead, a dictatorial society that has replaced the United States. The theocratic government has divided the citizens by status, such as the Eyes, the Angels, Commanders, Wives, Handmaid’s, Martha’s, etc. Because Gilead suffers from low birth rates, the government has taken complete control of reproduction, and now Handmaid’s are assigned to high-ranking couples (Commanders and Wives) that are unable to conceive. Basically, Handmaid’s are youthful women with the fertile ability necessary for reproduction. They are subjected to have intercourse with their assigned Commander in order to produce offspring to help Gilead’s slumping fertility rates. Clothing is used to distinguish the citizens’ ranks, and Handmaid’s are made to dress in red, a color that is a frequent symbol throughout this novel.

Atwood uses the color red to symbolize many aspects, one of which being fertility. The basic interpretation of red is blood, and in this book, the color is used to represent the menstrual cycle and also the blood that flows for the new life of a human being. At a certain point during a Handmaid’s menstrual cycle, the Commander must have sex with her in order for her to have a higher chance of conceiving. Of all the households in Gilead, there is only one pregnancy that occurs, which shows the weakness of this government’s oppression.

Outside of Gilead, there is a war going on, which further implies the color red for blood. The fact that there is a war suggests that Gilead’s government is not the supreme ruler of the world, and it’s theocracy is conflicted by other countries. This gives the citizens of Gilead hope, which also shows how red symbolizes a new life.

This hope is only a dream out of reach for Gilead, though, and so red also symbolizes death, in this case, it is the death of the Handmaid’s moral and ethical rights and choices. The government of Gilead claims that this new way of life is safer for women because no one is allowed to roam the streets without a reason to, and there is no chance a woman could be attacked and raped, for example. But the irony in this belief is that Handmaid’s technically undergo forced sex since they are ultimately, unwilling. Although religious aspects are clearly shown throughout this book, (names such as Angels, Gilead, etc.) what should be a wholesome marriage between one woman and one man, the “theocratic” government of Gilead has destroyed this purity with its use of Handmaid’s.