LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 21:12 December 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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The Language of Silence in Joy Kagawa’s Obasan

Dr. Mamata Rani Subudhi

Obasan
Courtesy: https://www.amazon.com

Abstract

Joy Kagawa's masterpiece work Obasan records the history of an individual, a family and of a generation. The novel sings the song of silence, and the title character is the epitome of silence. The political significance of the work is on the internment of Canada's Japanese residents during World War II. It is a original work and expressive of a sensibility that wishes to define in relation to each other, Japanese and Canadian way of seeing and even to combine those divergent perceptions in an integrated and distinctive vision.

Keywords: Joy Kogawa, Obasan, memories, silence, speech, internment camp, tombstone, dream.

Introduction

In her debut novel Obasan, 1981, Joy Kogawa presents a peoples’ plight with historical authenticity about the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II and demonstrates her understanding of the emotive power of words as conveyed through literature. Set in 1972, the novel centers around the memories and experiences of Naomi Nakane, a thirty six year old schoolteacher living in rural Canadian town of Cecil, Alberta. Naomi is simply the literary incarnation of Kogawa herself with her painful experience of internment and concentration camp as she had undergone along with her family at the tender age of six. Naomi is presented as a person lost in the nightmare created by her silence; only by expressing her feelings she can reach understanding and emotional health. The novel is therapeutic for Naomi; for Kagawa herself and above all potentially therapeutic for the community of Japanese Canadians. It weaves a seamless tale that stretches between a generation, span a continent and decades with a dream. The dream that is terrifying; the silence that can’t speak; the love that is voiceless yet vivid; the grief that cries out loudly yet unheard. The story is in flashback as the protagonist, Naomi looks back as an adult finding out what really happened to her family and their loved ones during the horrible chapter of history. “From silence and suffering to voice and resolution, this novel is about survival, multicultural style…’’. (Day 6)

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. Mamata Rani Subudhi
Lecturer in English
KBDAV College, Nirakarpur, Khordha
Odisha 752019
mamatarani778899@gmail.com
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