Despite all the talks of trauma transfer between different people through different periods of time, it would be absurd to conclude that no private moment exists at all. Consistent through the ASTU course, there have been attempts at keeping information to the protagonist and in some cases outrightly refusing to acknowledge its existence and would not pass it on to the next group of people. Where is the fine line between respecting private experiences and alerting them to look for the bigger picture of the overall society.

Oskar’s case was perhaps diluted by his own traumatic experience. In fact, all major protagonists has this similar trait. 9/11 as a historical event technically does not (with all due respect) statistically match up to historical traumas such as the holocaust, yet has immense contemporary political and societal significance. It also affected Oskar personal, thus showing why he cared so much for his father whilst remaining “unmoved by pictures of Hiroshima”. In a way, this stubbornness and lack of respect indicates a clear sense of ignorance in Oskar’s part, yet one should not be so critical of a nine-year old boy, especially one that has his own trauma to go through.

Satrapi also exhibited a similar trait. Whilst she can recite all that she can remember, she displays no attempt at reconciling the situation from the other’s point of view. Most often when young boys were conscripted into the war and died, it don’t matter to her. She also takes strong interest in patriotism and the framing of a hero, thus also failing to understand the friend’s father’s situation. Even with her own father trying to protect the lives of his family, Satrapi still considered protecting the nation to be her prime objective.

The grandparents of Nakane’s family also seems to take a strong interest in manipulating reality. They shut the door on their past, as well as from their kids and their ability to learn about it. Despite all the hate thrown at them, they insist with every last word on being Canadian. Whilst this is fully in their right to do so, one must consider how far can we attempt to transform our identity before it all gets torn up and becomes a mere lie to ourself.

We must acknowledge the difference between public knowledge and private experience, and though certain events may be mutually interchangeable, they will never fully overlap nor will they be viewed through from the same lenses. Yet this also raises the question of what exactly is the “right” lens to use when judging somebody, and unfortunately there is no correct answer to that either. We just have to leave it to the interpreter him/herself.