Hello Readers!
In my ASTU 100A class this week, we have begun to discuss the novel Obasan by Japanese-Canadian author Joy Kogawa. It provides a fictional historic account of the treatment of Japanese-Canadians in Canada after the bombing of Pearl Harbour during World War II, specifically by following the story of the young Naomi Nakane’s family. When my literature professor mentioned earlier this year that we would be reading Obasan, I realized that I had read this novel about three years ago as part of my tenth grade English curriculum. Admittedly at the time, I had my doubts about the purpose of reading such a novel beyond the need to highlight the astounding treatment of the Japanese by the Canadian government. However, after our discussions in ASTU, I have an entirely new perspective on the value of this book as an account of memory, history, and trauma.
This new-found view regarding the link between these three areas of study reminded me of a scholarly article that I read while writing a literature review for ASTU a few weeks ago. It is entitled, History and Memory, by history scholar Geoffrey Cubitt. This book studies the connections between individual and collective (or group) memory and the significance of the ways in which memories are preserved, especially with regards to traumatic events that occurred amongst various nations in history.
Cubitt claims that memory can be used as a tool to analyze various situations and may help to narrow down its meaning (6). This could, he argues, allow us to comprehend the “traumatizing effects of total war and genocidal atrocities” in a more coherent way and is one of the important aspects of the study of memory (2). However, Cubitt does note that memory on its own is never “pure”; there are always other factors involved, including how we identify with ourselves, the generation we belong to, as well as how we choose to interact within society (6). In other words, we, as individuals and groups, must recognize the potential we posses to develop over time. This process extends to our memories.
This last point is especially prevalent in Obasan because we, as readers, are experiencing the story from the memories and perspectives of Joy Kogawa and the main narrator, Naomi Nakane. It appears as though Naomi tells the story of her family from different stages in her life. For example, the novel starts out with Naomi remembering the time she spent with her Uncle by the sea at the age of eighteen. By the next chapter, she is an adult in her present day, teaching at an elementary school. Not too soon after, she recounts her childhood experiences revolving around the turmoil of World War II and her family’s struggle during the forced evacuation from Vancouver.
Over time, both Naomi’s character and memories developed and changed due to the processing of newly discovered information and the longing to forget. Similarly, Kogawa’s memories may have changed over the years in this way as well. Cubitt’s book offers key insight into this process of remembering and attempts to explain how personal and group memory interconnect. In Obasan, the ways in which the narrator and author allow their memories to be altered affect the ways in which readers interpret these memories and how we will continue to remember them as life progresses. After reading Obasan and History and Memory, the questions that I am left with are these: when are our memories perceived to be the most accurate? Is it soon after we have experienced said event or can we only truly understand the meaning of the memory and trauma after years of analyses? The “right” answers to these questions are unknown and, therefore, are open to continuous debate.
Until next time readers!