charlie833 – 20-1 Writers

The Need to Belong In “Obasan”

charlie833 20-1 A, charlie, Response to Literature, Writing December 1, 2023#Belonging, #discrimination, #familyunity 7 Comments

Obasan | CBC Books In the novel Obasan, the book touches upon a horrific event in Canada’s history that has never been fully resolved to this day. Obasan, by Joy Kogawa deals with the events of WWII in the battle in the pacific, between the United States, and Imperial Japan, and how Japanese Canadians were treated during these times of war. This book talks about a woman named Naomi who works as a teacher, however we are not told much about her as a person. However we know quite a lot about her family. Her family moved from Japan and immigrated to Canada on the West coast in British Columbia before the first Great War. Her mother had disappeared back to Japan to care for her Grandmother, so she lives with her aunt, or her obasan in Japanese. Sadly her uncle and father have passed away, and her brother travels the world and doesn’t get to see his family. While visiting her elderly aunt, she unlocks a trove of memories, a trove of memories best left forgotten, to prevent any more suffering. However, a wave of haunting memories from her past during and after WWII as to how she and other Japanese Canadians were treated as outcasts, as enemies.

How Japanese Canadians Survived Internment and Dispossession - Atlas Obscura

Inside of the novel, the idea of belonging is a prominent underlying theme in the novel. That theme is the need to belong, and what drives that need. A big driver is the difficulty to feel accepted in a society where all of a sudden, you were portrayed as the enemy. Their family always says that first and foremost, they are Canadians. However there is one group for belonging, and that was with other Japanese Canadians who had also experienced the harshness of internment. The internment and displacement itself was a motive to reconnect and find a place in which they can belong, for example, Naomi and her family moved away to a host town named Slocan, separated from others. Finally, the last big driver toward the idea of belonging is family. During the novel, many people are separated, in Naomi’s case, her father was left behind due to his illness, and eventually he passed away. Although this theme may be hard to realize at first, it is an incredibly important message about connection.

Although I am only half way through the novel, Joy Kogawa describes the hardships faced by Japanese Canadians in its full entirety. Not hiding anything, and being cut and dry with the horrible things done. She shows the difficulty of belonging, and what drives that fundamental human emotion.

Obasan by Joy Kogawa | Penguin Random House Canada

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/391033/obasan-by-joy-kogawa/9780735233706

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/japanese-canadian-internment-wwii

Prisoners Of Pleasantville

charlie833 20-1 A, charlie, Response to Literature, Writing October 26, 2023#cave, light, pleasantville 6 Comments

The film “Pleasantville” is almost a direct depiction of Plato’s “Allegory of the cave,” through the people, the prisoners of Pleasantville being shown the light, and blinded, sharing it with others who refuse to believe them. All the citizens know is the world created by shadows produced through a flame. The guards who released the prisoners are the very people who were once prisoners. When they were teleported into the world of perfection that is Pleasantville. The first prisoner that his sister freed was none other than Skip, the first guy she took a liking to since being teleported to this new world. She shows him the light through intercourse. Skip was amazed and blinded by this new experience, bringing the first sign of colour to the world through a rose. He then tells the rest of the basketball team who are thrown out of their usual routine and lose their first game ever, causing confusion among the citizens. For a while skip is trapped in the pleasantries of this world as well, before breaking free due to seeing the depressing patterns and nature of the world, emphasized through Bill Johnson, the owner of the soda shop. Bill Johnson is shown the beauty of change, he loved every Christmas where he got to paint something different, so David showed him art, freeing him from his monotonous routine, inspiring change. Until David and Jennifer, nobody in Pleasantville had seen the light. They were in awe of the stories told from David about the world outside of Pleasantville and the truth of the blank books as they slowly were filled in. As the prisoners were fried, they tried to tell the other of what they had heard and seen. However when Bill had tried to show others of the beauty of colour, the people were mortified, vandalizing the soda shop, breaking windows, throwing tables, and breaking dishware. They refuse to believe in the man, believing only the “pleasant” way of life that

they had known for years prior, just like the other prisoners. Art then becomes banned by the towns committee, refusing to embrace the new ideas and change. David and Bill attempt a final push to try and convey the people, only for it to backfire and themselves getting arrested. In the courtroom however, David and Bill show the light to everybody in the courtroom, they no longer live to see only the shadows painted by others, they see the truth of the world around them, amazed by the light of their new home. This is the major “cave” presented in the film, however there is a second underlying cave shown through David and Jennifer. At the start of the film we see a glimpse into their roles as teenagers in their school life, and that being all they know. The experience from their time trapped in Pleasantville has lead them to a greater understanding, with Jennifer learning the importance of being studious and not devoting herself to become . David understands the importance of not wishing for a better family, but improving his current one through comforting his mother, freeing himself from his cave.

Like in Pleasantville, life itself is its own cave. Our entire childhoods we are babied and hidden away from the light that is the reality of our world. We are taught about the wonders in life, the shadows created by our parents and guardian figures. The wonderfulness of life and believed for that to be all there is. Then one day, the guard shows us the real world, the world that is corrupt and in a mess. Murder runs rampant, drug deals and use is everywhere, theft and robbery is widespread. Politicians are corrupt and drunk with power. We are in shock.

Stunned at the atrocities that take place everyday that only few take a second glance at. Yet there is so few that we can do but hope to be upstanding individuals, as we slowly become desensitized to the world around us. Some choose to leave this world when they see reality. Those shadows were there to protect us, the chains kept us from drifting into the light. I used to believe in the beauty that is life, I then lost that innocence. I felt the pressure of society and the fear from the world, trapping myself inside my own mind. I was then shown a second light, a less dark and despairing light.

I met friends, found joy in sport, and somebody who was finally able to break through the walls of my own mind. Plato’s “Allegory of the cave” is a truly amazing piece of philosophical works. Like in Pleasantville, it conveys the main idea perfectly, while making it simpler to understand and relate to life. We are all often trapped in some form of a cave and shown warped false realities at one point or another. Yet it is so important to be free, even though it may not be amazing in some cases. Freedom is one of the greatest gifts only few have. True freedom is something that we should strive for, it enlightens us, awakens us.

Sources:

https://stock.adobe.com/ca/search?k=polluted+earth&asset_id=556271021

www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/8ek868/in_pleasantville_the_courtroom_of_the_public/

storiesthatreallymattered.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/pleasantville/

Power From Books, Tools From Nature

charlie833 20-1 A, charlie, Personal Response, Writing September 29, 2023#nature, #teacher, literature, ww2 7 Comments

Humans are curious creatures who hunt for information to better understand the world around us, and as the world keeps evolving, books become more prevalent than any other source of information to feed our curiosity. Books can offer so much about what’s around us, however that is also its most major flaw. Books can not teach us about others, how to act, morals and ethics, truths and lies, to protect or hurt, this is something we can only learn through experience and nature.

The Tables Turned by William Wordsworth is a rhythmic and inspiring poem about the flaws with modern day education through literature, and how we as a human race should resort back to simpler times where we learned from trial and error, with nature as our guide through the winding and treacherous path of life. The way that I interpreted this poem is that knowledge through literature has been misused, and obtained immorally, not as a tool but as power. However nature has offered us information, to be used as a tool, to learn and understand through uncorrupted means. This idea is presented through the lines, “Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; Our meddling intellect Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:—We murder to dissect.” Nature is a pure form of education that can teach us about the fundamentals of life and how to be morally correct unlike novels, as proven by the line, “One impulse from a vernal wood, May teach you more of man, Of moral evil and of good, Than all the sages can.” with sages implying books. This poem to me was all about how we as humans were corrupted slowly, and how we must return to our former teacher, mother nature.

Although I can personally relate to this, the past of the world can as well, with WW2 being an infamous example. The book, “Mein Kampf” was a widespread book all over Germany, spreading the ideals of Adolf Hitler, assisting the rising of the Nazi party. During this time as well, Nazi Germany burned many many books, showing how much power books held back in WW2 for one of the world’s greatest threats to burn anything that did not align with their ideals. Books have corrupted the people, used for power. Nature has taught us how to survive through natural disasters, weather, and unexpected events. My personal connection was through scouts. I was apart of cubs for 3 years, before moving into scouts for about 2 years, then leaving to prioritize school and soccer, eventually giving up soccer and focusing on volleyball. In scouts, we never really touched a book, and prioritized camping and learning through experience from nature. I learned many skills, how to use a knife, start a fire, create shelter, and most importantly, character.

The poem “The Tables turned,” is a beautiful poem, all about how books have slowly corrupted us, and misusing them for power. How we should return to our former teacher that can teach us many things about the world and people around us, as well as ourselves.

Sources:

https://www.istockphoto.com/video/the-book-fall-rotate-on-a-black-background-and-the-pages-evolve-in-the-air-gm898448518-247920160

https://unsplash.com/s/photos/canada-nature

https://www.123rf.com/photo_132785864_a-soldier-of-world-war-ii-is-sitting-near-the-tree-and-looking-up.html?is_plus=1&origin=1