Who gets to define a person's identity? Themselves? The government? Other people? In Obasan, the Japanese Canadian characters struggle to assert their own identity. They are called Japanese, enemies, and foreigners by everyone else, but they just want to be called Canadian. Who wins this fight? It's hard to say. But it's easy to see that even long after the war, people like Aunt Emily are still fighting.
Questions About Identity
- What does it mean to be Canadian in Obasan? What does it mean to be Japanese? Japanese-Canadian?
- How do you think the first-generation Japanese Canadians in Obasan feel about their identity? The second-generation? The third-generation? How are they different? How are they the same?
- Why do white Canadians in the novel ask Naomi where she's from? What are they assuming about her by asking that question? What are they assuming about Canadians?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Identity is a private and personal affair in Obasan.
Only the Japanese defendants born in Canada question their identity in Obasan.