How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Isn't it dangerous?" I asked. Uncle is almost never direct in his replies. I felt he was chiding me for being childishly afraid when he said abruptly, "Mo ikutsu? What is your age now?" (1.18)
Pay close attention. When we first read Uncle's question, we assumed the same thing as Naomi. But after reading the book, we noticed that she says, "I felt he was chiding me." There are moments like this all over the novel. Kogawa is very precise with her language, and little things like that sentence can totally change your understanding of the story.
Quote #2
How different my two Aunts are. One lives in sound, the other in stone. Obasan's language remains deeply underground but Aunt Emily, BA, MA, is a word warrior. She's a crusader, a little old gray-haired Mighty Mouse, a Bachelor of Advanced Activists and General Practitioner of Just Causes. (7.14)
Why do you think Aunt Emily is so different from Obasan? Why is she so into words, while Obasan barely speaks?
Quote #3
"Now look at this one," she said. "Here's a man who was looking for the source of the problem in the use of language. You know those prisons they sent us to? The government called them 'Interior Housing Projects'! With language like that you can disguise any crime." (7.28)
Aunt Emily is the one who lets us know that language is a tool… or in some hands a weapon. For example, if you heard that you were being sent to "Interior Housing Projects," you may not be so worried. But if they wrote, "Internment Work Camps," you might start freaking out.