Some people say that it's not good to live in the past, but Obasan begs to differ. Even though she doesn't want to, Naomi plunges into a re-examination of her past because of Aunt Emily's letters. And the whole climax of the book hinges on correcting a memory of the past that turns out to be fake. Naomi may say that she wants to leave the past in the past, but it's obvious that she's obsessed with her own history.
Questions About Memory and the Past
- How do the characters in Obasan feel about the past? How are they similar or different in their approaches?
- Why do you think memory is such an important issue in Obasan? How certain are the characters about their memories? Do their memories fail them?
- For the Japanese Canadian characters in Obasan, the past is full of difficult memories. How do you think the white characters remember this time period? How might their versions of the past be different?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
When things are bad in Obasan, it is better to forget than to remember.
Aunt Emily is right about the best way to approach memories. She and other characters in Obasan need to remember things in order to deal with the past.