How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Aya's house was looted. I haven't told her. It's in such an out-of-the-way place. When I took the interurban on Friday to see if the dog might have shown up, I was shocked. Almost all the hand-carved furnishings were gone—all the ornaments—just the dead plants left and some broken china on the floor. [...] No one will understand the value of these things. (14.126)
What effect do you think that the looting had on Obasan, if any?
Quote #8
It seems more like a giant toadstool than a building. The mortar between the logs is crumbling and the porch roof dives down in the middle. A "V" for victory. From the road, the house is invisible, and the path to it is overgrown with weeds. (16.27)
Let's put this in context: Naomi and her family lived in a beautiful house big enough to have a room dedicated just to instruments. Now she has lost her mother, her father, and her Aunt Emily. On top of everything else, now they have to live in a house that looks "more like a giant toadstool than a building." Kogawa doesn't tell us Naomi's emotions, but the contrast that she sets up makes it pretty obvious that this isn't the happiest situation.
Quote #9
The boxes we brought from Slocan are not unpacked. The King George/Queen Elizabeth mugs stay muffled in the Vancouver Daily Province. (29.25)
Here Naomi is describing her time on the sugar beet farm. Notice that they don't even unpack their stuff. That's basically saying that they don't consider this place a home.