Exploring the Significance of Symbolism and Rhetoric in Literature
It is beyond question that Obasan, written by author Joy Kogawa, “is a unique blend of fact, fiction and personal recall” (Ukei). Many readers from around the world have been able to relate to this historical and political novel, despite their ethnic background or their former education on the Japanese internment camps. Marilyn Russell Rose, the writer of an article based on Obasan’s politics and rhetoric, states that the novel is able to compel its reader’s to relate through it’s poetic and symbolic language. Rose insists that Kogawa uses these techniques with full intention, and therefore is truly an author of fictional literature. Pertaining to these ideas is the ongoing debate over whether an author of fiction consciously places symbolism into their work. In this essay I will examine the importance of symbolism and the potential affect it has on readers.…show more content… In the article, Ukei begins with presenting the common symbols readers may come across in Obasan, such as the moon, stone, and thread. He himself believed that Obasan was “full of vision-provoking images and symbols weaving a fine network of metaphors” (Ukei), and continued to share his interpretations of such. Ukei then recalls a time where he had the opportunity to meet Kogawa and present his understandings and connections to her symbols. Kogawa denied that she had any deliberate contrivance to place symbols in her book. This conflicts with Rose’s beliefs, which is that Obasan is remarkably persuasive is through its symbolic and metaphoric rhetoric. Even so, Obasan has still swayed many of its readers through their own belief that symbols have been carefully placed throughout the book’s
