CYCLE 1 - DAY 3 - SEMESTER 2

We tackled the next five words in unit 6, and I checked your journals for last night. (Paul, Alex and Shorty, I know yours are posted on line, and Wil, thanks for the correction!)

Using your journals as fodder and preparation, I posed the following question: Did the Kato and Nakane families have their priorities straight in their treatment of each other and in their response to the external threats that faced them? How so or why not?

You took notes in response to that question, and those are posted on the wikispace. One particular theory came up about Old Man Gower as metaphor for Canada's relationship with the Japanese in their midst. As a kindly neighbor, he is expected to watch out for the Nakane family, especially Naomi. Instead,he clearly exploits her. He tells her to tell no one. Bizarrely, she seeks him out on her own, though she recognizes her behavior is shameful if pleasurable, a recognition that psychologically isolates her from the rest of her family (see page 77). So, if he represents Canada, as protector,he fails the test and instead damages and exploits that which he is supposed to protect. The consequences of this for Naomi also suggest the fractured Japanese families who cannot effectively connect to one another (consider the relationships of just about everyone else in the book, particularly Stephen). For her part as representation of Japanese-Canadians, Naomi returns to Gower, just as Uncle and Obasan claim gratitude for all that Canada has given them, just as Stephen embraces Euro-Canadian culture, just as Emily takes pride in being a Canadian citizen. And Gower, as Canada, imposes the silence that Emily constantly confronts. I think the theory holds water. If this was her intention, how well did she execute it, and what other symbolic interpretation does this invite? For instance, when she puts the baby chicks in with the hen! That's for you to decide.

Your homework:

1. Write sentences on the wikispace;
2. TYPE a more formal journal entry (1.5-2 pages in length, double spaced) that addresses the question from today's class, OR that answers one of the questions you posted on the "Cycle 1 - Day 1 - Semester 2" blog post, using specific instances from the novel and from your own experience/knowledge. You should provide ample, specific detail and incorporate quotations, but you are not restricted to the 12-sentence format.