The Character And The Narrator Of Obasan

The characters in The Birchbark House are Omakayas a hardworking and nice girl, Angeline Omakayas’s sister and she is perfect and nice but sometimes can be mean, Big Pinch Omakayas’s brother he is very selfish and self centered, Baby Neewo Omakayas’s baby brother who is young and small, Deydey Omakayas’s father who is smart and strict, Yellow Kettle Omakayas’s mother who is loving and hardworking, Old Tallow the Omakayas’s families friend who is nice at times and very hardworking and brave.

A significant character shown in this passage is Obierika. Though a minor character, Okonkwo’s close friend demonstrates importance because of his many doubts and questions of some of the tribe’s traditional system, this shows a possibility of Obierika being a spokesperson for Achebe. He is a foil to Okonkwo, because Okonkwo has the desire for the most part to embrace the traditions and view of masculinity, while Obierika "was a man who thought about things" and sometimes questioned the ways of the clan. Another opposite decision he makes compared to Okonkwo is in the killing of Ikemefuna, in which he refuses to accompany them. He is more understanding towards women, thoughtful, and has no love for unnecessary violence. "Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently? But although he thought for a long time he found no answer." He worries because Okonkwo is a close friend of his, and he has a fit skepticism of the traditional ways and is more adaptable to change then Okonkwo, thus, they almost balance each other out, but Okonkwo repeatedly shows resistance towards Obierika’s reasoning. When questioning Okonkwo’s exile he is reminded of a tragedy of his own. "He remembered his wife’s children, whom he had thrown

Kim. the one who started the garden, her father died before she was even born. Her mother and sister would cry for hours and Kim couldn't cause she never knew him or had any idea who he really was as a person. Kim says “I started at my father's photograph - his thin face stern, lips latched tight, his eyes permanently peering to the right. I was nine and still hoped perhaps his eyes might move” (1).She explains how her father had died and she didn't ever get to meet him, nor did he get to meet her, and she wishes she had some connection with her father like her sister and mother had had. Kim did know one thing

What makes a child determine at such a young age to defy her mom on every hand for the rest of their life? The sad realization that Ni’Kan would rather see her mother angry at her than disappointed in her became her revelation.

an emotional man. His parents were owners of a shop and his two oldest sisters

Even when her husband passes away, she does not break down into hysteria; she grieves quietly: “The language of her grief is silence... Over the years, silence within her small body has grown large and powerful” (Kogawa, 14). Despite her lack of words, Obasan is a source of love and steadfast support for her niece Naomi and her nephew Stephen. When their parents disappear, Obasan steps in, never hesitating to bear the weight of caring for the abandoned children. She feeds them, clothes them, and ensures their well-being under impossible circumstances. Her commitment to them never falters, even when they neglect her. Stephen repeatedly treats Obasan with impatience and rudeness. Regardless, Obasan constantly puts the needs of others before her own. Her actions are aimed at making the people around her happy. Obasan does everything in her power to ensure that her niece and nephew find a place for themselves in the world and Naomi takes comfort in her gentleness and dependability. Despite her silence, Obasan is a focal point of the narrative and at the center of the main character Naomi’s life.

Throughout the book The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Equiano tries to say that he is just an ordinary person, but this cannot be the case. He survives several ship wrecks, learns to read and write, and is able to buy his freedom. This is far from ordinary and borderlines with extraordinary. As he describes his adventures he starts by telling you a depressing story of how his sister got separated from him. This sets up the reader to know that there is plenty more tragedy to come. This is when he gets thrown into a life of slavery. From there he tries to wiggle his way out from the life of a slave and to create his own. Equiano uses anecdotes that he has experienced to prove to his readers that slavery is cruel and unforgiving, such as the time when he was being transported, to the treatment under his masters, and finally even when he was a free man.

aunt in an enormously respectful way that was considered widely acceptable at the time. However, in

History shows that both Africans and African Americans alike faced unique problems prior to and during the 1800's, particularly prior to 1865. One such problem is the issue of Diaspora and how culture and slavery has affected the choice of religion. It is the purpose of this paper to expose comparatively the extent to which individuals have been influenced by these issues. One such individual is Olaudah Equiano. By following and analyzing some of the key moments of faith in his life, this paper seeks to expose the extent to which the series of controversial dialectical incidents that happen throughout his early life, i.e., his cultural African religious traditions

Naomi is always the good, silent child who does what’s expected of her, she takes whatever is given to her, for awhile without any complaints. In Joy Kogawa’s novel, Obasan, the main character, Naomi Nakane, chronicles her life with distance, and it is through minor character like her brother, Stephen, and their actions that we see the depth and impact of Naomi’s passive nature. At the start of the book, Naomi describes herself as being a part of her mother, like a branch to a tree. She often hides behind her mother and is completely silent.

In The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings by Olaudah Equiano, Equiano gave interesting descriptions of his and others experience as a slave. He begins his novel by first explaining the place where he grew up, Nigeria, Africa. This part of Africa during that time was very fruitful and rich. Given this location, it can be understood that Equiano came from a family of wealth and power. He was the youngest and most favored of his siblings. Equiano explained the different African traditions and practices, i.e. honoring the dead, arranged marriages, dance ceremonies. Equiano loved Africa and his family but sadly one horrific day, he and his older sister were stolen from their home and later separated from each other. Not only was he

Religion plays a significant part in The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano, an African man experiencing slavery during the Transatlantic slave trade, and a series of poems written by Phillis Wheatley, an African poet and former slave in 18th century Boston. The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano is a first-person abolitionist slave narrative published in 1789 about Equiano’s experience being forced from his home, Africa, displaced from location to location, and his eventual discovery of Christianity. While the series of poems written by Phillis Wheatley was created during the Revolutionary Era (1764-1789) in Phillis’ leisure time. Both Equiano and Wheatley were Africans whose works drew from their experience

While Naomi may believe reconciliation is in order, she is only discouraged when she looks to see where speech has placed her Aunt Emily. “If Aunt Emily with her billions of letters and articles and speeches, her tears and her rage, her friends and her committees—if all that couldn’t bring contentment, what was the point” (Obasan 50). Naomi becomes more and more frustrated when she sees the futile efforts of her Aunt. Albeit, she does believe that what her Aunt is doing is important for her Aunt, she cannot see the use if the results of such hard laborious tasks go for naught.

When Naomi was a little girl, she went through a number of seriously traumatic experiences so to function as an adult, she suppresses her past and her emotions. Joy Kogawa tells the story of Naomi, in the novel Obasan, who resists the pull of the past at first but as the story advances, she freely immerses herself in her past to confront elements of her previous experiences and truly understand her identity. She despises what she had to go through in silence yet she also reflects on certain memories with feelings of reverence, bitterness and longing. Naomi relives these memories that are often triggered by her Aunt Emil’s photo albums and letters; hardships faced by Naomi and the rest of the characters are examined throughout the novel, portraying

Obierika, Okonkwo’s best friend is wiser, refusing to go on the sacrificial march. He warns Okonkwo that the slaying of Ikemefuna does not please the Earth, and prophesizes, "It is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole families" (67). Shortly after Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo‘s rusted gun explodes at Ezeudu’s funeral, piercing the heart of the dead man’s son, killing the boy instantly. For killing a clansman, Okonkwo and his entire family are banished and Okonkwo loses his position in his village. It is during this time that Christianity establishes itself in Okonkwo’s village. Returning after seven years, he finds that everything he once knew has changed, as the white man’s law now takes precedence over village customs. The men of his village have become like women and everything is falling apart (183).