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The Nature of Power Essay

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In the book, Obasan, Joy Kogawa uses imagery to convey different symbolic meanings in Naomi's life. Naomi goes through a journey in the novel to uncover the truth of her past. One of the many literary elements that the novel possesses is animal imagery that emphasizes meaning and contributes to the novel's theme. Several animals are mentioned throughout the novel to represent Naomi's emotions and her journey. Kogawa utilizes the several instances of animal imagery in her novel, Obasan, to reveal the nature of power, both physically and emotionally, and the victim of power—Naomi. Animals such as the chicks represent Naomi's helplessness and innocence as she lived in a world without her mother or knowledge of her history. The animals that …show more content…

Instead of it being a dream, Naomi faces with the reality that she is now the beast being repressed by her master, Old Man Gower. Besides the fact that Naomi is four years old during this incident or that she could speak unlike the beast, the intimidation Old Man Gower has over her is strong enough to keep her silent. Old Man Gower is an adult who is supposed to protect her but he uses his power manipulate her.

Another way Old Man Gower controlled Naomi is through speech; not only did he explicitly tell her to not inform her mother of what is happening, Naomi cannot tell her mother even if she wants to. Old Man Gower creates the division between Naomi and her mother with this forbidden secret. As much as Naomi wants to tell her mother, she knows that her cry for help will end badly. As wide as Naomi wants her mouth to open, she, just as the chicken with its throat slit open, cannot speak a word. The chicken that gets tortured by Sho later on in the novel, cannot run away or cry for help, "Its beak is open, but there is no sound" (185). As Naomi watches the chicken suffer, she is watching herself being tortured by Old Man Gower. Here, Kogawa reminds Naomi of her painful past and how she did not stand up for herself, and still cannot stand up for the chicken. She watches and hopes for the torture to be over as she asks the boys if the chicken is dead yet, and she is

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