Even after the war ends, the momentum of discrimination and the after effects of war do not cease. Suffering does not simply disappear, and neither does the pervading attitudes of the past. When Naomi relocates to Granton, she works as a sugar beet picker, consciously aware of her appearance and humiliation of her situation. She is no longer a child, and her experiences at Slocan and sudden departure from her father reveal the cruel nature of all people. She “slash out the Canada thistle, Dandelions, crabgrass, and other nonbeet plants”(234), metaphorically attacking her rage against the evils of society. She begins to “mind everything… the flies... growing ugly”(233-235). Her internal anger is revealed further by a news article that claim the Japanese are “Grinning and happy”(236), which inspires her silent criticism towards the established institutions of power, ignorance, and manipulation that continue to justify their wrongs. Naomi loses hope for human kind, as she sees attempts to bring justice and fairness as futile.
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She comes to the conclusion that “Greed, selfishness, and hatred remain as constant as the human condition”(283), and doubts humans’ efforts to change will truly “extricate ourselves from out foolish ways?”(283). However, it is this resignation that only furthers stagnancy. As she continues to grow up, Naomi does not change in her mentality, thus leaving her behind emotionally. Her experience at the beet farm echoes the pain and suffering of her mother due to mutilation and injury from a bomb explosion. Her mother too finds herself ugly, her body changed and worn away by war. Both are silent in their pain, as Naomi trudges on with life, and her mother wishes that Naomi and her brother “be spared the truth”(283) of her shame. Naomi, upon learning of the nature of her mother’s death, realizes that in her silence and her mother’s silence, their “wordlessness was [their] mutual destruction”(291). Their resistance against change contrasts with Stephen’s escape from silence. Throughout his life, he finds freedom and voice in music. In a dream, he “escaped… by turning the bars [of his cage] into a xylophone”(264). Music can be seen as more vulnerable and deeper than speech, directly contradicting the silence of Obasan. Chen finds that Obasan’s teaching and silence “prevent Naomi from naming, articulating, and bringing her desire into existence through language,” and by extension, Stephen as well. But even with his later success as an international musician, his abandonment of his family resembles betrayal. He refuses to eat Obasan’s food and avoids anything “too Japanese”(261). Stephen spends his holidays with a French widow at the beach. He sacrifices his heritage for western music, and indulges in western values. According to Chen, his music and embrace of the west is his own way of moving on from the past injustices. He finds acceptance in Granton, and then with the world at large because of his music, because of his success in fully integrating himself into the establishment. What he leaves behind are his Japanese heritage and Obasan’s unwavering, silent love. His progress aligns with Canada’s overall sense of progress from their past actions. They flourish, douse themselves in moral righteousness and compelling apologies, but still leave the victims behind. They do not sing the multi-cultural tune; rather, it is the image
She comes to the conclusion that “Greed, selfishness, and hatred remain as constant as the human condition”(283), and doubts humans’ efforts to change will truly “extricate ourselves from out foolish ways?”(283). However, it is this resignation that only furthers stagnancy. As she continues to grow up, Naomi does not change in her mentality, thus leaving her behind emotionally. Her experience at the beet farm echoes the pain and suffering of her mother due to mutilation and injury from a bomb explosion. Her mother too finds herself ugly, her body changed and worn away by war. Both are silent in their pain, as Naomi trudges on with life, and her mother wishes that Naomi and her brother “be spared the truth”(283) of her shame. Naomi, upon learning of the nature of her mother’s death, realizes that in her silence and her mother’s silence, their “wordlessness was [their] mutual destruction”(291). Their resistance against change contrasts with Stephen’s escape from silence. Throughout his life, he finds freedom and voice in music. In a dream, he “escaped… by turning the bars [of his cage] into a xylophone”(264). Music can be seen as more vulnerable and deeper than speech, directly contradicting the silence of Obasan. Chen finds that Obasan’s teaching and silence “prevent Naomi from naming, articulating, and bringing her desire into existence through language,” and by extension, Stephen as well. But even with his later success as an international musician, his abandonment of his family resembles betrayal. He refuses to eat Obasan’s food and avoids anything “too Japanese”(261). Stephen spends his holidays with a French widow at the beach. He sacrifices his heritage for western music, and indulges in western values. According to Chen, his music and embrace of the west is his own way of moving on from the past injustices. He finds acceptance in Granton, and then with the world at large because of his music, because of his success in fully integrating himself into the establishment. What he leaves behind are his Japanese heritage and Obasan’s unwavering, silent love. His progress aligns with Canada’s overall sense of progress from their past actions. They flourish, douse themselves in moral righteousness and compelling apologies, but still leave the victims behind. They do not sing the multi-cultural tune; rather, it is the image