Obasan Ayako Chapter 2 Summary

In my opinion, Obasan Ayako did the right thing -- she remained quiet whenever somebody asked her something that she didn’t feel comfortable answering. So yes, she is correct to keep silent. Throughout the novel, there were many people who relied on Obasan for the answers to their questions since she is elderly, has wisdom and experience due to how long she has lived for.
Chapter 5, Page 26: “Why did my mother not return? After all these years, I find myself wondering, but with the dullness of expecting no response. ‘Please tell me about Mother’, I would say as a child to Obasan. I was consumed by the question. Devoured alive. But Obasan gave me no answers”.
As a child, Naomi continuously begged for Obasan to give her information about her
When pressed, finally she said that she was grateful for life. ‘Arigatai. Gratitude only”.
Aunt Emily, Obasan’s sister, was an activist who always fought for her rights and exposed Canada’s mistakes and their problem with racism whenever she had a chance. She even created conferences with the intention to improve the quality of life for enslaved Japanese Canadians. Nevertheless, Obasan was the exact opposite of her sister. Whenever Emily brought topics about political correctness, Obasan never wanted to get involved with it since she expressed gratitude toward Canada. What Obasan did was good because it shows how polite and loyal she is to her country, even when the government didn’t respect her race.
In conclusion, Obasan was the quietest character in the novel, but this lead to good results such as providing a good reputation of herself – according to Naomi, Obasan symbolizes the Japanese concept of Wagamama: she always cares for the needs of others – and also promotes a good role model since she is thankful that she is able to have the chance to live in a country where most citizens are able to express their beliefs and opinions to others without receiving any