Similarities Between Obasan And Vandals

Both Kogawa’s “Obasan” and Munro’s “Vandals” employ the imagery of tall green trees, but demonstrate this idea in fairly different ways. In “Obasan”, the imagery allures to a specific type of tree, a family heritage one. The narrator shows deep desire to connect to her roots and find herself along the way. She clings on to the part by hoarding everything and anything that can be used to unscramble information about those days. She holds on to books, official documents, letters and pictures, all in hopes to gain knowledge about her past and be able to live it whenever she desired. In both stories, the tree imagery represents the past, but the aunt in “Obasan” clings on to the past, Lisa in “Vandals” is simply interested in moving on. The tree