The Power of Trauma, Mourning and Salvation in Japanese-Canadian Fiction

Scientific Essay from the year 2021 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, Comenius University in Bratislava (Philosophische Fakultät), language: English, abstract: Canada for many people is considered to be an ideal country to live in. Unspoiled nature, friendly people, a booming industry, an astonishingly convincing kind of immigration politics and democratic governments are all parts of the so called 'Canadian mosaique' which create the image of a paradise north of the United States of America.

A closer look at Canadian history does, however, present a different and more neglected side. Historical events like the conquest by the French or the British are two examples of how Europeans treated the First Nations for their own sake, a treatment whose negative consequences can still be seen today. Or the sacrifice of nature for economical interests which has amounted in environmental exploitation or disasters like the Exxon Valdez catastrophe in 1989 next to the toxic consequences of tar sand industry in Alberta. The treatment of children and teenagers and their sexual abuse which go by the catchphrase of 'The Duplessis Orphans' already hint at the topic of Joy Kogawa's novel Obasan which was first published in 1981 namely the mistreatment of people of Asian background who did not have public support.

The destiny of Japanese-Canadian citizens which is portrayed here reflects another dark chapter of Canadian history during World War Two, the mistreatment of an ethnic minority after the attacks on the American Fleet in Pearl Harbour on December 7th, 1941.

The novel does not only destroy the constructed image of a friendly encounter between East and West but also shows how we treat human beings of another culture in a seemingly open and democratic society.