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Chapter 18
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Obasan, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race, Identity, and Citizenship
History and Memory
Speech vs. Silence
Selflessness and Decorum
Summary
Analysis
One day that winter, the family learns both that Uncle will be joining them and that the cast on Stephen’s leg can be removed. Obasan happily focuses on these pieces of good news. Uncle’s arrival brings a cheerful air to the house, though Naomi and Stephen are disappointed when Uncle evades their questions about Father. A few days later, the doctor takes off Stephen’s cast, and Obasan and Nomura-obasan remark that the young heal quickly and easily.
Naomi’s experience during the war was not a single moment in her life—it was her life. As such, it included instances of joy along with instances of suffering. Uncle’s arrival changes the status quo of the Nakane family, though he still maintains the carefully-preserved silence around the children’s parents.
Themes
