Uncle Isamu (Symbol)
Despite all of the tragic events that the family endures, Uncle Isamu isn't sad--in fact, he remains oddly optimistic and refreshingly upbeat. The humor is not lost upon the readers when it is revealed that his name means “to cheer up” or “make happy” in his native Japanese. This is precisely what he does for his family with a tireless consistency. Uncle Isamu by virtue of his behavior becomes symbolic of the optimistic outlook needed to counterbalance all the bitterness that the family must endure in order to survive their ordeals.
Stone Bread (Symbol)
The stone bread that Uncle Isamu painstakingly prepares is barely edible, but it is a product of a creative and/or desperate mind that wishes to survive at any cost. Uncle Isamu makes the most out of whatever food items can be scavenged and turns them into a food stuff that, although not the most palatable dish, would provide some nutrition and stave off hunger--two critical factors for survival. In this way, stone bread becomes symbolic of the will to live.
Music
Music becomes a sign of celebration in Naomi's family, as well as a form of communication. Naomi's father was a musician, and her brother also becomes a musician when he becomes an adult. Not only is this a "passing down" of a sort of heritage, but music is performed at points in the novel when the family feels "normal" or "happy." Music is a sign of reunion and joy, and a medium with which to tie the family down to a safe place when the world around them becomes dangerous. Over the course of the novel, music becomes an indicator that all is well, at least for a moment, in Naomi's family--a sure sign of celebration and that life will go on.
Obasan (Symbol)
The grand dame of the Nakane family (Obasan, or Ayako Nakane) is, just like Uncle Isamu, not just a family member but also a symbol. Whereas Uncle Isamu symbolizes optimism as a necessary tool for coping with tragedy as part of the family toolkit for survival, Obasan symbolizes stoicism and emotional endurance. She constantly serves as a role model for her family, showing them by her example how to bear losses with a quiet dignity and a resolve to continue no matter what happens. She is also a symbolic anchor, as she reminds the family of their connection to Japan and who they were before they became migrants.
The Sea (Symbol)
The sea is important to Naomi's family because it represents their very connection to life itself. Naomi comes from a long line of fishermen, who saw the sea as more valuable to them as their land because it provided everything for them. When they were dislocated from the sea through forced internment during WWII, their distance from the sea symbolizes how they've been stripped of their very life. For instance, when Uncle Isamu's handmade boat is confiscated, it evokes the sense that his freedom is being curtailed as well, which is what happens over the course of the novel. This is also reinforced when Uncle Isamu is on the Barker farm and says that one day, someone will come along and discover fishermen's bones in the prairie land, highlighting how the sea still calls to Japanese-Canadian fishermen despite the distance to the sea.
The sea also represents Naomi's heritage. Earlier in the novel, she compares the sea and bodies of water to doom and ill omens—such as when her mother and grandmother sail for Japan, or when she nearly drowns in the river because she can't swim. However, in the final pages of the novel, she compares her lost mother to the sea and how, in comparing herself to a raft, she feels safe reaching her mother despite the distance in geography as well as time. While Naomi was disconnected from her heritage before, she is finally able to recognize that the sea—and her heritage—are safe places for her, and is at last able to find closure to her experiences.
Dreams (Motif)
Dreams feature prominently throughout Obasan to convey what the characters are unable to explicitly communicate. In Naomi's case, dreams are often scary, such as when she envisions military men bullying three naked Asian women, or when she is in the hospital and dreams of headless chickens and a gruesome image of a baby. In this way, dreams represent the trauma and negative emotions that Naomi tries to suppress in order to forget her past. Over the course of the novel, it becomes clear that Naomi is unable to fully distance herself from her wartime experiences, and dreams become a medium with which to understand the depth of her trauma and what Naomi wishes to say but, due to her past, is unable to.
Red (Motif)
Red constantly appears in Naomi's recollections, ultimately becoming a sign of vibrancy. For instance, the New Year's gifts that Naomi receives all have the color red, and Naomi remembers having a red umbrella and wearing a red flower-printed dress on the train ride to Slocan. Because both memories differ drastically—one is happy, the other is sad—it can be interpreted that red is associated less with specific feelings that Naomi ascribes to these memories, and more as a sign that she feels great intensity at these memories. Red embodies both the intense joy and the harrowing aspects of these experiences, and serves to highlight how deeply Naomi's experiences impacted her character.
Chickens (Symbol)
Chickens in Obasan symbolize the state of Japanese-Canadians at this point in history, and the hopelessness of their situation. Chickens are first shown to the reader when Naomi puts some chicks in a cage with hens that are not their mother, and these hens then peck the chicks to death. Chicks reappear in Slocan, when schoolboys stab them to death, or when Naomi dreams of them in grotesque visions in the hospital. In this way, chickens and chicks—with their yellow feathers that represent the "yellow peril" or the anti-Asian racism surrounding this historical era—parallel the minority's situation in the animal kingdom.
