Doing a book review assignment for Obasan by Joy Kogawa. It cannot be a typical summary , must be more essay like and have a thesis.

Question

I plan on discussing first and foremost a general quick plot summary emphasizing the important and prominent scenes of the book, which will fuel my further discussions and analysis on its themes, which will then transition into character discussion. I pretty much have this down already- or at least I think I do.

But I want to also talk about the impact of setting and diction/style and the author's techniques(how she manages the plot and creates literary elements i.e symbols, imagery, metaphors etc). Can someone give me some ideas on how I can discuss these elements of my essay?

Also, I am struggling with a thesis. I am trying to think of special, and original specific scenes to trigger thought- but I have none. What makes this book different and more worthy of reading than any other fiction book talking about world war II and persecution? Any help and ideas are appreciated! :)

Answer 1

These sites may help you.

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/thesistatement.html

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/obasan/

Answer 2

But how do I get a thesis for a book? Like how should I state my opinion on it? Would my thesis just be- this book excels in perfectly capturing the beauty and harsh realities of this time?

Answer 3

That looks good, but I'd omit the word "perfectly."

Answer 4

Could you help me with this guiding question as well please? "The narrative is interspersed with newspaper clippings and excerpts from official government documents. Why does Kogawa include these in her novel? What is their effect?"