In life, people experience moments that later become great memories that they look back on and smile about. At the same time, people also experience memories of hardships and unfortunate events that can cause them distress and trauma. In Joy Kogawa's novel about a Japanese Canadian family, Obasan, we see that the traumatic experiences one faces can weigh on them for the rest of their lives. This results in the internal conflicts faced by various characters in the story, the style in which the story is written, and the setting in which the story takes place. Kogawa explains that past events can impact an individual's life due to traumatic memories and cause them to feel conflicted. For example, Naomi, one of the main characters, was attacked by Old Man Gower, one of her family friends. When she recalls the vivid images of old man Gower manipulating and sexually abusing her, she states that it was "unthinkable to be restrained by [such] force" (67-68). Here, Naomi can't even bear the thought of being deleted in the hands of old man Gower when she thinks back on the painful memories. It's clear that the sexual abuse that happened to her long ago as a child still impacts her today and causes her emotional distress just thinking about it. Additionally, Naomi has frequent nightmares of Old Man Gower sexually harassing her, contributing to her already unstable emotions and fear. She describes one of her nightmares: “The room is dark, the blinds drawn almost all the way down. I don't know such darkness. The bed is strange and immaculate, deadly in its untouched splendor” (68). Obviously, Naomi is a victim of old man Gower's horrible memories. Sexuality... middle of paper ...... Japanese Canadians faced an extremely harsh and unfair situation decades ago. It's obvious that adding this dark setting to the already present conflict Naomi faces helps depict the trauma caused by her painful memories of the past. Overall, Joy Kogawa's novel Obasan clearly depicts the implications of obstacles and hardships experienced as they can cause a person to feel distressed and traumatized for the rest of their life. This consideration has been well expressed through the internal conflicts faced by the various characters in the story, the author's writing style in the story, and the context in which the story takes place. We can conclude from this story that although there may be many painful memories from the past, it is important to neglect them and focus on the positive memories for their own well-being and to move forward in life..