Thursday, April 29, 2010
All I asking for is my body, part 2 dialogue
Kiyoshi's mother has always been very superstitious. She had superstitions about so many different things, like only scooping out the rice twice from the big bowl and putting it into the individual bowl, she said the double scooping protected the family from seeing a second mother, which meant your first mother wouldn't die or leave. Then there was the word 'shi', to mother it was known as the bad luck word. Shi could either mean “four or “death it all depended on the character. Mother had been very worried when father turned 42 in 1933, because 42 was pronounced 'shi-ni' and 'shi-ni-iku', which means to go to die,have the same sound. Father didn't believe in any of the Chinese and Buddhist superstitions. Mother believed that if someone you were close to had done a bad sin, that you could end up being the substitute of the person that did the bad sin. When Mother ended up in the hospital she believed she was the substitute for someone and that she was going to die. Kiyoshi had taken a taxi to Obaban's home to let her know mother was sick and in the hospital. Shortly after Obaban had gone back home she died of a stroke. Obaban had came to believe that Obaban was the substitute for his mother.
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Hi Julianna,
ReplyDeleteYour post has me thinking about the way Kiyoshi’s mother attempts to alleviate some of her fears through her superstitions. She fears her own death, so she scoops rice twice; whether or not it makes sense almost doesn’t matter since it makes her feel better. She gives the rice scooping meaning, which empowers her to feel that she is preventing her death. As silly as her act may be, the mind is a powerful thing; scooping the rice could act as an antidote to some of her physical ailments. Thanks for giving me this to think about!
Lauren :)
Superstitions mean different things to different people depending where or how they grew up. I know in my family when my grandmother was alive she had sayings for the kids and tales of the past when she was a little girl and even my mother still quotes her today. I have used them with my kids so I know how these things get passed down, especially where there is no education in a family. Maybe Toshio and Kiyoshi will escape some of these traditions although some will always be there with them and some can bring memories of endearment as do mine.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your work and did also write about the superstitions that his mother had. I think they were important because she didnt want to think about dying. All the talk on words and numbers and why they were bad luck is scary becuase that was all she thought about there are more important things in life. You don't need to think about dying but living one day at a time.
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