"Seventeen Syllables"

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses Yamamoto's incorporation of her Japanese culture in certain stories in her work "Seventeen Syllables". The paper focuses on how the narrator chooses to tell each story and illustrates how they each decide whether to give voice to their own story or keep silent about it. The paper also highlights how the main female characters remain in control of their lives.

From the Paper:

"Rosie's mother is learning to write haiku. The daughter pretends to understand the necessity of her mother in learning how to express herself but in truth, she remains latent in her relationship and understanding of her mother. The truth of the story takes place when Rosie's mother reveals to her daughter her own past. This event is not hinged upon a time frame of the novel but instead is a very normal occurrence for stories. This revelation sends the main character into questions about identity. After being groped by her friend and dealing with her father's inhospitable air she finds out that she could have had a half brother at the same time as finding out that her mother was suicidal and does not really love her husband. The end of the story has Rosie promising her mother she'll never marry while at the same time Rosie is still feeling her first physical and sexual encounter."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Yamamoto, Hisaye. (1988). Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories. Kitchen Table, New York.

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