Immigration in "Chorus of Mushrooms"

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses Hiromi Goto's book, "Chorus of Mushrooms" that focuses on three generations of women; the eighty year old Naoe, her daughter Keiko and the granddaughter Muriel and their subjective view points on immigration. The paper explores the different positions taken by grandmother, daughter and granddaughter in relating to and accepting the new territories, cultures, language and people. The paper highlights how the subjectivism of the novel takes the immigration phenomenon out of its demographic and political context to look at it through the eyes of those leaving their homes.

From the Paper:

"Five year old Naoe and her family were forced out of their home and thrown into the world in search of a new life. The need for a new life has taken Naoe to numerous towns, cities and even countries, eventually leading her to Canada at the age of sixty. The immigration motif is relevant to the Chorus of Mushrooms as it portrays the elements that define a large part of the population. Just as Naoe, most immigrants leave their houses with the hope of finding a better life. Some find it, while others don't. But what unites this large mass of immigrants is their constant longing for the places and the people they left behind, for the things they grew up with and for the things that first gave meaning to the word home."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Hiromi Goto, Athabasca University, Centre for Language and Literature, November 2, 2007, http://www.athabascau.ca/cll/writers/goto/goto.html, last accessed on November 12, 2007
• Hiromi Goto, Chorus of Mushrooms, The Women's Press Ltd, April 10, 1997
• Dusica Marinkovic-Penney, The Women from Hiromi Goto's Novel 'Chorus of Mushrooms' and Their Canadian experience, Grin, Scholarly Publishing House, 2003, http://www.grin.com/en/preview/27690.html, last accessed on November 12, 2007

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• Argumentative Essay # 124172 : "Immigration and Principles of Justice"

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