The Buddha in the Attic

How does Otsuka balance the voice of the collective and that of the individual in her narrative, and to what effect? You should close-read at least three different excerpts in your answer.

What role does the boat journey play in the women’s lives and the narrative as a whole?

How does Otsuka portray the relationship between women of different generations? You should refer to both the women’s relationships with their mothers and their daughters in your answer.

What kind of marriages do the women have with their husbands, and how do these differ from their expectations?

What form do loneliness and isolation take in the women’s experience? How do they counter this predicament?

Describe the women’s relationship to white people. Which factors are universal in the women’s relationship to their white employers and clients, and which vary?

Explore the symbolism of the Buddha in the attic that gives the novel its title. How does this particular symbol enrich the women’s stories and Otsuka’s methods of bringing them to light?

Describe the journey of the women’s white wedding kimonos. What do these ceremonial garments symbolize, and how does their fate in America tell the women’s stories?