In the short story "Seventeen Syllables," Hisaye Yamamoto portrays the sorrow of powerlessness that a Japanese woman named Tome Hayashi feels in American society as an immigrant. She lives under the oppression of her husband, who is very self-centered and violent. In the story, her husband controls her life yet ignores her needs and desires; however, she does not stand up to his oppression and she always keeps calm.
While she has a conversation with a Japanese woman, Mrs. Hayano, her husband says, "Come on, Rosie, we're going home now" (99). Despite her husband's disrespectful attitude, she tries not to hurt his feeling and she says, "He must be tired" (99). Furthermore, her husband burns her prize, a masterpiece that she received for winning a haiku contest, because he is dissatisfied with her behavior. Even though her daughter Rosie tries to restrain her father from burning the picture, Tome Hayashi does not say anything. She just looks at the burning picture silently.
In this way, Tome Hayashi endures suffering under the oppression of her husband. What makes her sadder is she has no one to open her heart to and consult with. She says, "She had come to America and married her father as an alternative to suicide" (103). She came to America hastily, leaving her family and friends behind. There is no one to trust and to believe in America. Even her daughter Rosie does not understand her mother's suffering and feelings. She replies halfheartedly as her mother asks her to evaluate the haiku poems that she has composed. She just says "yes, yes," all the time because she is not good at Japanese (98). Furthermore, she does not want to know the reason why her mother always writes haikus. She is simply indifferent to her mother. She has never taken her mother's sufferings seriously, and she just does not like her mother's submissive attitude toward her father. She says, "I felt a rush of hate for both--for her mother for begging, for her father for denying her mother" (526).
Tome Hayashi feels the sorrow of her powerlessness in America because she cannot even communicate in English fluently. Rosie says, "Her mother had even less English, no French" (98). She has to endure her sufferings by herself in America because there is nothing that she can do in America, and there is no one to understand her feelings. There are limits and restrictions on her social activities in America because of her limited English. Furthermore, her only daughter does not understand her suffering.
The only thing that Tome Hayashi can do in America in order to forget her agony of life is to write haikus. She expresses her honest feelings and emotions through concise and brief poems. The times when she writes poems are her happiest moments. Writing haiku is her own way of resolving her conflicts and dealing with the sorrow of powerlessness that she feels.
While she has a conversation with a Japanese woman, Mrs. Hayano, her husband says, "Come on, Rosie, we're going home now" (99). Despite her husband's disrespectful attitude, she tries not to hurt his feeling and she says, "He must be tired" (99). Furthermore, her husband burns her prize, a masterpiece that she received for winning a haiku contest, because he is dissatisfied with her behavior. Even though her daughter Rosie tries to restrain her father from burning the picture, Tome Hayashi does not say anything. She just looks at the burning picture silently.
In this way, Tome Hayashi endures suffering under the oppression of her husband. What makes her sadder is she has no one to open her heart to and consult with. She says, "She had come to America and married her father as an alternative to suicide" (103). She came to America hastily, leaving her family and friends behind. There is no one to trust and to believe in America. Even her daughter Rosie does not understand her mother's suffering and feelings. She replies halfheartedly as her mother asks her to evaluate the haiku poems that she has composed. She just says "yes, yes," all the time because she is not good at Japanese (98). Furthermore, she does not want to know the reason why her mother always writes haikus. She is simply indifferent to her mother. She has never taken her mother's sufferings seriously, and she just does not like her mother's submissive attitude toward her father. She says, "I felt a rush of hate for both--for her mother for begging, for her father for denying her mother" (526).
Tome Hayashi feels the sorrow of her powerlessness in America because she cannot even communicate in English fluently. Rosie says, "Her mother had even less English, no French" (98). She has to endure her sufferings by herself in America because there is nothing that she can do in America, and there is no one to understand her feelings. There are limits and restrictions on her social activities in America because of her limited English. Furthermore, her only daughter does not understand her suffering.
The only thing that Tome Hayashi can do in America in order to forget her agony of life is to write haikus. She expresses her honest feelings and emotions through concise and brief poems. The times when she writes poems are her happiest moments. Writing haiku is her own way of resolving her conflicts and dealing with the sorrow of powerlessness that she feels.