The Necklace
The title object of “The Necklace” is a gift from a friend to the narrator as she and her family prepare to submit to Executive Order 9066 which authorized the forced resettling of Japanese Americans into internment camps following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Despite her promises to never forget her or ever take it off, she promptly proceeds to lose it the first day in her new lodgings. Though never found again, ultimately the bracelet becomes a symbol of those things we never forget even if leave them behind for whatever reason.
Education
Education is forwarded as a symbol of the threat to patriarchal society. The protagonist suspects that her uncle may be manipulating the situation at hand with the prospect of sending her to America as a means of reinstalling expectations of submissive behavior which has come undone as a result of five years of extra schooling having “addled her brain” and making her more radical and rebellious than her older sister.
“The Wise Old Woman”
The title character in the folk tale retold by the author is revealed to be something of precursor to younger women like Hana rebelling against the Japanese culture. Hidden away by her son in defiance of a decree banishing everyone from the village once they hit age seventy-one, it is she who winds up being responsible for saving the village from several potential invaders. In doing so, she becomes a symbol of the value of aging which brings with it a wisdom gained only through experience.
“The Sea of Gold”
In this fable, for many years the cook on a fishing ship has routinely gathered up any leftovers after meals to feed to fish. One night he is awakened by realization that the ship is not moving. While the other sailors sleep, he proceeds to investigate and discovers the ship surrounding by golden sand so beautiful he collects a bucket of the sand. Awakening the next morning thinking it was a dream, he finds the bucket is filled with actual gold which becomes a symbol of the reward that comes with acts of selfless kindness.
Gombei
At the opposite end of the spectrum from cook sits Gombei who traps animals rather than feeding them. Wild ducks are his specialty although he never traps more than single duck in an entire day out of consideration for their circumstances. When his own circumstances change as a result of aging, however, Gombei realizes if he trapped one-hundred ducks in one day he could loaf for the next ninety-nine. In the attempt, however, he is turned into a duck himself and realizing the error of his ways confesses his sins of wickedness and accepts that his punishment has been just. At which point, he is turned back into a man who gives up trapping animals and becomes a farmer. It is in the act of contrition that Gombei becomes symbolic of the authenticity of genuine regret for past sins and how this makes one truly deserving of a second chance. His tales reveals suggests that redemption only comes by not asking for it.
