ISTORIJA KAO BREND U ROMANU ITSUKA DžOJ KOGAVE

Abstract

This paper deals with the relationship between history and brand in Joy Kogawa’s novel Itsuka, which portrays the struggle of Japanese Canadians for the historical truth. By analyzing the conflict between the official history and the history advocated by Japanese Canadians, we demonstrate that one true history does not exist, but that history is based on different ideological positions that a particular person can assume. By connecting history and brand, the cultural-contextual interpretation proves that the advocacy of a particular type of history can shape individuals or groups, and that history as brand can be seen as a power-exercising device. Brands have been identified as signs which affect one another. Therefore, the two versions of history that Kogawa’s novel offers will be analyzed as signs that, when in contact, can change both themselves as well as the system in which they function.