All I Asking For Is My Body, Part Three

All I Asking For Is My Body shows us the struggle of Toshio and Kiyoshi. Their parents have burdened them with traditional points of view. Traditionally the number one son is required to work in order to pay off their parent's debts. Tosh, being the oldest son, has to give up his desire to become more than just another worker in the fields. He works for years so that he can attempt to pay off his father's debt. He doesn't feel that this is fair because his father brought the debt upon himself. Tosh speaks out and his mother tells him that if he can't be counted on, then Kiyoshi will become the number one son. 

Toshio sees that his parents will probably never let him reach his full potential. "All I asking for is my body. I not even asking them to send me to high school" (Murayama 55). He knows that there's no way that his parents will give him the money to go to high school. He's not asking for that. He's simply asking for them to permit him to make his own choices. It's almost as if his parents control what his life will become because they're demanding him to work. They're not giving him a choice, they automatically expect him to drop all his personal plans so that he can help them out. If he doesn't live up to his parent's expectations, they'll turn that burden over to Kiyoshi. Toshio doesn't want his brother to live with that which is why he continues to subject himself to that torture. 

It's not much to ask for. He's not asking them to help him achieve what he wants. His only request is for his parents to allow him to go after his goals. Unlike the majority of the guys around him, he doesn't want to settle. The "good" number one sons have made their parents happy and they've helped them greatly. The problem is that they haven't even thought about looking beyond the established boundaries and expectations. Toshio is too smart to blindly follow tradition. He questions authority and wants more than what he's given. He's asking for the opportunity to walk his own path.

All I Asking For Is My Body, Part Two

Kiyoshi's mother is very ill and he's bothered by the fact that no one has told Obaban about his mother. He believes that if she were aware of what was going on, she would visit. She is a kind person and has always cared about Kiyoshi's mother. He decides to go pick her up and they begin to talk about his mother being sick and about how "she believes she's being punished as somebody else's substitute"(Murayama 20). Obaban then informs Kiyoshi that if she could also find a substitute, then she could liberate herself and become healthy again.

When Obaban visits she's in the room alone with Mama. Kiyoshi can hear humming and chanting coming from the room because they're praying. When Obaban is leaving, Mama keeps reapeating, "Sorry to cause you so much trouble" (Murayama 21). By saying this, she's hinting that Obaban is going to do something very important for her. Kiyoshi becomes sure of this when something occurs to Obaban. She has a stroke shortly after visiting and ends up passing away. It's interesting what Kiyohi's initial reaction is when he hears about the stroke.

He's relieved to hear the news because he's certain that Obaban is his mom's substitute. This means that his mom is going to get better and he wants this more than anything. It's a little bit selfish of his part, but he is young and it must cause him a lot pain to even think about having to carry on without his mother. Which is why when he hears about Obaban he feels glad on a certain level, but at the same time he's upset that she's passed. Mama does begin to feel better after the incident so that confirms that Obaban did become Mama's substitute.