Rosie

In the story "Seventeen Syllables" by Hisaye Yamamoto, Rosie is the daughter of Mrs. Hayashi. The name Rosie is symbolic of her youth. Instead of being called 'Rose' which implies a full grown woman, she is instead called 'Rosie' implying a young Rose. Also if you take the color white which is symbolic of innocence mixed with red the color of passion they create pink meaning in the blush or in the making. Rosie is torn between her childhood and her womanhood, part of her wants to experience the excitement of grown-up things in womanhood like being with a man, however her fear and desire to stay pure, confuse her and torment her. These traits are characteristic of her balance between red (adult) and pink (young girl) therefore being a Rosie. This cross between pureness or total color can also be represented in her heritage. Rosie is second generation which is called Nisei whereas her mother is first generation Issei. Her mother speaks Japanese and Rosie is more comfortable speaking English. In a sense Rosie has a very American influence which thins out the color red making it a less rich color (not full or solid to her heritage) making her a pink 'Rosie'.

Tiffany Noojin