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Sierra Wilson

Dr. Jenson

Honors 298

17 October 2021

Granny Lee’s Words

People generally believe, within cultural parameters, they have the right to use words at

their own discretion. However, the words chosen are important, especially when dealing with

human trafficking. Grass consistently employs terms, known as euphemisms, that are less

connotatively volatile to the general public. At first glance, a reader might insist that the use of

euphemisms in Grass does not matter. On closer inspection, however, it is apparent that words

do matter because they illustrate reality; therefore, it is important to choose words that project

truth. Although the employment of euphemisms may seem trivial, they negatively impact the

power of Granny Lee’s story. Soft words distort Granny Lee’s experiences and diminish her

trauma. Granny Lee insists on strong words because she does not want the impact of her horrific

experiences to be weakened. Instead, Granny Lee forcefully expresses the horror, evil,

depression, and shame she underwent. In Grass, euphemisms are used to try to silence Granny

Lee; however, the euphemisms are ineffective when pitted against her own words and stories

about being repeatedly raped. In this essay, then, I will argue that in Grass, Granny Lee’s

powerful and stark words show that she is in control of her own narrative, despite the

euphemisms that are used to try to silence her.  

The first euphemism that attempts to silence Granny Lee is the term “comfort women,”

but Granny Lee dictates her story with powerful words describing sexual slavery, which causes
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the reader to realize that obligatory sex is Granny Lee’s agonizing daily truth. From the

beginning of the memoir, the contrasting words force readers to face the diverse views presented.

The introduction of the novel acknowledges that “The term ‘comfort women’ is widely used to

refer to the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery […] it reflects only the perspective of the

Japanese military and distorts the victim’s experiences” (Gendry-Kim 5). Therefore, using the

words “comfort women” tries to silence Granny Lee and the other trafficked women by

expressing only the perspective of the Japanese military. The euphemism utilizes the denotative

meaning of comfort which focuses on physical ease and freedom from pain. The typical use of

the word has a positive tone, which leads to mental images of mothers comforting their children

and medical professionals providing comfort to their sick patients. However, there is nothing

positive about the word comfort when applied to forced sexual activity. Ok-Sun describes in

horror the malicious actions executed against her body. She desperately implores, “When will we

escape this hell?” (261). Ok-Sun’s question is unambiguous; her life is intolerable, lacking all

comfort. Ok-Sun’s words, though jarring, are transparent in a way the euphemism can never be.

The general public may be more comfortable speaking about human trafficking when

euphemisms are employed, but Ok-Sun’s position is very clear. The term “comfort women”

intentionally hides the truth by disguising the brutality of the Japanese military. Stark words,

though uncomfortable, allow Granny Lee to be louder than the euphemism by voicing her truth

of being forced into sexual slavery. 

Secondly, the euphemisms “service” and receive,” as said by the comfort station

managers, strive to extinguish Granny Lee’s voice, but she refutes the euphemisms with the

merciless words “rape” and “kill,” which forces the reader to acknowledge Granny Lee’s

sickening reality. The comfort station managers use the innocuous words “service” and “receive”
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as if the requirement to furnish sex-on-demand is nothing more than what waitstaff at a quality

restaurant aspire to provide. The girls are expected to be pleasant, efficient, and accommodating;

poor “service” is not tolerated. The managers bluntly state, “Work hard to service these soldiers.

Bring in lots of money” (253). The managers are not interested in the girls as human beings.

Instead, the girls are treated as interchangeable objects. The only value the girls possess is to

“receive” the soldiers as if they are a gift. The soft words “service” and “receive” strive to

extinguish Granny Lee’s and the other victims’ voices by failing to communicate the complete

inhumanity of being repeatedly raped day after day. Granny Lee controls her narrative by

refuting the station managers’ euphemisms as she clearly enunciates that she and the other girls

were forced, without pity, to have sexual relations daily as numerous men rotated through the

comfort station. Granny Lee grimly remembers, “I was raped. Like an animal” (200). Granny

Lee’s use of the word “rape” emphasizes that she was forced to have sex. Using this harsh word

expresses the pain and torture Granny Lee and the other girls endured. In fact, Granny Lee had

no desire to continue living after she was raped. Granny Lee repudiates the station managers’

words with the statement, “I was alive, but I wasn’t living” (207). This phrase communicates the

darkness associated with being trafficked. Granny Lee’s powerful words explain that being raped

killed her internally. The explicit words “rape’ and “kill” are important because they are

transparent in a way that does not allow a reader to accept the euphemisms “service” and

“receive.” 

A final instance in Grass where softer words are used to suppress Granny Lee’s voice is

when her parents use the euphemism “adoption,” but Granny Lee commands her story by using

the unadorned word “sell,” which compels the reader to recognize the depravity of the

transaction. In everyday terms, the word adoption is intended to convey benefit to the adoptee.
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The word adoption triggers a mental image of a child who is carefully selected to be removed

from a difficult situation and is then inserted into a permanent home where he or she is cared for

and loved. Ok-Sun readily agrees when her parents ask, “How’d you like to be adopted?” (77).

Although the novel does not clearly indicate whether Ok-Sun’s parents have the typical

understanding of the word “adoption,” their use of the word infers that Ok-Sun will be in a better

place, so she has no reason to voice a protest. Ok-Sun accepts the word “adoption” at face value;

however, her reality is the complete opposite. Granny Lee emphatically voices that she was not

“adopted”; in fact, she testifies to the interviewer that her own father sold her (107). “Sold” is a

much more devastating word than “adoption.” There is not any hope or sense of future in the

word “sold.” Granny Lee’s selection of the strong word “sold” more accurately indicates to the

reader the reality of being trafficked. The word “sold” becomes even more powerful as the reader

learns that Ok-Sun is not only “sold” by her parents but is also forced by the comfort station

managers to exchange her body for survival. Without any pretense, Ok-Sun dreadfully explains

to a new resident of the comfort station, “We have to sell our bodies” (286). Even while enduring

forced sexual slavery, Ok-Sun’s words are powerful. The managers and soldiers do not view the

girls as human but rather as objects to be purchased and used. From childhood into her teen years

and throughout her life, Ok-Sun is repeatedly “sold” either for unpaid labor or as a prostitute. As

Granny Lee reflects, she commands her story by forcefully communicating to the reader that

being “sold” in any way for someone else’s profit is slavery, not “adoption”.

In Grass, Granny Lee successfully fights against euphemisms by using harsh, but

necessary, words to declare that she alone controls her story and will not be silenced. The

euphemisms used in Grass consistently grate against the unembellished words spoken by Granny

Lee, thereby undermining the terror of her and the other victims’ abuse. Using sheltered words to
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explain horrible actions distorts the truth associated with human trafficking. Choosing genteel

words, although more palatable to the audience, creates an inaccurate façade of benign

respectability. Strong words, however, bring victims’ real stories to light. With her own voice,

Granny Lee describes her experience as a captive with the strong words “hell,” “rape,” “kill,”

and “sold.” These truthful words are harsh but must be embraced. Since Granny Lee’s story is

not just another book, the powerful and startling words, as well as the graphic and terrifying

images, are incredibly important. Although it is impossible for an outsider to fully comprehend

the atrocity of human trafficking, as depicted in Grass, using the euphemisms “comfort women,”

“receive,” “service,” and “adoption” diminish the reality of Granny Lee’s, and the other victims’,

horrific experiences. Granny Lee, through telling her story to Gendry-Kim, combats euphemisms

by loudly and effectively proclaiming the truth of her life story.  

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Work Cited

Gendry-Kim, Keum Suk. Grass. Translated by Janet Hong, Drawn & Quarterly, 2017.