“Papa had once told me that as every man grows the layers of mysticism and wonder peel away like an onion until all that's left is the hardened center on which you must swallow or choke.”
“It was what we Japanese called the onion life, peeling away a layer at a time and crying all the while.”
“Life is like an onion; you peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.”
“He says I'm a regular onion! I keep him busy peeling away the layers.”
“Our identity is like that of an onion; with each experience we endure, a layer is peeled away, finally revealing who we really are at the core.”
“Then she compared the work we did to the peeling of an onion: "It takes a long time, and we peel the layers slowly, incrementally, transparent layers, around and around, peeling until we get to the core," then she smiled, "and there are always tears." (141)”