Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, David Guterson is best recognized for his critically acclaimed book Snow Falling on Cedars, composed over ten years while it was taught in school. Snow Falling on Cedars, set in the isolated fictional village of San Piedro in the Pacific Northwest, focuses on the trial of local fisherman Kabuo Miyamoto, a Japanese American accused of the murder of Carl Heine Jr. after the sheriff found him dead, trapped in the his fishing net with a suspicious head wound. With the trial ongoing, memories of a forbidden romance between two teenagers, Ishmael Chambers and Hatsue Imada, who later becomes Kabuo's wife, still haunt the island, along with memories of World War II and what happened to the Japanese inhabitants of San Piedro Island. as they were sent away while the hakujin, the white people, watched. The novel's events, opinions, and emotions regarding the trial relate to racial tensions in the community, caused by previous prejudice, and the hysteria surrounding World War II. Intolerance toward interracial relationships also shapes much of the novel, in which the dehumanization of the Japanese-American population leads to hatred and racial discrimination. Throughout the novel, Guterson manifests racial prejudice in the Pacific Northwest, promoting debate between the good and evils of racism and its impact on the inhabitants of San Piedro Island. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Guterson focuses on the exigency that began the construction of prejudice in the Pacific Northwest during World War II and provides impetus to the racism that affected the world's inhabitants of his novel. According to the History Channel article on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on Pearl Harbor, a U.S. Navy base near Honolulu, Hawaii, virtually destroying 20 U.S. Navy ships, as well as eight battleships and more than 300 aircraft. Over 2,400 Americans died during the attack. After the events of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor made the U.S. War Department suspect that Japanese Americans might be acting as espionage agents, even though the department lacked hard evidence. to support the claims. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, “approximately 125,000 Japanese Americans lived on the United States mainland.” Political leaders urged U.S. forces to round up Japanese Americans, particularly those living along the West Coast, and began moving them to detention centers. On March 31, 1942, the government ordered all Japanese Americans living along the West Coast to report to checkpoints and register the names of every member of their family. They were told when and where to report to be transferred to an internment camp. Through a flashback structure, Guterson introduces the historical events of the war and its impact on the Japanese Americans living in San Piedro. Throughout the novel, Guterson draws parallels between events during the war and current events involving the murder and the islanders. In the book, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, "fifteen U.S. War Relocation Authority transports took all Japanese Americans from San Piedro to the Amity Harbor ferry terminal," corresponding to the government's order for all Japanese Americans to report in these fieldsduring the attack on Pearl Harbor. non-fictitious war. As the island's Japanese inhabitants were brutally taken away and loaded onto ships to be transported to internment camps, their white neighbors simply witnessed “this exorcism of the Japanese in their midst.” They felt as if “this exile of the Japanese was the right thing to do” because of the war and the change in sentiment towards the Japanese inhabitants. The war “altered these relationships forever.” Whether motivated by fear or something else, white civilians stood by and watched innocent Japanese residents be taken away, and did nothing to prevent or stop it. Due to the fact that the islanders do not defend the innocent Japanese inhabitants, the onset of the evils of racism conquers the good. Once the war ends and the Japanese inhabitants return to the island, their relationships with other civilians change. The islanders began referring to the Japanese-American population as "Japs" reflecting the anti-Japanese views civilians held during World War II. Likewise, when Japanese Americans first arrived on San Piedro Island in the early 1880s seeking work and opportunity in the United States, they found work in the nearby community's sawmill. Japanese immigrants were not referred to by name, but rather as "Jap Number 1, Jap Number 2, Jap Number 3", similar to how those of Japanese descent were called in their internment camps during World War II. Racist labels were used to distinguish Japanese immigrants in the workplace. The numbering system in the 1880s also prefigured the names used to track Japanese and Japanese-American internees. Through the racism prevalent in the post-war era, white residents continue to demonstrate that the evils of racism and hatred towards others still outweigh the good. In addition to the racism that grew during the war and its effect on the island's inhabitants, Guterson also extends the racial bias exhibited in the trial through witnesses and past relationships. When Carl Heine's body resurfaces entangled in his boat's fishing net, the sheriffs initially assume the crash is an accident, but after Horace Whaley, the medical examiner, discovers a small fracture on Carl's skull, Kabuo Miyamoto becomes a person of interest. In his report, the medical examiner reveals that the wound was caused by a "flat, narrow object, approximately two inches wide." Based on his own experience in the Pacific during the war, Horace deduces that Carl's suspicious head fracture may have been the result of a Japanese field soldier being "trained in the art of kendo", leading the marshals to believe that someone of Japanese descent committed the murder. Horace advises sheriffs to start looking for "a Jap with a bloody gun butt – a right-handed Jap, to be precise." Kabuo Miyamoto becomes the main suspect in the case, the main reason being racial prejudices against Japanese Americans, showing that after World War II, it seems that there is nothing good left in the islanders and the evils of racism have taken over. over.The prejudices and evils of racism exhibited before and after the war have repercussions in the process. During the trial, twenty-four islanders of Japanese origin sit at the back of the courtroom: “no law obliged them to occupy only these rear seats,” but they had done so instead because San Piedro required it without calling it law. ”. We are sneaky and treacherous... You can't trust a Japanese, can you? This island is full of strong feelings, Mr. Gudmundsson, people who often don't say what they think but whatthey hate the same inside. They don't buy berries from our farms, they won't do business with us. Remember when someone threw rocks through all the windows of Sumida's greenhouses last summer? Well, now there's a fisherman that everyone quite liked and he died and drowned in his net. They will think it makes sense that a Japanese killed him. They will want to hang me whatever the truth is. Also during Kabuo's testimony, prosecutor Alvin Hook states that Kabuo "is a difficult man to trust" because of his past. Despite Kabuo's testimony, "citizens in the stands" continue to view Kabuo as Japanese and not American. They come to the conclusion that Kabuo is “not like them at all” due to his physical appearance. The racist views of white citizens in the courts still cling to evil stereotypes of Japanese and Japanese Americans. A key example of an islander showing the evils of racism over the good is trial witness Etta Heine, Carl Heine's mother, who had a clear vendetta against the Miyamotos. The testimony of Etta, a German immigrant, centers on her past interaction and relationships with the Miyamoto family, particularly Zenhichi Miyamoto, Kabuo's father. Zenhichi Miyamoto had orchestrated an informal purchase agreement with the Heines to purchase some of their land for the Miyamoto farm. Etta had advised her husband not to enter into this agreement with the Miyamotos, whom she did not trust because they were Japanese. His anti-Japanese prejudice becomes apparent in a flashback to a disagreement he had with Carl Sr. over his choice to sell Zenhichi seven acres of land. He told Carl Heine Sr. that they were "not poor enough to sell to the Japanese." After Carl Sr.'s death in 1944, Etta decides to cancel the contract, without telling the Miyamotos and eventually returns Zenhichi the money he had paid up until his family's internment during World War II, and sells the seven acres to a farm. white farmer, Ole Jergensen. Much to Kabuo's surprise, when he returns from the war, he visits Etta and finds that she has sold the land. They argue, causing Etta to feel threatened and go so far as to ask her son, Carl, to keep an eye on Kabuo. Etta's testimony serves as the first link "in a ten-year chain of events that has now seemingly culminated in Carl's death at the hands of Kabuo", demonstrating that the bad outweighs the good in this case. Carl's wife, Susan Marie Heine, also continues the tense debate of good versus evil after the war. Serving as a key witness in the trial, described as having "the air of a young German baroness without ostentation", she recounts a conversation with her late husband Carl Heine. His physical appearance and race serve as a juxtaposition to Kabuo's Japanese characteristics. In her testimony, Susan Marie recounts the day Kabuo went to visit her husband to discuss the sale of the controversial seven acres. Once the two men return, Susan Marie questions Carl about the nature of Kabuo's unexpected visit. Carl feels conflicted about selling the land; he “doesn't hate the Japanese, but he doesn't like them either.” Despite Carl's apparent prejudice against people of Japanese descent, Susan Marie reminds Carl that he and Kabuo "were childhood friends." Carl points out that the relationship only existed “before the war came” and that things had changed. Susan Marie Heine serves as an example that good nature still exists in the island's inhabitants, as she refuses to submit to the racist preconceptions of the Japanese to offer thorough and honest testimony. Susan Marie could have argued against Kabuo to bolster the case against the alleged killer ofher husband, but instead chooses the good by telling the truth. Despite the racial prejudices revealed during World War II and the subsequent trial, the forbidden love between Ishmael Chambers and Hatsue Imada strives to overcome the evils of racism and bigotry. The moment Ishmael Chambers lays eyes on Hatsue Imada as a boy at the 1941 Strawberry Festival, he immediately falls in love, even though Hatsue is Japanese and Ishmael white. Hatsue initially fights the temptation to be with Ishmael, because she knows her parents would disapprove, but eventually gives in and begins a secret relationship. Every day, the two meet in a hollowed-out cedar tree, hidden deep in the forest, offering refuge from social restrictions and prejudices. Ishmael's memories center on his relationship with Hatsue, their time together in the hollow tree, and his increasingly intense feelings for her. She plans to marry Hatsue after graduation, although Hatsue's mother wants her to "marry a boy of her own kind, a Japanese boy from a good family." Offering another example of the evils of racism, Hatsue's mother demonstrates that Japanese islanders can also commit acts of bigotry. By refusing to let Hatsue and Ishmael be together, Hatsue's mother demonstrates that the debate between good and evil exists in almost every situation. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, thoughts of what might happen to Hatsue's family and community begin to emerge. Ishmael believes that the nation of Japan embodies the enemy, not Japanese Americans, blaming Japan. But Hatsue doesn't see it the way Ishmael sees the situation. He says, “Look at my face. Look at my eyes, Ishmael. My face is that of the people who did it: don't you know what I mean? My face - this is how Japanese people look. My parents came to San Piedro from Japan. My mother and father barely speak English. My family is in big trouble now. Do you understand what I mean? We will have problems." Hatsue's statement highlights that Ishmael does not consider her “Japanese,” demonstrating that the distinction between Japanese and Japanese Americans continues to be often overlooked by the larger social order. He assumes that these world events would have no effect on their relationship due to his belief in their relationship and blindness to prejudice, but eventually the Imada, along with the other Japanese inhabitants, will have to be taken to internment camps. Ishmael and Hatsue write to each other, but once Hatsue's mother finds the letter, their relationship ends. By refusing to let Hatsue and Ishmael be together, Hatsue's mother proves that the good versus evil debate is true in almost every situation. Continuing with the debate on the evils of racism, only after the end of the relationship does Ishmael begin to see racial differences. and accept prejudices. While under the influence of morphine after being wounded in the war, Ishmael composes a letter to Hatsue. He tells her that he was sent to "kill people who looked like her" and that he hates her "with all his heart." The horror stories of war cause Ishamel to reject the ideals he had as a teenager. The love he felt for Hatsue despite her race was replaced by bitterness and an emotional display of his inability to reconcile the events of the past. Once the war ends and Ishmael returns, he is changed and even begins referring to the Japanese with the racist slur of "Japs". Even Ishmael, who swore he would always love Hatsue despite her race, proves that the debate between the good and evils of racism exists, even in unforeseen circumstances. But Ishmael demonstrates that good can prevail, even when it seems that evil has triumphed over good. While searching the,. 2.