Snow Falling On Cedars Essay -- essays research papers

Racism is the notion that ones own heathenish stock is superior to that of someone elses. Most all racism is as result of ignorance. Racism can range from a simple comment to collide with another human being feel inferior, to complex actions that make others feel unwelcome in society because of who they are. The theme of racism can be seen throughout literature. In the murder mystery novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson, many examples of wartime racism are evident.The novel is set on San Piedro Island off the edge of Washington in the year 1954. It is a place of five thousand damp souls (5). Kabuo Miyamoto, a member of the islands Japanese-American confederacy, is on tryout for the murder of Carl Heine, a oath fisherman. Heines boat was found drifting one morning, with his body entangled in a net. While the death initially appeared accidental, bits of circumstantial evidence that seemed to implicate Kabuo Miyamoto accumulated. Etta Heine, Carls mother, un just now ly cheated Kabuos family out of some land during the war while the Miyamotos were incarcerated in a "relocation camp" in California. This provided motive for the apparent murder. Also, Carls traumatic head wound appeared suggestive of a Japanese kendo blow. Furthermore, Carl Heines blood type was found on a wooden gaff on Kabuo Miyamotos boat. As the trial proceeded, the bill of Carl, Kabuo, and what happened that night gradually evolved, as did the tale of Ishmael Chambers, the local newspaper reporter. Ishmael had a love affair with Kabuos wife when they were both adolescents, just before the Japanese families were sent away in 1942. It was clear, however, that this was more than just a story of one mans guilt or innocence it is a story of a communitys fear and prejudice against the Japanese-Americans in the midst of a war. In fact, Guterson blush tells the reader that Japanese people who were not American citizens were not even allowed to own property. We gotta take thi s All this hug Theres a war on and thats the way it is Any old country stuff we have to take (196). Many of the things that the Japanese people were subjected to during the war were as result of ignorance.Ignorance seems to be the clue to almost all of the occurrences of racism in the novel. During Kabuos trial, he chose to keep quiet instead of sticking up for himself because in his religion, ... ...veryone who lives in it. At the end of the book, Hatsue tells Ishmael that she does not love him, compared to her husband, whom she met and married in the course of a few short months. The reader is left wondering at this point if Hatsue is really being truthful or if she is merely locution that to honor her mothers wishes to marry a boy of her own kind. Mrs. Shigemura believed that white men carry in their hearts a mystery lust for pure young Japanese girls (84). This effectively shows the stereotype the Japanese had of white people. However, there is one key difference, and that i s throughout the novel, no matter how they are treated, the Japanese people are always respectful towards everybody.In the novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson, the exotic sensuality of a Japanese woman, and the frustration of a white man in being prohibited from partaking of her by both his and her societies, are clearly illustrated. The story of a struggle against racism, and an imprisoned tillage whose only crime was their face is retold. Yet in the end, one is left to contemplate, Why do people who have lived together in a community for years suddenly turn against one another?