Love, Hatred, War, Prejudice in the Book “Snow Falling on Cedars” by David Guterson Essay

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Introduction

Snow Falling on Cedars is set on a picturesque Island off Washington. This was a state that was commonly known for activities such as fishing and strawberries. It is in this book that we are acquainted with the fact that the communities on the island are divided between the white and the common Japanese Americans. Guterson revealed the events that characters such as Ishmael, Kabuo and Hatsue experienced during the time of war and after the war. It also reveals the kind of betrayal that was experienced in their families after or during the time of war.

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Characters and their experiences

David Guterson paints a persuasive scene in the account of the relationship that existed between an American woman and the young Anglo man through his powerful love story, the Snow Falling on Cedars. The story tries to figure out the character’s feelings and experiences in the unrequited love they feel towards one another. It is revealed by the writer that the woman loves the man but she was forced to reject the man due to differences in culture between the two communities. Family expectations also play a great role in reaching the conclusion of rejection by the woman. It had taken a lot of time in trying to shape their relationship and there was an expression of real love between the two as revealed by the words spoken by the woman in trying to convince her, “Just say yes…Just tell me yes. Say yes to me. Say ye, oh god say yes.” Sex, race and cultural differences were some of the aspects that impaired the relationship of communication, respect and mutual choices among the diverse communities that lived on the coast Island of Washington. The characters in the book revealed features of altruism and empathy especially among the sexual partners.

Carl and Kabuo were some of the most featured characters in the novel and both were war veterans. Kabuo served in Europe and Carl served in the Pacific. There were lingering prejudices that started from the time of war when the Japanese Americans were allowed to occupy part of California during the time of war. It is quite imperative to note that the two used to associate peacefully before the war but experiences changed after the war as there were a lot of changes in the family fraternity.

There were a lot of hostilities against the Japanese during these times and later resulted in war between the Americans and the other communities. The war that broke left some of the war veterans with a lot of injuries. Kabuo’s trial in court was viewed as a sense of continuation of the conflict between the white and the Asian neighbors. It emerged also that Kabuo was a victim of prejudice. The land that belongs to him was taken away by Carl Heine on a factual basis but because of hatred and prejudice that dominated the government of the day. Injustice and indebtedness were so rampant that such issues could not be recognized in a court of law even though there were evidential matters that Carl had gone against the law. When the matter was presented to the court, the case was ruled in favor of Carl and the land was considered to be legally owned by him. This is a clear indication that prejudice existed in the court ruling process. Prejudice is also revealed when Carl drowns while fishing and Kabuo was convicted to be involved in the death of Carl. The death was concluded to result from the difference that existed between the two characters due to land grabbing matter.

There were a lot of antagonisms that lead to war as revealed by Guterson. This began when the Japanese were resettled in California. This is indicated by the fact that US newspapers trumpeted the resettlement as an invasion. The mayor of San Francisco was against the Japanese when he said, “the Japanese are not the stuff of which American citizens can be made.” As shown by Guterson, hatred was the order of the day amongst communists that existed on the Island. Hatred intensified after the war as Carl sees Kabuo as “goddam Jap sons” who fought against him since he killed a person that looked like Carl. Their differences and hatred towards

one another grew or intensified even though both were Americans who had roots in the same community. These arise due major cultural differences and on the basis of the race. Some of the major characters such as Ishmael who had a lot of passion for Hatsue faced a lot of challenges from the community. There was intense hatred the society as Nels Gudmundson remarks, “It takes a rare thing, a turning point, and to free oneself from any obsession, be it prejudice or hate or even love.” It is due hatred that persisted that made Ishmael faced a trial. Ishmael lost his arm during war could not get love from Hatsue due to his disability.

From the book, we can note that Kabuo rejected the work of Ishmael and he accuses him of lacking journalistic objectivity. He hated him due to the fact that there was a strong passion between Hatsue and Ishmael. Kabuo was feeling that he was been rejected by the society and he was trying to find happiness for himself. He had that personal desire for greater good. He was rejected by Hatsue who fall in love with Ishmael. Kabuo experienced a lot of problems such as loosing his wife and the land that was grabbed by the fisherman. He was later accused of murder of Carl who drowns in his own net. Kabuo generally had a lot of bitterness with his wife and the whole problems stemmed from years of racism and intolerance that culminated from the World War II.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, racism is importunate subject in the novel and it leads to other vices such as hatred, jealousy and prejudice among the characters in the novel. The communities in the land are facing problems due to racism e.g. racism is linked with interment of Kabuo and his relatives. It is also connected with the grabbing of land by Carl and perhaps fro indictment for murder of Carl

Work cited

David, G. Snow Falling On Cedars. (2004), 60-120.

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"Love, Hatred, War, Prejudice in the Book "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson." IvyPanda, 21 Oct. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/love-hatred-war-prejudice-in-the-book-snow-falling-on-cedars-by-david-guterson/.

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IvyPanda. (2021) 'Love, Hatred, War, Prejudice in the Book "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson'. 21 October.

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IvyPanda. 2021. "Love, Hatred, War, Prejudice in the Book "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson." October 21, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/love-hatred-war-prejudice-in-the-book-snow-falling-on-cedars-by-david-guterson/.

1. IvyPanda. "Love, Hatred, War, Prejudice in the Book "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson." October 21, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/love-hatred-war-prejudice-in-the-book-snow-falling-on-cedars-by-david-guterson/.


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IvyPanda. "Love, Hatred, War, Prejudice in the Book "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson." October 21, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/love-hatred-war-prejudice-in-the-book-snow-falling-on-cedars-by-david-guterson/.

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