Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

The novel Snow Falling on Cedars, written by David Guterson, revolves

around a racially charged court case involving an innocent Japanese

man accused of the murder of a German fisherman. The author explores

the human traditions of war and social division and the inevitability

of decay, suffering and death, using the murder trial of Kabuo

Miyamoto as a focal point. Guterson investigates the way in which

personal ethics can transcend the conspiring effects of ‘fate,

coincidence and accident’[1] through the behaviour and disposition of

the three main characters of the novel, Ishmael, Hatsue and Kabuo.

Kabuo's trial is a continuation of the white community's conflict with

its Japanese neighbours. Prejudice is prevalent on San Piedro Island

where whites harbour resentment and hostility towards the Japanese

‘aliens’[2], but hypocritically profit from the Japanese-American

residents’ discipline and hard work. Generated by the events of World

War II, the ‘Japs’[3] are treated with suspicion and scorn. The

jurors misinterpret Kabuo’s cold and impassive face as a sign of

betrayal and defiance, while to Kabuo it expresses guilt for World War

II ‘murders’[4]. Ishmael learns to hate Hatsue after his war

experience, because ‘she had the face of America’s enemy and would

always have such a face’[5]. However, the Japanese are not merely

victims and out of a sense of superiority, they choose to maintain

their detachment from American society. Hatsue’s influential mentor

Mrs Shigemura has contempt for American culture and warns Hatsue to

stay away from the ‘hakujin’[6]. Kabuo distrusts his white neigh...

... middle of paper ...

...ns of war

and prejudice. The thoughts and actions of Ishmael, Hatsue and Kabuo

combine to illustrate that ‘accident ruled every corner of the

universe except the chambers of the human heart.’[16]

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[1]Guterson, David, Snow Falling on Cedars, 1994, pp 367

[2] Ibid., pp 107

[3] “ ” pp 37

[4] “ ” pp 135

[5] “ ” pp 179

[6] “ ” pp 75

[7] “ ” pp 367

[8] “ ” pp 84

[9] “ ” pp 34

[10] Guterson, David, Snow Falling on Cedars, 1994, pp 17

[11] Ibid., pp 148

[12] “ ” pp 148

[13] “ ” pp 179

[14] “ ” pp 368

[15] “ ” pp 353

[16] Guterson, David, Snow Falling on Cedars, 1994, pp 404