Snow Falling on Cedars - Book Report/Review Example

SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS---An Analytical review Kabuos trial Introduction San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, near Washington is a remote place, where everyone seems to be connected with the other resident, silently. However, in 1954, a local white fisherman is found drowned under suspicious conditions and a Japanese American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with the murder of this white fisherman. Nevertheless, the trial is not the result of local man’s suspected murder only. As the author relates the memory of local people to the thickness of cedar trees, it is ripe and heavy in the minds of the people, who recall the love affair between a white boy and a charming Japanese girl, who happened to marry Kabuo later. With the memories of lost lives of Japanese residents during world war second, fresh in their minds, the local immigrant Japanese population sees the trial as a plot that involves more than guilt, a suspected murder or a foul play. Hence, the fairness of the trial is under suspicion as every one remembers the exile of Japanese entire community, during the world war, with no help coming from the local white population then..........(book summary) The background history The first generation of Japanese settled in the United States of America from 1901 to 1907, when almost more than hundred thousand Japanese immigrated to USA, tempted by the offer of huge wages offered by the Americans to work on their developmental projects. While Japanese Govt. encouraged such immigration due to their worsening economic situation, an agreement in 1908 stopped this inflow to USA. However, as wives and children were allowed to join their relatives, a wave of “arranged brides” came in., with the help of marrying the photographs of grooms by proxy, in the native Japanese villages, for the purpose of coming to USA. This was the beginning of prejudice against Japanese as locals thought this immigration flow being an invasion of Japanese on American people. Although Local newspapers echoed this sentiment, the immigrants prospered and raised their families in the land of United States, while they adjusted to the frequent taunts of locals, almost on daily basis. Finally, the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese on Dec 7, 1941 was responsible of openly pinpointing the Japanese Americans as the spies of their native country. This lead to several measures, biased against Japanese Americans that resulted in an apology from US govt.in 1988 to Japanese citizens, who were deprived of civil rights and liberties during the period of world war.....(About the book) Plot Summary The Local fisherman, named Carl Heine who was a respected war veteran is alleged to have been murdered by Japanese-American angler named Kabuo Miyamoto, on 6th. December 1954, at the island of San Piedro, in North-West Pacific, off mainland Washington. This day was being remembered as the 13th.anniversary of Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. While Heine has been silent and remorseful after his return from the war, another war veteran Ishmael Chambers speaks out through his editing of town newspaper, the San Piedro Review. While Ishmael has inherited the publishing business from his father Arthur, he has been writing about almost everything. However, he was silent about his love affair with Japanese American girl named Hatsue. The murder plot has its roots here, as Ishmael still looks for the reason of Hatsue rejecting his love and marrying Kobuo. With the harboring of anti-Japanese feelings, after the war, Kobue and his wife have no faith in the fair trial of the case that places him as a murder suspect. At the same, time Kobuo who has fought the war as an American nurtures a sort of guilt for killing his Japanese brothers who happened to be his enemies. The bitterness that has been brooding between the island’s white population and their Japanese American neighbors is evident from the proceedings of the trial, which is a bit biased against the Japanese from the very beginning. However, war was only an excuse to unleash this hatred, as the same was present in the heart and mind of local white population over the years. However, the tradition of silence might have been one reason of this hatred not coming to the forefront earlier. Yet the other deeply rooted cause for this anti Japanese bias goes back to many years , when Carl’s father the Carl Heine Sr. sold seven acres of his land to Kobuo’s father Zenhichi. Although Japanese were barred to enter into any purchase agreement or own any land then, the deal was informal with Zenhichi making payment in installments, regularly and sincerely. However, he could not make the last two bi-annual payments as his entire family was sent to an internment camp. During the Kubuo’s trial Carl’s mother, Etta Heine took advantage of this absence of Kubuo’s father, to mean that it meant the breaking of his agreement with her husband. With the death of elder Carl soon after the Zenhichi family was sent away, Etta Heine sold the entire land to a white farmer, as she could not bear that Japanese own her husband’s land, being a determined anti-Japanese herself. ..............(Plot review, 2009, para 1-6) While one Ole Jurgensen bought this land, he later decided to sell it, as had suffered a stroke. Kubuo keen to own the land which his father had once agreed to purchase, although informally, was quick to make an offer to Ole. However, Etta was smarter as she had purchased back this land from him, leaving Kubuo high and dry. As Carl was his early childhood friend, he had agreed to his pleas and promised to offer a portion of the land to him. However, although Carl was a man of good intentions, he did nurture anti-Japanese feelings. The novel, while making the net of root causes that preceded the trial, mentions that Carl, in a state of undecided-ness, went out on the foggy night, boating in the shipping channel however, he was stranded due to lack of power on his boat, in the middle of the channel that carried heavy freighters. Fortunately, Carl was saved due to the timely help of Kubuo and this incident made Carl decide to sell the land to him. However, as the plot thickens, he died later due to the knocking down of his boat by a huge freight carrier that injured his head, thereby causing him to drown. Art Moran, the local sheriff was responsible for the investigation by the authorities into the case. While the coroner, Horace Whaley, suggested to Moran that the head injury on Carl was similar to one received from Japanese soldiers during world war, using their Martial arts Kendo, this led the affirmation of Moran’s mental thought process to believe that Kubuo has murdered Carl, although he had initially though it as an accident only. In addition, the circumstantial evidence also pointed to Kubuo’s hand in this, as he was an expert of Kendo................(Plot review, 2009, para 7-11) Prevalence of Racism in the novel The traces of racism can be seen in many chapters of the book. For example, in chapter one Kubuo’s silence is deemed as his admission of guilt. While in chapter three, the author indicates that Japanese sit at the backbenches in courtroom as the public custom has made them believe that they are inferior to local whites. The racist attitude is well depicted in chapter 9 of the novel as Etta Heine has strong prejudice against Japanese. In chapter 27, Kubuo and his wife are depicted to choose silence as they think that their being Japanese, no would believe the truth, if they reveal it.....(tracking racism) Bibiliography Works-cited About the book, Available at: http://www.randomhouse.com/vintage/read/snow/ (Accessed on 7th Oct 2009) Book Summary, Available at: http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm?book_number=340 (Accessed on 7th Oct, 2009) Plot review, 2009 Para 1-6, Available at: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/cedars/summary.html (Accessed on 7th Oct, 2009) Tracking racism, Available at: http://www.bookrags.com/notes/sno/TOP2.html (Accessed on 7th Oct 2009) Sources used http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm?book_number=340 http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/cedars/summary.html Read More