Examples Of Prejudice In Snow Falling On Cedars

In December of 1941, America witnessed the heightening of Japanese aggression with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This anti-Japanese sentiment did not end with the conclusion of World War II, however. In Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson visits the island of San Piedro which has a prominent Japanese community. There is a clear divide between the whites and the Japanese that neither is willing to cross. The two hardly interact outside of business relations and those who do have relationships outside of their race are frowned upon. However, the island community is forced to interact when Kabuo Miyamoto is accused of murdering Carl Heine in September of 1954. Throughout the novel, Guterson uses flashbacks to describe the prejudice that plagued

Intense racism refers to the belief that one race is inferior in relation to one’s own. Symbolic racism “is expressed in terms of threats to people’s basic values and to the status quo they have become comfortable with in their culture.” Tokenism is when someone harbors ill feelings towards another race but is unwilling to admit to those feelings. Arm’s-length prejudice refers to when a person will be friendly towards those from an “outgroup” as long as the relationship does not become too intimate. Real likes and dislikes are based on one’s own beliefs and values. The familiar and the unfamiliar “refers to the fact that most people tend to be uncomfortable with an unfamiliar culture.” Guterson manages to fit all six of these categories into his novel through characters such as Etta Heine, Horace Whaley, Mrs. Shigemura, and Dale Middleton (Dypedahl

His father, Arthur Chambers, ran the local newspaper, the San Piedro Review, in town before his death. It was the most prominent newspaper on the island. Because of it, Arthur was a highly respected man. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he was part of a small group who did not immediately turn against the Japanese on the island. When talking to his son, Arthur stated, “They, in short, are not the enemy, any more than our fellow islanders of German or Italian descent.” (Guterson 184). In a column in his paper, he would point this fact out. He also wrote editorials that were not anti-Japanese. Even though the islanders were not happy with this, he continued to publish them. They began to boycott his paper and yet he still did not