Snow Falling on Cedars

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Recommended: Changes in American society wrought by World War II

A changing world and a sense of dominance over other groups of people allows Etta Heine’s racism towards Japanese-Americans to be explicitly evident in the novel. During the 1940’s, the predominantly Caucasian country of America was gradually changing to incorporate a cultural diversity between several groups of individuals. Etta Heine’s lack of appreciation of a changing world enables her to develop a deep hatred towards foreign groups, “Carl’s heart failed him one clear October night in 1944…Carl junior was away at the war, and Etta took advantage of this circumstance to sell the farm to Ole Jurgensen” (Guterson 115). As Etta Heine prepares to take the stand in Kabuo Miyamoto’s trial, the narrator explains how Etta’s husband passed away. After Carl’s heart failed, Etta was quick to sell the land, despite her husband’s agreement with Zenhichi, to Ole Jurgensen. This signifies Etta’s deep hatred towards Japanese people since the death of her husband was merely a tactic used in her advantage to eliminate the deal her husband made with Zenhichi. A lack of mourning over the death of her husband was expressed, enabling the reader to develop assumptions about Etta’s character. Consequently, this proves how devious, cruel, and heinous Etta can be. Etta’s hateful attributes are deeply rooted with issues of certainty and structure that cause her to develop racist ideologies. Although America allows Japanese individuals to reside in their country, the law banning Japanese people from owning lands enabled Etta to justify her actions in a court of law. This portrays that Etta is a stubborn and traditional human, who has relatively made peace with Japanese individuals occupying “Etta’s country”, yet her husband’s deal with Zenhinchi caused he... ... middle of paper ... ...e on American culture and subsequently, American individuals. Works Cited Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. Print. "Kendo." Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre . N.p., n.d. Web. 8 June 2014. . Lao , Mike . "JapanToday." Japan Today RSS. N.p., 14 Mar. 2014. Web. 7 June 2014. . "Myths Encyclopedia." Fruit in Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2014. . Routledge, Clay . "Exploring the psychological motives of racism." More Than Mortal. N.p., 31 July 2010. Web. 30 June 2014. .

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