Prejudice and Racism in America
Racism is a contemporary problem in the United States for a very long time now. Like African Americans, Asian Americans also experienced racial discrimination and segregation. Slavery is the primary cause of this menace in the society. Even after the 1863 Emancipation proclamation, the situation worsened, as the legal systems became more biased. Minority groups such as the Chinese and Japanese experienced social injustices at a significant level. The increased social crime against the minority groups led to the emergence of civil rights movements, that were influenced by famous activists such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. literature has also been used to condemn these social issues by various authors. David Guterson, condemns racial discrimination against the Japanese in Snow Falling on Cedars. As a result, this essay explores Guterson’s central idea of racism and prejudice and how it is manifested in the novel.
First of all, the novel was written in the 1950s, the period in which civil rights movements began to emerge. The level of discrimination was very high and affected most of the minority groups who experienced the adverse impacts of white supremacy, discrimination on employment, forceful displacement and many other social injustices that never seemed to seek legal consideration. As a result, Guterson may be perceived as a civil activist of his time. He uses Kabuo’s experiences to incline the social injustices that face the Japanese people in the Island of San Piedro.
During the court hearing, Kabuo is just composed and appears stoic, which, according to Hellenistic philosophy, is a person who on the inside, endures his pain and suffering without hinting or showing externally. As a reader, one would that it evident that he developed this personality trait from the experiences of the society he is living in, and that he is a veteran who was in the army fighting for the same people who are misreading his intentions. The first instance of prejudice in the novel unfolds in the court. in chapter one, the author describes how Kabuo sat in court that aroused prejudice some of the people seated on the gallery. “He sat proudly upright with a rigid grace” (Guterson 1), this according to some of the white attendants “disdains for court proceedings” (pg1). This is a social prejudice that is assigned to people without necessarily conforming to the perception.
The natives immediately become doubtful of Kabuo’s silence, portraying their preconceived judgment against men of Japanese decency. The district attorney Alvin Hook’s adjourning statement describes him as a cold, unemotional and strong man. Also, prejudice combined with racial discrimination is depicted in chapter two, during the court session. Hook appeals that the jury “Look into his eyes consider his face, and ask yourselves what is your duty as citizens of this community.” When his statement is assessed, it is noticeable that Kabuo’s face symbolized racial differences, resonating with the prejudice, that Kabuo had a suspicious look or face. Based on legal formalities, a case is always judged by the sufficient evidence presented against the defendant. However, because of prejudice and racial discrimination in this particular society, one of the jurors expresses an absurd and default bias remarks that Kabuo “looks damn sly to him” (Guterson 63).
In this particular society, you are guilty by default if you are not white. Kabuo has almost similar traits to Carl Heine; they are both veterans for World War II, quiet men, and fishermen. However, racial differences deny Kabuo some benefit of the doubt. Hook’s statement that it is “your duty as citizens of this community” implies the perception that the Japanese are no actual citizens of their particular country.
However, Guterson expresses his diplomatic standpoint for peace by seemingly taking a neutral stand against the issue of racial discrimination. For instance, he doesn’t portray all Americans as terrible and all Japanese-Americans as brilliant: he also offers varied characters that have a more informed opinion despite their weaknesses. In this case, neither Hatsue’s parents nor the Islanders perceive her as a woman. They only view her as a Japanese woman who is living in a foreign land, America. However, Guterson’s neutrality is portrayed on the ‘Imadas,’ who recognizes the racial distinction among the Caucasian and Japanese-Americans; they don’t victimize anyone. Their personalities, therefore, is an essential distinction that can be deduced from the author’s perception. That theoretically, racial inferences don’t necessarily cause actions that relate to racial discrimination.
Guterson also implies that those who discriminate tend to tell lies. For instance, truth is concealed from the spectators and the jurors. Ishmael hides information that may lead to the dismissal of Kabua’s case not only because of Hatsue’s rejection, but because he probably discriminates Kabuo because of his racial origin. In him, Guterson demonstrates that individuals are victims of irrational fears. In chapter 11, Kabuo is also a victim of irrational fears. In his cell, Kabuo meditated that “he would have to accept that the mountain of his violent sins was too large to climb in this lifetime.” Also, Ishamael fears going against the whites’ supremacy; that’s why he is reluctant to present information that would be very crucial in the case. However, towards the end of chapter 22, Hatsue confronts him telling him that “People don’t have to be unfair,” arousing his guilt for withholding crucial information that would shed light on the case. As a result, the author is appealing to the audience that they should erase any prejudicial inclinations in pursuit of impartiality. Individuals should embrace equality because these virtues preserve our honesty and self-respect, enabling as to abolish hateful personalities.
Moreover, Kabuo not perceived and respected as a veteran like Carl and others, instead, they see him as an outcast, and just as a Japanese man. In the courtroom, he is not regarded as a veteran who for the fellow Islanders, but as a strong Japanese man, who Art thinks, is capable of the crime committed. The wound inflicted on the victim is linked with the Japanese style of fighting. They confirm their fear when the evidence points out to Kabuo, without knowing that Kabuo might have encountered Carl before the accident occurred. “‘We’re sly and treacherous. . . . You can’t trust a Jap, can you? This island’s full of strong feelings, Mr Gudmundsson, people who don’t often speak their minds but hate on the inside all the same” (Guterson 87).
Finally, despite the long years of fellowship, friendship and neighbourhood between the Japanese and Islanders, the white residents express no sorrow when the Japanese are relocated or segregated into concentration camps after Pearl Harbor’s bombing. The act implies that the Japanese were linked with terrorism and that alienating them was one of the most appropriate measures to protect the real citizens from terror. According to the white islanders’ perception, race a substantial reason for being cynical about their Japanese friends and neighbours. It is also ironic that even though not all the white people on this island are initially from here, like Carl’s mother who is Germany origin, she still prejudices and discriminate the Japanese. Therefore, it makes the reader wonder what the criteria or the concept of the race mean. However, Guterson introduces another new idea of a stereotype that helps to explain the confusion. He portrays the stereotypical nature of “American.” Thus, he demonstrates that the Germans stereotypically resemble the Americans, and therefore, should protect the American interests, like what Carl’s mother is doing.
Work Cited
Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1994.