Discuss the Symbolism of Snow in Snow Falling on Cedars

The storm is described in great detail, clearly a mirror of the turmoil of the events taking place concurrently. The destructiveness and power of the storm would probably suggest to a reader the destructive power of war, hate, and especially the effect of the trial on the small community of San Piedro Island. More personally, these descriptions echo the passionate feelings of Ishmael, buffeted in his mind by the events as much as the force of nature buffets the land and sea. Nature seems to act in tune with human moods and actions. As the inhabitants must respond effectively and

‘ There are things in this universe that we cannot control, and then there are things we can. Let fate, coincidence, and accident conspire; human beings must act on reason.’

intelligently to the force of the storm (stocking up on food and torches, protecting their houses, the jury asked to put aside their cold misery at night in the Amity Harbor hotel), Ishmael is challenged to respond to the unprecedented murder trial, and the feelings and memories of the past that it arouses in him. It is ‘the whine of the storm’ from which people ‘wished unconsciously’ that the storm would ‘come to an end and grant them peace.’ This may be a parallel emotion that they feel about the trial. Ishmael also takes a moment to reflect on the snow when with Hatsue, saying that ‘the snow is beautiful’ even though it had caused Hatsue ‘trouble’. The snow brings out many emotions in the characters, thus Guterson has used it as a link between characters in the way of their expression of it, which then reflects on the way we perceive them. Hatsue reflects on the trial when Ishmael talks about the snow, saying that the ‘trial is unfair’ and it was ‘just prejudice’ that Kabuo was put on trial in the first place.

I believe that Guterson uses the snow as an indicator of what the characters are like, as we see the difference in how they treat the snow. Kabuo is content at the presence of the snow, after being isolated in his cell for so long, it is a relief for him. The community are distraught as they have had to adjust their lives around the snow. Ishmael holds the snow as a piece of memento of the past that brings many emotions to the surface, some of which he wants to remember (ones associated with his intimacy with Hatsue) and some of which he wants to forget, for example, the war in which he lost his arm. However despite this he still manages to call the snow ‘beautiful’. The snow links the characters.

Some topics in this essay:
Amity Harbor, San Piedro, Carl Heine, Ishmael Hatsue, Falling Cedars’, Piedro Island, Judge Fielding, themes novel, weather conditions, guterson snow, , believe guterson snow, believe guterson, community san, reader novel, san piedro, community san piedro, trial ishmael, guterson somewhat, carl heine died, poetic language,