The question, “In the face of adversity, what causes some to prevail while others fail?” has many answers. In the aspect of Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, the main characters Ishmael Chambers and Hatsue and Kabuo Miyamoto face many hardships. The key factors that helped and hindered their success were prejudices, perseverance to conquer their troubles, and loyalty to one another.
Prejudices held against individuals is a key factor in perseverance over hardships. In the novel, the murder trial of Carl Heine consisted of a Japanese man, Kabuo Miyamoto, on trial for the murder of Carl Heine, who is white. During the time this novel took place, Japanese people were highly ridiculed by most Americans. Nevertheless, people had no issue using Kabuo as a scapegoat for Carl’s murder due to racial …show more content…
During her husband’s trial, Hatsue Miyamoto would try to expose how it was unfair. An example of this is when Hatsue uttered to Ishmael, "The trial, Kabuo's trial, is unfair...You should talk about that in your newspaper." (Guterson 325) This shows she’s unwilling to give up on Kabuo’s case, and her perseverance helps her to prevail over hardships because she isn’t willing to quit. Conversely, someone who gives up easily will have a smaller chance of overcoming them because they don’t try hard to reach their goal.
Moreover, loyalty helps one overcome their troubles. As the story progresses, Hatsue and Ishmael’s childhood romance unfolds, and even after Hatsue got married, Ishmael still loved her. His loyalty to her consequently led him to look into undiscovered elements, finding case-changing evidence favoring Kabuo (Guterson 445-6). The evidence forced the judge to drop charges and let Kabuo go because it proved Carl wasn’t murdered (Guterson 454). Ishmael’s devotion to Hatsue helped the Miyamoto’s prove Kabuo’s innocence, as well as helping Ishmael outgrow his childhood love for
Prejudices held against individuals is a key factor in perseverance over hardships. In the novel, the murder trial of Carl Heine consisted of a Japanese man, Kabuo Miyamoto, on trial for the murder of Carl Heine, who is white. During the time this novel took place, Japanese people were highly ridiculed by most Americans. Nevertheless, people had no issue using Kabuo as a scapegoat for Carl’s murder due to racial …show more content…
During her husband’s trial, Hatsue Miyamoto would try to expose how it was unfair. An example of this is when Hatsue uttered to Ishmael, "The trial, Kabuo's trial, is unfair...You should talk about that in your newspaper." (Guterson 325) This shows she’s unwilling to give up on Kabuo’s case, and her perseverance helps her to prevail over hardships because she isn’t willing to quit. Conversely, someone who gives up easily will have a smaller chance of overcoming them because they don’t try hard to reach their goal.
Moreover, loyalty helps one overcome their troubles. As the story progresses, Hatsue and Ishmael’s childhood romance unfolds, and even after Hatsue got married, Ishmael still loved her. His loyalty to her consequently led him to look into undiscovered elements, finding case-changing evidence favoring Kabuo (Guterson 445-6). The evidence forced the judge to drop charges and let Kabuo go because it proved Carl wasn’t murdered (Guterson 454). Ishmael’s devotion to Hatsue helped the Miyamoto’s prove Kabuo’s innocence, as well as helping Ishmael outgrow his childhood love for