-
"The houses were also workshops where fishing and hunting gear was constructed and mended, where canoe carvers worked on the beach just outside" (historylink.org). "...each with its pleasant muddle of sailboats and summer homes...an endless series of pristine anchorages" (Guterson 12). David Guterson uses imagery to depict what life was like for the Native Americans of the Puget Sound. He makes the environment of San Piedro very similar Photo by William Boyd (history link.org) -
"Navy captain George Vancouver anchored on May 19, 1792... explored Puget Sound...naming it for one of his officers, Lieutenant Peter Puget."(en.wikipedia.org). "San Piedro...named by lost Spaniards who moored offshore in the year 1603. They'd sailed in search of the Northwest Passage."(Guterson 11). Guterson applies allusion by dating back to history, detailing how San Piedro came about and when Europeans settled there. Photo by L.R. O’Brien (squamishreporter.com) -
"In 1913, the state of California passed its Alien Land Law. This law forbade those who were not American citizens and were not eligible for citizenship from owning agricultural land."(immigrationtounitedstates.org). "If I've Multiplied correctly, the Miyamoto family purchased seven acres from you for forty-five hundred dollars.."(Gudmundsson 137). Even though the Miyamoto's didn't purchase the land, the idea that they were planning too is ironic. Photo by unknown author (nhdwebcentral.org). -
"..it is one of the saddest things to be passed down from the 1940’s. Nobody ever wants to receive a “Dear John” letter…then or now." (1940s.org) "I don't love you, Ishmael. I can't think of no more honest way to say it." (Hastue 336). Guterson uses dialogue between the characters that represents what couples might have written to each other whenever one left for war, or to a different place. He adds the idea of the historical, "dear John letter" into his own story. photo from (1940s.org) -
"Using a vast array of media, propagandists instigated hatred for the enemy and support for America's allies...persuaded people to save...for the war effort."(en.wikipedia.org) "“Ishmael watched...men spilling out and falling to the sand some dead, some wounded, some screaming as they ran then lowered his head and, refusing to look."(Guterson 236). Guterson uses imagery to depict what the war experience may have been like. Photo by David Pollack (mediadrumworld.com) -
"Yesterday, December 7, 1941—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” "You and he were friends.Were, said Carl. That’s right. A long time ago. Before the war came along. But now I don’t like him much anymore.” (Carl 284). Guterson applies characterization by constructing these characters to truly display the hate and racism between Japanese and Americans. Photo by unknown author (Brittanica.com) -
"On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066...to remove all persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast and imprison them."(nps.gov) “They lived in the horse stalls and slept on canvas army cots; at ten p.m. they were made to turn out their lights, one bare bulb for each family."(Guterson 208) Guterson used imagery to detail what life was like being a Japanese American, living in one of the internment camps. Photo by Sam Mihara(newscaster.nmsu.edu) -
"The Battle of Tarawa was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting." (en.wikipedia.org) "On Tarawa he had seen the bodies of men who had died facedown in shallow water. The warm tides had washed over them for days, and the skin had loosened from their limbs.”(Guterson 53). Guterson uses imagery to describe the scene of those who were killed in Tarawa in relation to the actual battle. Photo from (worldwar2facts.org) -
"The Navy’s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on Okinawa" (history.com) “Carl...had served as a gunner...which went down during the invasion of Okinawa. He’d survived the war...and come home to a gill-netter’s life.” (Guterson 20). Guterson uses irony by detailing Carl surviving the deadly invasion of Okinawa, to come home to a "gill-netter's life" only to die from a fishing trip. Photo by U.S. Department of Defense (Brittanica.org). -
"The site commemorates the events of the Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which killed over 2,400 Americans and sank twelve ships." (en.wikipedia.org) "“The most respected men, in accordance with the ethos that had evolved on San Piedro...Carl Heine was in the latter category." (Guterson 44). Guterson uses characterization to detail Carl as a honorable figure to the community, and his death left a mark on the town, as he was respected by many.
photo by Daniel Martinez (latimes.com)