-
“They evolved complex cultural, social, and economic structures, which the invasion of non-Indian settlers in the mid-1800s almost erased” (Kenneth Greg Watson). "Main Street presented to the populace Peterson's Grocery, a post office, Fisk's Hardware Center, Larsen's Pharmacy, a dime-store-with-fountain owned by a woman in Seattle, a Puget Power office” (Guterson 7). In this quote Guterson explains what the settlers built on the land they took from the native Americans. Image from nar.net -
“In 1775, Spanish explorer Captain Bruno Heceta landed on the coast of Puget Sound and claimed the land for Spain” (ducksters.com). “Settlers arrived--mostly wayward souls and eccentrics who had meandered off the Oregon Trail... Canadian Englishmen up in arms about the border--but San Piedro Island generally lay clear of violence after that." (Guterson 5). The town is described as nonviolent even though they were at the front of the war this is irony. Picture from Pictures-Olympiawa.gov -
“Alien land laws are most often associated with western states’ attempts to limit the presence and permanence of Japanese immigrants from 1913 through the end of World War II” (encyclopedia.densho.org). “The law said they could not own land unless they became citizens; it is also said they could not become citizens so long as they were Japanese” (Guterson 76). This quote explains how unfair the alien land law was. photo from calendar.eji.org -
“Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces” (History.com). “A bombing raid. The Japanese Air Force has bombed everything. It is bad for us, terribly bad. There is nothing else on the radio. Everything is Pearl Harbor” (Guterson 253). Guterson uses emotions through the character’s tone and the dread they feel knowing how this will negatively affect Japanese Americans in the U.S. Photo from History.com -
“By dehumanizing the Japanese and instilling fear in the minds of Americans, WWII propaganda posters prompted cultural and racial hatred that led to massive historical consequences for the Japanese” (blogs.baylor.edu). “It was all propaganda…They wanted us to be able to kill them with no remorse, to make them less than people” (Guterson 345). This quote from Ishmael shows how the Japanese were propagandized so US citizens wouldn’t see them as people. Image from artifactsjournal.missouri.edu -
“Policy of the U.S. government that people of Japanese descent would be interred in isolated camps” (History.com). “An army truck took Fujimori and her five daughters to the Amity Harbor ferry dock at seven o’clock on Monday morning, where a soldier gave them tags for their suitcase and coats” (Guterson 216). Guterson uses imagery in this quote to describe how everyone even children were sent to internment camps because of people’s paranoia. Photo from archives.gov -
“One of the worst things to happen to so many young soldiers (which is rarely spoken of) were the ‘Dear John letters which girlfriends and wives sometimes sent in order to break off a relationship” (bbc.co.uk). “I don’t love you, Ishmael…When we met that last time in the cedar tree…I knew we could never be right together” (Guterson 442). The dialogue in this quote communicates Hatsue’s true feelings about Ishmael and their relationship. Photo from nww2m.com -
“In the battle of Tarawa…during World War II, the U.S. began its Central Pacific Campaign against Japan by seizing the heavily fortified, Japanese-held island of Betio in Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands” (History.com). “…a boy with buckteeth who’d been shot squarely in the thighs and groin the blood has soaked his khaki pants” (Guterson 250). Guterson describes gore through imagery to communicate the brutality of these battles. Photo from nationalww2musuem.org -
“The Battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest” (History.com). “Carl Heine, a man who had endured the sinking of the Canton and who, like Horace himself, had survived Okinawa only to die” (Guterson 76). In this quote Guterson uses irony to show how ironic it is that Carl survived an ocean battle like Okinawa but died in a boating accident. Image from britannica.com -
“To commemorate the many lives lost during the attack, Pearl Harbor National Memorial was constructed” (nps.org). “He is counting on you to act on passions best left to a war of ten years ago” (Guterson 424). Guterson uses dialogue to build suspense because the jury may decide Kabuo Miyamoto as guilty because of the attack on Pearl Harbor as a way to get revenge on the Japanese. Image from nps.gov