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10,000 BCE
Native Americans of Puget Sound
"Substantial archeological evidence of continuing human habitation in the area from 12,000 years ago indicates that the present tribes of Puget Sound have lived here at least that long"
(https://www.historylink.org/File/1506)
"Its members were murdered almost immediately upon setting foot on the beach by a party of Nootka slave raiders" (5)
Colonizers had to face the Natives once they reached Puget Sound because the Native Americans would not give in easily -
Period: 10,000 BCE to
Snow Falling on Cedars
Historical events that took place before during and after World War 2 -
Europeans Settlers of Puget Sound
"These men were apparently the first Europeans to set foot in the present State of Washington. They were ambushed by Indians and seven of them killed (https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/explorers/sitee32.htm)
"Their pilot and captain, Martin de Aquilar of the Vizcaino expedition, sent a work detail ashore to cull a fresh spar pole from among the hemlocks at water's edge"(5)
Gutterson uses water that symbolizes death because the Native Americans were not letting them intrude. -
Alien Land Laws
"Many Japanese Americans were forced to relinquish their farms and moved elsewhere, a practice that became formal U.S. policy with incarceration during World War II" (https://immigrationhistory.org/item/alien-land-laws-in-california-1913-1920)
“The law said they could not own land unless they became citizens; it also said they could not become citizens so long as they were Japanese”(Guterson 76) Guterson uses this to show how Japanese Americans face discrimination -
Military Recruitment and Propaganda during WW2
"Meanwhile, graphic images depicted a blood-thirsty Adolph Hitler and racist imagery of Japanese people with sinister, exaggerated features." (https://www.history.com/news/world-war-ii-propaganda-posters-photos-united-states-home-front)
"It was all propaganda...They wanted us to be able to kill them with no remorse, to make them less than people...They could have used his face for one of their propaganda films."(Guterson 345).
Guterson shows the reader that the US says its okay to kill the enemy -
Pearl Harbor
"Pearl Harbor attack, December 7,1941, surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu Island, Hawaii, by the Japanese that precipitated the entry of the United States into World War II" (https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack)
"It’s true,’ she said. ‘Find a radio. Just this morning. They bombed Hawaii” (Guterson 177) Guterson depicts what happened when pearl harbor was bombed and how people reacted. -
Japanese Internment Camp
"On February 19, 1942, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 with the stated intention of preventing espionage on American shores" (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation)
"They’re Japs. We’re in a war with them. We can’t have spies around” (Guterson 126)
Guterson shows the reality of how Japanese Americans are treated, even though the constitution says every man is equal. -
Battle of Tarawa
"The U.S. began its Central Pacific Campaign against Japan by seizing the heavily fortified" (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-tarawa)
"It occurred to Ishmael for the first time in his life, that such destruction could be beautiful. The reckless water, the frenzied wind, the snow, the downed trees, the boats dashed against their sunken docks-it was harsh and beautiful and disorderly"(Guterson 204)
Guterson uses imagery to depict what Ishmael saw in battle. -
Dear John Letter
"There is nothing more heart wrenching than for a man to receive a “Dear John” letter from the woman he loves." (https://1940s.org/dear-john-an-unwanted-letter-1940s-wwii-soldier)
"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)
Guterson uses dialogue to portray Hatsue's feelings to Ishmael and that they cannot be together. -
Battle of Okinawa
"The Battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest" (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa)
"A man who survived the sinking of the Canton and who, like Horace himself, had survived Okinawa-- only to die, it now appeared, in a gill-netting boat accident." (Guterson 46)
Guterson is showing irony because Carl survived one of the bloodiest wars to die in a boating accident. -
Pearl Harbor Memorial
"The Pearl Harbor National Memorial and its partners preserve, interpret, and commemorate the history of World War II" (https://www.nps.gov/perl/learn/park-purpose.htm)
"The counsel for the state has proceeded on the assumption that you will be open , ladies and gentlemen, to an argument based on prejudice... He is counting on you to act on passions best left to a war of ten years ago." (Guterson 424)
Guterson uses dialogue to show that we should always remember the past but remain in control.