The theme of chance throughout the novel is echoed in this passage, as Ishmael loses his arm in the war. “Ishmael lost his arm on a shipboard operating table”. It is the loss of his arm that causes the character of Ishmael to become bitter, and stops him from connecting and reaching out to other people - “the boy was not someone you could speak to".
“The muscle tore”, “bone cracked jaggedly” and “lodged into the meat of his arm” are examples of the graphic imagery Guterson uses to show why Ishmael is so affected by the loss of his arm in the war. Later in the novel, Ishmael describes himself as feeling “like a circus grotesque”. This harsh language shows his self hatred, and his continuous bitterness because of the war.
The futility of war is a key theme in this passage, and Ishmael carries the fatal outlook throughout the novel. “There was no point to anything, that was clear” and “He died ten minutes before the bearers came around to take him down to surgery” are both examples of the futility of war, and Ishmael continues to dwell on this as the novel goes on. This is supported with the prosaic tone of the novel and the detached narrative it is reported in shows the hardening and coldness of the soldiers. An example of this is the cataloguing of dead soldiers by one of Ishmaels troops, “Jim Harvey, and that guy Hedges…and Murray and Behring”. This quotation shows the reality of war, contrasting with the belief that it is a smooth military execution. This shock of reality means Ishmael becomes cold and insular, and this is noticed by other characters in the novel, such as his mother. “You went numb Ishmael” and “If you haven’t gone cold forever” are examples of this. Ishmael also knows he has become insular, but instead of using this to move on, he continues to be unapproachable, “The boy was not someone you could speak to”.
Religion is portrayed as an important part of Helen Chambers’ life, and is shown as a large part of Ishmael’s life until after the war, when he sees it as “pathetic falsehood”. This shows the cynicism Ishmael obtains because of his experience of war. This cynicism is shown in his reaction to the arrest and trial of Kabuo Miyamoto, as he thinks that prejudice and circumstance are unfillable reasons for his arrest, “the evidence is very solidly against him”. It is Ishmael’s view of facts being stronger than emotions that is ironic, as at the beginning of the novel he is an idealist, thinking that the interracial relationship between himself and Hatsue will be accepted by society, “Names on a map don’t mean anything”.
The use of vernacular language and grotesque imagery in this passage gives a sense of realism, and helps the reader identify with the problems of the character of Ishmael, meaning we can empathise with the changes to his character because of the war. Ishmael becomes more prejudice because of the war, meaning that he resents the race for the loss of his limb and the destruction of war instead of his previous love of Hatsue, a Japanese girl. The loss of his arm in the war also affects Ishmael’s behaviour towards others, as he feels he is an outsider. This theme of feeling like an outsider relates to the rest of the novel, as such thoughts are possessed by Ishmael, for having only one arm, Kabuo and Hatsue for being Japanese, and from Art Moran who feels he is in the wrong profession, and that he doesn’t belong in his role as Sherriff. The futility of war, shown by the prosaic tone of this passage, shows the reasons that Ishmael adopts a fatalistic attitude towards life. It is because of the fatalities he sees when fighting that he has a grim outlook of life, and this runs throughout the novel.
In Snow Falling on Cedars, the war that Ishmael fights in shapes him into a colder, harder, and more cynical and withdrawn character. He is less able to communicate with people because of his experiences, and this is shown throughout the novel, as well as in this passage. War causes Ishmael to lose his faith in religion, and see it as a “pathetic falsehood”, showing his cynicism. He becomes more prejudice, and refers to the Japanese as “fucking Japs”, instead of the equal race in San Piedro that he loved when he was a young boy.
1030 words total.
