AskEssays.com - Discover essay samples

David Guterson And His Use Of The Theme Of Nature

4.9 of 5.0 (199 reviews)

Contains
743 words
Category
English

David Guterson And His Use Of The Theme Of Nature Page 1
David Guterson And His Use Of The Theme Of Nature Page 2
David Guterson And His Use Of The Theme Of Nature Page 3
David Guterson And His Use Of The Theme Of Nature Page 4
David Guterson And His Use Of The Theme Of Nature Page 5
The above thumbnails are of reduced quality. To view the work in full quality, click download.

David Guterson, a young American author, has written two major works
regarding aspects of human nature and human emotions. His first publication, a
collection of short stories, entitled The Country Ahead of Us, The Country
Behind addresses some of the moral dilemmas that humans face throughout their
lives. His first novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, narrates the trial of a
Japanese man accused of murdering a white man in the post World War II era.
Throughout his literary works, Guterson uses elements of nature: land, trees,
water and especially snow, as literal and metaphorical tools to develop and
resolve conflicts.
David Guterson uses the same aspects and characteristics of nature in
two different ways. First he describes in visual detail the literal or actual
effects that elements of nature have on the characters in the story. But more
importantly Guterson uses nature to convey substantial and symbolic meaning in
the lives of the characters in his stories.
One of the elements of nature that Guterson uses as a tool to develop
the conflicts in Snow Falling on Cedars are the strawberry fields on the island.
These fields represent an important source of income for the community.
Traditionally the Japanese laborers worked the fields and the white Americans
owned the fields. The question of the ownership of seven acres of strawberry
fields serves as the apparent motive for the murder of Carl Heine. To a local
Japanese fisherman, Kabuo (accused of murdering Carl Heine), the ownership of
this land promises a secure future and ultimately independence. '...she knew
that Kabuo wanted a strawberry field.. nothing more than that' (Snow Falling 89).
'His dream...was close to him now, his strawberry land, his happiness' (Snow
Falling 456). The strawberry fields connected Kabuo to his past and symbolized
a continuity of life. 'My father planted the fathers of these (strawberry)
plants' (Snow Falling 362).
Guterson also uses snow metaphorically to make the ownership of the
strawberry fields disappear and seem unimportant in life (Snow covering the
fields permitted the reader to veiw the ownership of the fields as a very
materialistic and selfish thing). After the snow has fallen it acts as a
purifier to all the wrong that has come of the fighting over the ownership of
the fields. 'Center Valley strawberry fields lay under nine inches of
powder...the snow fall obliterated the boarders (of the fields)... all human
claims to the landscape were... made null and void by the snow'(Snow Falling
320). The snow covered the fields; all of the fields seemed as one field. The
nine inches of snow caused a visual unity of the strawberry fields. '..the
world was one world'(Snow Falling 320).
The element of water is used as a paradox in Guterson's novel Snow
Falling on Cedars. Water is both the sustainer and taker of life. The damp and
misty climate on San Piedro Island is the reason why the community grows and
prosper off of the strawberry based economy. Without the water, and the wet and
nurturing environment it provided to the island there would be no foundation for
life. The ocean is also one of the key sources to the community. It provides
the community with a way to make a living.
Water, the source of life in Guterson's literary works, is also the end
of life. In several of his works water is portrayed as the place where life
ends. '...the wall of water rose up from behind...Carl Heine fell swift and
hard against the Susan Marie's port gunnel. His head craked open above the left
ear and then he slid heavily beneath the waves'(Snow Falling 458). The tidal
wave was the cause of Carl's death; the water, this element of nature was truely
responsible for the death of the fisherman. In that sense Gutersonn uses water
metaphorically to represent the circle of life; the source of life, the
maintenance of life, and the end of life.
Guterson uses trees as a metaphorical device to portray and predict
events in his literary works. He also uses them as literal tools to develop his
work, beautiful cedars and elms which ...

You are currently seeing 50% of this paper.

You're seeing 743 words of 1485.

Similar essays


Jade Peony - Wealth

When people talk about wealth they usually mean materialistic things such as money, however there is another type of 'wealth', emotional wealth. This is the wealth that people give to each other. Some examples can be spending time with people, lending a hand to someone you do not know, providing kindness, and being a friend to someone when no one e...

187 reviews
Download
Chaucer 2

The Effects of Geoffrey Chaucer's Education on the Canterbury Tales The Medieval period was one of transformation. The great religious pilgrimages that occurred effected the course of history. Social set-ups were believed to be ordained by God and were not to be changed (www.aol/barrons 1). Thus, Geoffrey Chaucer introduces each of the...

37 reviews
Download
Hamlet Enstragement In Hamlet

Hamlet - Enstragement In Hamlet Psychological Estrangement In Shakespeare's "Hamlet", the main character, Hamlet, is burdened with attaining revenge on his murdered father's behalf from the king of Denmark, King Claudius. In attempting to kill Claudius, Hamlet risks enduring estrangement occurring within himself at multiple psychological level...

129 reviews
Download
Fifth Business Character foils

Robertson Davies' novel, Fifth Business, revolves around guilt, competition, and two men who are foils of each other. Although Dunstan Ramsay and Percy Boyd Staunton are parallels to each other, they contrast in a great number of ways. Their awkward relationship plays a significant role in the number of elements which make Fifth Business such...

122 reviews
Download
The Hobbit

This is a story about a Hobbit whose name is Bilbo Baggins. One morning thirteen Dwarfs and Gandalf The Wandering Wizard appeared at Bilbo's door. The Dwarfs wanted Bilbo to help them conquer a dragon named Smaug, who had taken over their land. When Bilbo woke up the next morning, they started out on a journey towards Lonely Mountain. Then, a thun...

198 reviews
Download
Atsisiųsti šį darbą