An analysis of chapter 16 in "Snow Falling On Cedars" by David Guterson.
This chapter focuses mainly on Ishmael Chambers and his past and begins by talking about his expenences of the war The first
paragraph descnbes how Ishmael became ill dunng training as a manne rifleman When Guterson uses the phrase, "Other boys
came and went, but he stayed," this is symbolic of how he felt since he received Hatsue's letter in the previous chapter, it shows
how his life is on hold now, and he is watching others live their lives while he watches his pass him by.
"It was the kind of suffenng, after all, he'd yeamed for dunng the last five months, since receiving Hawse's letter It was an easy,
sleepy kind of languid fever, and so long as he did not try to move too much or exen himself unnecessanly he could live this way
indefinitely" This shows that he has felt broken since he read the letter He feels that, although he knew in his heart that Hatsue did
not love him, now she put it in such direct terms, that there is no hope for them now, and now he appreciates the opportunity to feel
nothing, to keep out the pain that has been eating at him ever since she sent the letter to him
The chapter then stops talking about Ishmael's feeling for a while, and concentrates on the war, and the effect of it on the people
involved When the chapter descnbes the actions of Pnvate Gerald Willis, when he had propped up a dead Japanese boy's penis
and thrown stones at it, and boasted after, Guterson is trying to show the extent that the war had corrupted these people and caused
them to become almost animal-like Guterson repeatedly refers to the people as "boys," emphasising the fact that they are all young,
barely more than children
Ishmael is said to be "numb to it all, uninterested in dnnking and pool and other people, and the more drunk he got the more lucid
his mind was and the colder he felt toward everyone" This shows the extent to which his depression has progressed, he cannot see
the point of anything anymore, he does not feel anything for anyone, and furthermore, does not feel anything for himself "He did not
understand the laughter of his companions or their ease or anything else about them " This shows how detached he is from the rest of
the world and his peers. It shows how he is trapped in his own head, and is unable to understand anything about anyone else
The chapter goes on to tell us how Ishmael attempted to w•fite Hatsue a letter, then npped it up, along With the one he wrote to his
parents This is another example of how detached he is to everyone else, he has no idea what to say in his letters and therefore
decides not to bother With them, despite how much his parents would appreciate it, it is Hatsue that he would like to wnte to, because
he is angry at her, and because of this pent up anger he feels, he cannot wnte to his parents either
The chapter then talks about what is going on With the war It says how one of Ishmael's peers was wnbng a letter home and he
then tells Ishmael that he "better write one" himself, because it Will be his last chance Ishmael replies that there is no one that he
would like to wnte to This shows that Ishmael feels totally alone, disonentate[l However, the other man convinces him to wnte one so
he goes to get his pad of paper and "composed a letter to Hatsue" It tells us that Ishmael was watching the other men wnting intently,
so perhaps only not to stand out, he wntes to Hatsue He tells her that he has to been sent to "kill people that looked like her" and
that he "hates" her He said that he hates Hatsue "with everything in his heat and "it felt good to wnte in just that way" This is a kind
of release for Ishmael, this is the only way he can vent out the anger he feels inside He wrote "l hate you, Hatsue, I hate you
always " However, the fact that he cannot send it and throws it into the sea, shows that he does not hate her, he just feels incredibly
angry and betrayed
Ishmael asks Emest Testaverde if he would like a drink "before we die." He says this in a light-headed manner, almost
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