Time Period in Snow Falling on Cedars and the Book Thief

Time Period in Snow Falling on Cedars and The Book Thief The word prejudice has been used too many times in the history of our country. Throughout wars, as well as immigrants entering the country, that word has been tossed around like it means nothing, but to those who have been persecuted against, it means a lot. The Japanese-Americans and the Jews both have had their fair share of persecution mostly leading back to the Second World War. In Snow Falling on Cedars and The Book Thief the war caused an economic downturn as well as an increased effect of prejudice on the relationships between characters. Aside from the hatred whites had against blacks in America the Japanese-Americans have had the worst history in our country. Many of them struggled to fit in as well find jobs for their families. However, upon entering the country they were not persecuted against but just treated like any new race that entered the United States, no one knew what their culture was like (Kitano 17). As soon as the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, people’s outlooks began to change in a negative way for the Japanese-Americans. They all had to watch their steps very carefully because, like Kabuo, even if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time they were usually charged with whatever had taken place (Guterson 1). Finding work was especially difficult for them after the bombing because people were afraid they were spies for the Japanese (Kitano 54). Those that were lucky worked on strawberry farms for very little pay and were treated like migrant workers (Kitano 103). The Jews in Europe had it even worse than the Japanese-Americans. Before the war most Jews ran all the German businesses as well as hospitals, banks, and other big parts of the society. That all changed once Hitler came into power. He sent all the Jews to ghettos where they lived in small apartments with other families, and all of their places they owned or worked at went out

Cited: Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1994. Johnson, Emma. Anne Frank. Austin, Tex.: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 2002. Kitano, Harry H. L. The Japanese Americans. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. Levy, Patricia. The Holocaust Causes. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 2001. Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.