Snow Falling on Cedars Chapter 24

Ishmael goes to visit his mother, making sure she is not freezing in her house. Ishmael remembers them once talking about God. Ishmael had said he was an agnostic, and his mother argued that everybody feels God in their lives. His mother asks about the murder trial. She says, "I have to think it's a travesty. That they arrested him because he's Japanese." Chapter 24, pg. 343 Ishmael says that the facts point to his guilt, but his mother argues that one needs more than facts to decide someone's guilt or innocence. His mother also tells him that in order to be happy, he needs to get married and have children. He tells her that is not the answer to his happiness. Ishmael remembers his father, how when he died a member of the Japanese-American Citizen's League had approached Ishmael. The man had said, " We know you will follow in your father's footsteps. We are certain you will honor his legacy." Chapter 24, pg. 352

Topic Tracking: Racism 7

He reads Hatsue's letter from when she was in the camp. In it, she states that she never loved him and that although she only wants the best for him, they must separate and no longer be part of each other's lives. He decides to write the article about the trial Hatsue asked him to write, in order to make her beholden to him.