Snow Falling On Cedars

The first book I ever specifically read because it was banned was Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. In my senior year of high school, I read an article on the book being banned in high schools across the United States. The reason cited by the article was the usage of derogatory terms towards the Japanese people. I bought and read the book the following week.

This book is set in the atmosphere of World War II, on the Washington coast. The context of the era made the use of such language a necessity. The words were not placed for incitement, but rather the opposite. It shows the hardships of the Japanese people of this book. By their suffering, they are shown in a sympathetic light, as humans trying to live and work as Americans, which they believe themselves to be.

The purpose of banning this book is to renounce the use of derogatory terms towards the Japanese. Derogatory terms are used because people either fear or don't understand that which they abuse. Perhaps if more people read this book, that wouldn't be an issue.