A Comparative Study : Spies and Snow Falling on Cedars - Coursework Example

? A comparative study of an aspect of “Spies” by Michael Frayn and “Snow falling on Cedars” by David Guterson of Submission A comparative study: “Spies” and “Snow Falling on cedars” Some novels have a particular aspect of study for which they are considered praise-worthy. Others are often holistic image of close to perfection themes, structure, plot, style and language. They combine all the skills to captivate the readers to explore the novel till the end without exhaustion for as many times as they crave for. Two such novels written by Michael Frayn and David Guterson, respectively titled “Spies” and “Snow Falling on Cedars”, come under this description. They are often read under different genres such as historical or criminal or even detective novels. The reason is obvious for those who have read both of them inside out. These novels are considered to be detective novels to a certain extent and this can only be revealed through a deconstruction and analysis of the texts by putting them side by side. Starting with “Spies” written by Michael Frayn, one can see from the opening of the novel how the characters are inquisitive about the German spies who roam the streets of London during World War II. The story is unfolded as a recollection of an old man in the present, of his boyhood during the wartimes. He recalls how his friend once told him that “My mother is a German spy”, a piece of information to which both become receptive and connect it with the war situation, planning to spy on her in earnest. Both the boys continue to find astonishing clues about her such as marking her diary with a cross “X” after 28 days or so, which leads them to terrifying discoveries of odd things and speculations, for instance, her meeting with a German agent on this day, building up the tension to manifolds. Both the boys take the role of detectives searching clues for apparently no reason (Frayn 2002). The novel remains suspenseful and poignant with these events taking place. One such instance is embodied in a passage when the old man resonate his past to put things together while staring at a geraniums’ pot which is placed where he once used to play with his friend. “What do I understand? Now? About anything? Even the simplest things in front of my eyes? What do I understand about the geraniums in that tub? Only that they’re geraniums in a tub. About the biological, chemical, and molecular processes that lie behind that flaunting scarlet, or even the commercial and economic arrangements that create the market in bedding plants, or the sociological psychological, and aesthetic explanations for the planting out of geraniums in general and these geraniums in particular, I understand more or less nothing. I don’t need to. I simply glance in that direction and at once I’ve got the general story: geraniums in a tub.” (Frayn 2002) Frayn reflects on the notion of understanding in an utmost philosophical manner which convinces the readers that there is more to the idea of being inquisitive. It has no age limit. There are some people who might just accept the reality as it is such as “geraniums in a tub” but sometimes people seek to reach the roots of the matter and ponder over its dissection of origin. The boys wanted to do just that. Taking the role of the detective, they plan to reach the root of the matter even though they were not aware of its consequences. Frayn picks on a single detail to elaborate several aspects of the society such as class, attitudes of people, aesthetics and the place where it all takes place. Stephen in his 70s is in search for the remembrances of the time spend with his friend Keith. Both used to live in a suburb of London where privet hedges were considered a perfect hiding place. Both have a contrasting background, Stephen being a poor student and insecure, Keith being neat and adventurous plans all the spying activities. What brings them together is Stephen’s family’s lack of attention for him and Keith being caned by his father constantly. Pausing here to look into the other novel “Snow Falling on Cedars” by David Guterson will enable the readers to differentiate and draw similarities across the texts. “Snow Falling on Cedars” is a story about a place which is very significant to the plot. It is called San Piedro, a small island in the Pacific Northwest where Japanese Americans reside along with salmon fishermen and strawberry farmers. The story opens in a trial room of Judge Lew Fielding to witness the trial of Kabuo Miyamoto, American fisherman of Japanese descent, accused of killing his fellow fisherman Carl Heine, an American with German descent. In the long and elaborate three day trial, the readers are exposed to the history and the stories of the possible witnesses which had landed Kabuo to the courtroom. The plot unfolds two stories which merge together in the trial room and leave one person to decide to reveal the truth. A parallel story about a love affair is narrated by the author to create suspense and curiosity among the readers. Kabuo’s wife Hatsue was in love with an interracial reporter of the island Ishmael Chambers. They became involved in each other’s life gradually but in their senior years they had to part with each other because of Hatsue’s migration to a Japanese internment camp during World War II and her mother’s discovery of this love affair who wanted it to be put to immediate end. Ishmael becomes very bitter out of hatred and promises to get back at Hatsue for doing this to him. He loses his arm during the war which makes him even more upset and hateful towards her. He finds her on the island after the war with her children. The sudden trial of her husband gives him a chance to regain his lost love. The story develops articulately as the author reveals how Kabuo’s trial took place. Carl Junior was the man from whom Kabuo wanted to buy a land at any cost because he had arrived late at a sale of seven acres of land. Carl had told him that he would think about this offer. The story of the illegal land deal made by Carl Heine Senior is never completed. Ishmael has a very strong role to play once both the stories have been placed in front of the readers. While heading for a weather report to the lighthouse he discovers that Kabuo can be cleared, through the notes from the night watchman. What makes the novel appear like a slight detective novel is Ishmael’s role in it. He has to decide whether to leak the news or hide it to get back to Hatsue. His decision making is the most crucial and poignant part of the novel which later ends in justice as he decides to reveal the truth and also make peace with Hatsue to move on in his life. This elevates the character of Ishmael in the novel which is about crime and hatred amidst the wartimes. The narrative technique employed my Guterson is masterful which provides a proper framework of the structure of the plot along with the technique of flashback to narrate the story. At one instance when Kabuo is in his prison cell, it dawns upon him how guilty he feels for his acts believing that this would be the only way to feel free again. The author describes it in following words: “Everything was conjoined by mystery and fate, and in his darkened cell he meditated on this. . . . He would have to . . . accept that the mountain of his violent sins was too large to climb in this lifetime.” (Guterson 1995) He regrets killing so many Germans in World War II which no white veteran at least regrets. He is the only one who admits that it is “mystery and fate” which reveal the outcome of anyone’s life. He starts to believe that this trial for murder which he did not commit is a punishment for the past sins he had committed as a soldier. Surprisingly, there is a common element of World War II in both these novels discussed above. If compared, they can be placed opposite each other with reference to the seriousness of the plot. While Frayn is more humorous and light hearted in his narration of the old man’s recollection of his childhood with his friend, spying a woman for being a German spy, Guterson is more intense in highlighting the actual image and grotesqueness of the warfare. In “Snow Falling on Cedars” Guterson uses the conventions of the classical detective plot, observing the way the situation is developed, how the group of characters are interlinked and the appropriateness of the character’s role according to the setting in the novel. “The narrative dynamic of Snow Falling on Cedars is thus paradoxical: it is what Roland Barthes would term “a static dynamics”” (Williams 2000). “Spies”, on the other hand, is more of a retrospective novel, which involves a detective plot as a recollection from the past. Since Stephen and Keith are in an age of discovering themselves during wartimes, this is what they are likely to yield from their surrounding; a game of spying. There is a generation gap between the two novels. They readers in “Spies” are not exposed to the battle field or the aftermath of war but they are definitely exposed to the reality of the times and the War’s impact of the children. In Michael Frayn’s own words, children “modify what they see to fit their ideas, rather than do the rational thing, which is to modify their ideas to fit what they see…it happens to all of us” (Moseley 2006). This is exactly what happened to Ishmael Chambers when he had to decide whether to reveal the truth of Kabuo or satisfy his years-long hunger to get back at Hatsue. The novels “Spies” and “Snow Falling on Cedars” are both comparable with regard to the times they both reflect. The impact of World War and the realization of the people who took part in it lie at the heart of these plots. The readers enjoy making connections with the clues the authors provide in the stories and this is what makes the novels more intense and mysterious. In both the cases, the plot opens with the present and unfolds the story as the authors take the readers back in time to reflect upon the past without being critical of the situation. The “Snow Falling on Cedars” imitates a mature version of the purpose of life through a single act towards the end of the plot which requires the guts to do the right thing at a crucial moment. “Spies” is about the struggle of the adolescents to escape the confusion of the power of war that has impacted many innocent lives, and this is revealed through the mastery of the playwright who made it seem dramatically intense for the readers. Bibliography Frayn, M. (2002). Spies. London, Faber. Guterson, D. (1995). Snow falling on cedars. New York, Vintage Books. Moseley, M. (2006). Understanding Michael Frayn. Columbia, University of South Carolina Press. Williams, P. (2000). It's the body that matters: reticence and desire in Snow Falling on Cedars. Sydney Studies in English. 26, 115-128. Read More