The connection between the various interrelated themes of injustice, fairness, responsibility, and racism throughout Snow Falling on Cedars most often stems from the manner in which characters treat one another. More often than not, various individuals and groups of individuals are depersonalized — treated as less than human — because it's easier to hold on to hate if the hate isn't directed toward a specific person. This depersonalization leads to an effective loss of identity and provides a means for the racist to defer responsibility.
First and foremost, all Japanese people of San Piedro — whether they were citizens or not — were viewed as a group by Carl Heine, Jr., his mother, most islanders, and the United States government. Originally viewed as just berry farmer immigrants, these non-Caucasians were beginning to become problematic, especially during the war. At least, that is what most of the other islanders believed. Curiously, the claim that "we are at war with them" applied only to the inhabitants who looked different than the Caucasians. The most outspoken racist, Etta Heine, was German-born, but nobody cared about that, even though the United States was also at war with Germany. The non-Caucasians were neither people nor neighbors — they were Japs.
Yet, Caucasians weren't the only ones to view the Japanese this way. Neither of Hatsue's parents viewed Hatsue as a woman; instead they saw her as a Japanese woman who happened to be living in America. Just as many of the islanders didn't consider Japanese-Americans to be Americans, Hisao and Fujiko didn't consider themselves or their daughters Americans. The Imadas, although they recognized differences among the Japanese-Americans and the Caucasian Americans and felt superior to them, didn't discriminate. That is an essential difference, which must be noted. Potentially racist thoughts do not necessarily lead to racist actions. Guterson doesn't present all Americans as horrible and all Japanese as wonderful; he presents well-rounded characters who have strong points along with their shortcomings.
