Bussey holds a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies and a bachelor's degree in English literature. She is an independent writer specializ- ing in literature. In the following essay, she demonstrates how Ishmael Chambers would have experienced a different fate had he been more like Moby Dick's narrator, Ishmael.

In many ways, Ishmael Chambers, the World War II veteran and small-town reporter in David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars is similar to his literary namesake in Herman Melville's classic Moby Dick. In fact, the two characters have enough in common to warrant a comparison in an effort to understand Ishmael Chambers better. Fundamentally, however, there are significant differences in the two characters' ways of understanding the world. If Ishmael Chambers had been more like Ishmael at this deeper level, he could have saved himself years of anger, resentment, and cynicism. It is likely that he would have...