Blood Quantum 2 - Seminar Post

Blood Quantum 2 Critical Response

What issue/theme is being addressed?

Issue of loss of culture is one of the main themes being addressed in the story. In the text we can see that Hawaiian culture is being lost. The voice of the poem is firstly judging someone for being one sixteenth Hawaiian feeling superior in the fact that he/she is a third and therefore more Hawaiian. However, as the poem continues it becomes apparent that although being third Hawaiian the speaker is lacking in knowledge of the culture being unable to speak the language and not being able to understand about heritage of genealogy. The speaker goes on to explain why he is unable to speak Hawaiian claiming that the older generations of her family were looked down upon for speaking Hawaiian. The speaker ends with “no one can tell who is Hawaiian now days, yeah”. This feels like it may relate to the Hawaiian culture being lost with people unable to distinguish between who is Hawaiian and who is not.

What is the overall emotion/tone of the poem?

The overall tone and emotion in the poem is generally a negative one. It is set out as if it is a conversation between two speakers. The speaker seems to go through the five stages of loss and grief (Ross, 1969).

Stage One and Two Denial and Anger

The speaker whose voice is the only one heard throughout the poem seems to be very hostile towards the beginning  who he is talking to and it sounds like he is judging who he is talking to.

“Wat? You Hawaiian, you no look like?

One sixteent… In yaw small toe?”

He seems aggressive towards who is speaking to cover up the fact that he himself has lost his Hawaiian culture

Stage three – Bargaining

He seems to change a little when he learns that the other speaker is able to speak Hawaiian and is knowledgeable in the culture the tone changes. The speaker becomes more defensive trying to defend why he is unable to speak Hawaiian referring to his family’s mistreatment

“dey wen use Hawaiian when dey like talk stink about my mudda dem”

Stage four depression

After this he exclaims

“Wow, you can talk stink about us too now”

He seems to have lost all his aggression and now seems to think of himself somewhat lower than who is talking to.

Stage five – Acceptance

From here he seems to reach a resolution that being Hawaiian may not be based solely on what you know or how you look like but rather what you consider yourself.

Language of the text

The language of the text seems to be Hawaiian pidgin English a common form of English which is commonly spoken in Hawaii (Stewart, 2001). This is effective in the poem as it relates closely to modern day Hawaii and the themes of the poem. The speaker seems to be a representation of Hawaiian people and their feelings. The two people in the conversation are both part Hawaiian so it seems fitting that the language used in the poem is in neither Hawaiian nor English but rather a combination of both.

    

Sons for the Return Home

 Sons for the return home

The boy experiences two cultures and two lifestyles. He both suffers and survives the misunderstandings and discriminations which recur between white and brown, among Maoris and Samoans and other Islanders. He is neither assimilated nor integrated into NZ society. Nor is he content in the reality of Samoa. He is a man forever divided.”

Do you agree with this critic? What do you think is the best hope for a Pacific person in NZ society today?

\I believe that this critic is indeed correct. Throughout the story we see that he is stuck between the NZ (Palangi) way of life and the New Zealand way of life. Although he is in New Zealand he is forced by his mother to adhere to the Samoan way of life. Her attempts to keep her cultures values of faith and family alive in her son stop him from being able to integrate into New Zealand society. When he finally does return to Samoa he finds he is unable to accept the Samoan way of life anymore and craves New Zealand society. However, I do believe that he may be able to find peace in himself. During the end of the story when he is dealing with the loss of his unborn son and grandfather he does acknowledge a feeling of freedom. This suggests that he may be able to move on from this and find himself once and for all.

I believe the best hope for a pacific person living in NZ society today is for them to firstly accept that they can be a Polynesian and a New Zealander rather than it being one or the other. I think the major problem many Polynesian people have when living in New Zealand is that they believe if they do not keep a firm hold on their Polynesian way of life they will no longer be Polynesian. This is commonly seen in Polynesian parents and grandparents who attempt to shelter their kids from the outside world and try to force them to grow up and behave just like they would in their respective islands. This however usually causes their children to grow resentful over their Polynesian background and eventually act out against it. I think the best choice is for Polynesian people to know their traditional values and try to incorporate it into their lives in New Zealand.  

Do you think the issues involved in the novel – migration to NZ, culture clash, the dilemma of growing up Samoan in NZ – are relevant today?

I do believe that the issues involved in the Novel are indeed relevant today. Being half Samoan I have been able to witness first hand different clashes in culture. My mother being Samoan married a Palangi man. While their marriage is a relatively happy one sometimes their cultures would clash on numerous issues.

Fa’alavelave

This is the main cause of my parent’s debates. A Fa’alavelave is the giving of money for a funeral in a family. Since Islander families tend to be very large in size and Fa’alavelaves include extended family the giving of Fa’alavelaves can be quite frequent. My dad finds this to be quite annoying as some of the family members neither he nor mum has even met before.

The dilemma of growing up Samoan in New Zealand is still very much relevant today. Samoans have a high illiteracy rate and still often looked down upon. When attending a school with a relatively small number of islanders they were often made fun of for not being “smart” and for “only being good at sports”. I also found that when my Samoan heritage was found out people started to tease me when I would not do so well in class.

In conclusion I believe that the issues raised in sons for the return home are still relevant today and although things may have improved over time I still think they will always remain an issue to some extent.

My Unfinished Fence - Creative Response to Vilsoni Hereniko's The Unfinished Fence

My Unfinished Fence - Creative Response to Vilsoni Hereniko's The Unfinished Fence

I wrote this in response to the unfinished fence. The story follows Mrs Anderson and her search for Jimi. I wanted the story to further her understanding of Jimi and what he was going through and change how she felt towards him and his culture.

“I wonder what ever happened to Jimi?”

Mrs Anderson wondered to herself while looking over her fence. He had always been such a kind person she was finding it difficult to understand why he had not returned to his job.

“Had I been too hard on him?”

She felt a wave of guilt suddenly fall over her. She knew she was underpaying him and had always taken advantage of the fact that he may be an over stayer. Why am I feeling this way?  She asked herself. He had no right to be working in the first place or even be in the country for that matter. He had always been so kind to her though.

“Knock knock knock”

The knock at the door startled her

“Maybe that’s him” she thought to herself half hoping and half wishing 

It was the mailman she had asked him to keep an eye out for him after his disappearance.

“Anyword of Jimi?” she asked him
“Sorry maam nothing at all. He hasn’t been around at all not even to pick up his mail. Give them to him if you see him around will ya”

She sat down at a lost for what to do. She looked at the unopened letters in her hand. Something must have happened she thought to herself. Jimi loved his letters she would often watch him as he would read his letters when taking a break from his work. She looked closely at the letter.

Maybe there’s a clue to where he’s gone in here? She thought to herself

She knew it was wrong to do but she couldn’t help herself she ripped open the letter. She knew it would be in English as he was trying to improve his English through his letters.

Dear Jimi

We miss you. Things are not the same around here without you. Kids miss their father very much and ask where you are every day. I tell them you have gone to land of the white cloud to make a better future for us all. Be careful not to get hurt and come back to us soon.

We all love you.

She wiped away the tears from her eyes. She had no idea what Jimi was going through. He was always so kind and listened to her go on and on about her life. He had always looked so lonely and she thought they could understand each other.

“I could never imagine what it must have been like for him” she told herself

He was going through a struggle far greater than her own and never had he complained not even once. She thought about her time with Jimi how he was always smiling and looked so happy. They would often sit around and talk for hours while she watched him work. She had been living by herself for so long and it was nice to have someone around. It must have been hard for him being away from his family for so long. Sending over what little money he made from working on her house. She then felt something that surprised her. She felt envy for Jimi. Even though he was here on his own he still had a family back home who loved and missed him very much. She thought about her own family who would ring her on special occasions. Even though they sent her money so she could live comfortably she still felt very much cut off from them. Jimi had told her that in the islands grandparents, parents and children when often live in the same home. That they all stayed close and helped each other. Although she would never admit it she often felt that she was superior to Jimi. He was reliant on her for payment and without her support he would be forced to work some factory job to get by. Now she felt differently.

“Who I am to judge another?” She asked herself

Just because their way of life is different doesn’t give her any right to judge.

“knock knock knock”

Another knock at the door it was firmer this time. She raced to the door hoping to find her friend while promising herself to treat him far better than before. She was shocked to find two policeman standing at her door.

“Oh officers is something the matter?” she cried out her voice higher than intended.
“We would like to talk about your gardener. Jimi I believe you call him” the officer replied in a stern voice.
“Of course please come in”

They made their way in and sat at her table.

“What is this about is Jimmy okay?” she asked fearing the worse
“Jimmy is facing deportation he is suspected of illegally working while on a holiday visa”
“We have reason to believe that he has been working here for you”

She was trapped. If she admitted that he was working for her he would be deported for sure.

“No, im sorry I believe you are mistaken Jimi and I are only friends there is no working relationship at all”

Their expression on the polices faces turned cold

“You know providing false information to the police is a crime miss” The policeman stated
“One that can get you in a lot of trouble”
“I um” she stuttered

What could she do? She asked herself. She couldn’t afford to get in trouble. He had broken the law she wasn’t doing anything wrong by lying.

“Im sorry officer ive come to my senses. Yes he was working for me he was painting my fence for me” she confessed.

A cold smile spread across both the policeman faces

“Thank you maam that will be all”.

They made their way out the door. She felt sick with guilt after what she had done. He was only trying to do what was best for his family.

She sat down in her chair and looked out at the unfinished fence. Nothing had changed she was still the same person.

“Im sorry Jimi”

And with that she wept.      

Quantum Blood 2 – Creative Response to Naomi Losch Blood Quantum 2

Quantum Blood 2 – Creative Response to Naomi Losch Blood Quantum 2

I wrote this with the idea of Identity in mind. In the original poem the character is talking to some unknown speaker. I decided to add in this unknown speaker to complete the conversation as a story.


Why hello it’s nice to meet you. Your Hawaiian? What a coincidence I am Hawaiian as well.

Wat? You Hawaiian, you no look like! How much Hawaiian you?

Im one sixteenth Hawaiian on my mother’s side. I’ve been told I don’t look very Hawaiin but I am proud of my heritage.

One sixteet’?! Ho bra, so little bit, whea stay? In yaw small toe?

I suppose it’s not that much. I don’t think that should matter though should it?. How about you, how much Hawaiian are you?

I tree quata, yeah, and we live homestead, too.

Oh how lucky you are. I would have loved to stay in a homestead but unfortunately I can’t.

You no can, heh? You no mo’nuff blood.

Yes even though my mo`oku`auhau is of the Ayua family I am unable to do so. It is however humbling to be part of such a long proud line of Hawaiians.

Wat? Mo’oku...wat? What is dat? Genealogy?

Yes mo`oku`auhau, you know your family’s heritage? Your bloodline? You don’t know of such things?

Oh, I dunno dat kine stuff, my mudda she know.

Oh that’s very unfortunate. Im sorry.

How you know dat kine stuff? Yaw mudda teach you?

Yes my mother taught me all about my mo`oku`auhau when teaching me the Hawaiian language.

You can talk Hawaiian? Wow, I no can, but I get the blood

Yes you do. Im surprised didn’t your mother teach you these things?.

My mudda no can talk Hawaiian. I tink her grandmudda could.

That’s a shame. It’s a very beautiful language.

Dey wen use Hawaiian when dey like talk stink about my mudda dem.

Im very sorry that must have been difficult for you both

Wow, you can talk stink about us too now.

I assure you I have no intention of doing such a thing.

Ho, even if you get little but Hawaiian blood, jes’ like you mo’ Hawaiian.

I have done no such thing. Its you who have acted like your more Hawaiian. Why would you think I have done so?

Cause you know Hawaiian kine stuff and can talk Hawaiian.

That doesn’t mean I think I know more Hawaiian does it?

You sound jes’ like my gradfadda but you no look like.

Does appearance matter that much when deciding who is Hawaiian and who isn’t?

No can tell who is Hawaiian now days, yeah?

Yeah, I think your right no one can tell anymore. If only people would accept that…