Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The New Generation of Hawaiians?

    The Descendants offered me quite a different view of Hawaii than all of the other books we have read in class. The common theme of self-realization kept itself alive throughout the novel, however it was a different source of realization than the rest of the "Hawaiian Literature" we have read so far. Comparing it to Well Then There Now, it becomes easier to grasp the difference between the two types of realization that present themselves to us. While Well Then There Now faces the issues of the Continents influences, and the new world that Western Civilizations have brought upon the Hawaiian culture. The Descendants, however, seemed to focus more on influences in general, and not focusing on the Western Civilization's influence, but rather the materialistic influence of the world. It is easy enough to connect materialistic influences with that of the Western Civilization, however, one cannot easily say that it is the Western Civilization that is responsible for such influences. The idea of Hawaii as an innocent land, unaware of materialistic possession, is an ignorant thought. Like all other culture's, Hawaii has been created through a mixing of cultures, and it is through that mixing of cultures, which are different than ours, that we perceive the notion of Hawaii as innocent, because they did not base their culture on success and power of money and possessions. They based it on the land.
    The land has lost almost all value in the novel. It has been represented as a dull, dry, and an aesthetically appalling landscare. The speaker Matt, who is supposed a descendant of Hawaii, tells us what he sees and it is from a very disconnected point of view. It is as though there is no love for his land, he doesn't even seem to feel bad about the condition of the island; an opposite concern of ancient Hawaiians As Matt points out all of the old family houses and farms, he mentions that they drive by like many times before, and they are now museums and landmarks. I found it very interested that he didn't take his family into these places, or stop at them more often. Neither did he tell the entire history of the places, and most importantly, they were maintained only as tourist attractions. I thought that, had Matt been a true Hawaiian, he would have still been utilizing those pieces of land for his family, rather than them being made into revenue sources. Not only that, but I thought that he would have at least had more of a story or connection to let the reader know about these places. Not too much longer into the story, Matt tell's about graffiti on the rocks telling people to go home. Another great example of how the respect for the land has faded in the new generation of Hawaiian's.  Something else I connected to the changing generation was how some people were changing their names to simple Americanized names rather than their birth-given Hawaiian names, which would be difficult to pronounce and spell, making them stand-out.
     All of this was making me wonder, is the Hawaiian culture changing? Or are other culture's snuffing out, diminishing and taking over, the Hawaiian culture  Culture's change, they do not stay the same forever. This is how culture's are made, by a hybridity of people's beliefs, logic, and way of living.
Take Joannie for example. She is still loyal to the Hawaiian people, yet she has been a victim of materialism, and has fallen to the new generation of Hawaiian culture. It is becoming difficult to distinguish between those that have been influenced and affected by both cultures, and those who have assumed the "new generation culture", or if there is even a new generation culture?!
-Kaeliann Hulett

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