Postcolonial Homelands

Today (9/30) in class we spoke about how Things Fall Apart, Potiki , and Sons for the Return Home are initial landmark books for postcolonial literature for their respective cultures. They are the first of many catalysts, in a sense, for newer authors and generations to think more introspectively about how they arrived at their current positions both culturally and personally. But, the first of any type of expression is often experimental and could lean more heavily on the audience than the author to discern and create an impactful meaning. In Sons , I feel that the sparseness of the dialogue and perhaps the reason for its, at times, unclear delivery is to convey some underlying discords and issues that Wendt was unsure how else to communicate. I would argue that a very traceable trend between the several protagonists we’ve encountered this year and the antagonists (whatever secular/non-secular individual/group they maybe) is the lack of effective, relatable communic...

The opening paragraph of this novel is engrossing, vague and makes me go, “what is going on here?” Characters are not described, time is not established and the description of the physical world is strange. This can all be attributed to the narrator’s tone of voice. To sum it up in one word, it is cold. Things happen, such as the boy being bored and leaving the lecture. Or the girl reaching out to touch the boy on his arm before he gives a passing glance and she pulls back. These actions of the characters occur intermixed with the descriptions of the physical world. Before she reaches out, the narrator describes rain sliding down a window as if they were, “peeling strips of skin (1).” This dark change of tone, given in such a dry tone, comes off as strange and uncomfortable. This tone of darkness continues on the next sentence, with the “dark treetops.” After this, he tells the girl that he wants to be along, in so many words, and she leaves. This is the tone much of the book has, ...

"Specifically, SPA-CIF-ICK-LY, like SP-EH-ghetti"  "Se-saa-sep..." I felt the weight of 25 sets of eyes on me. The undercurrent of snickering from the other 6th graders was all I could focus on. My throat dried and crackled as I continued to struggle with the "sp-eh" sound at the beginning of this seemingly simple word. I was burning in anguish the longer Ms. Long let me sit in this position of embarrassment.  "Alright-y, someone want to help her out?" Ms. Long sighed and pointed to an eager classmate to finish the paragraph. My face flushed and my heart sank to my knees. "Please never call on me to read  again." I thought to myself then, and still think to myself every time there is any out-loud reading being done in the classroom. This was the first time I vividly remember being called out for my speech difficulty. I know this is not the first time this happened to me, but this was the first time it hurt me. I believe lit...

Sons for the Return Home by Albert Wendt describes the Samoan experience in New Zealand. The narrative is told without giving the reader the names of its characters. It is told mostly from the perspective of a native Samoan boy whose parents brought him to New Zealand as a young boy. It gives the story of how he falls in love with a New Zealand girl and how he comes to embrace the country he grew up in, despite the fact that it has treated him and his family so horribly since their arrival.  A big reason why I believe Wendt chose not to name his characters is to drive home the point that this is not an isolated case for the life of a Samoan in New Zealand. It could be anyone, including the author himself. Wendt showcases the experience of a Samoan in New Zealand through his main character and select stories from his parents. The choice by Wendt to not explicitly name his main characters blurs the line of what is the story of the main character and his love story and what is fro...

A concrete definition of home, as we have come to realize from this class, may not exist. The understanding is much more conceptual and personal than physical and visible. “Home” is more of a phenomenon that occurs both naturally and/or through augmentation than a found “thing”.    It is not so much a homeland that Wendt is concerned with rather the concept of comfortability itself, an item we see the boy struggle with throughout Part One. As people of the sea, sea travel is not only an integral plotline, but also a way of life for these people. The concept of “home” for the Samoan is not a land they are looking for but one they have left and an identity they have taken with them. But like any memory or idea, it can fade. The boy even recalls very little of Samoa and to his girlfriend confides that he is not sure if he even wants to return home.             When trying to communicate the concept of a ...

In Albert Wendt’s  Sons for the Return Home,  the idea of home is often created by the interpersonal relationships each character has. Before jumping into the aspects of relationships in  Sons for the Return Home,  I will talk about how this has created homeland(s) for me.  One of my many homelands is Loyola University. Before physically coming to Loyola, all I knew was that I would be on a cross country team and I would be in the Honors Program learning about Political Science. This was what Loyola was to me before I met anyone or any created memories here. On the surface, my experience here at Loyola is very similar to what I just described. Yes, I am on the cross-country team; yes, I am still studying political science to some degree. However, beneath this surface-level analysis is a web of relationships that make this my home. I could do those surface-level things at 95% of the other colleges and universities in America, but what makes this place spec...

            Within the reading of  Sons for the Return Home  by Albert Wendt, readers can find a question of relationships and how they are in direction correlation to what is considered a home. Within the first few chapter, multiple interpersonal relationships either reveal themselves or are foreshadowed with initial interactions as context. I immediately noticed a relationship between family i.e. father, sons, mother; a relationship between what could turn out to be lovers; and a relationship between oneself. In our class discussions so far, we have geared our perceptions on the question of relationships and their connection to home towards family and intruders the most. For this particular novel, I want to propose the question of do intimate relationships with a lover help define both a home and oneself, and if so how does it define either of the two?              I chose ...