Think/Write Questions

Think/Write Directions

1. Identify a way in which the values of Pacific Islanders conflict with Western values.  Do you think this difference could explain some of the issues facing Pacific islanders today?

2. What stereotypes against Pacific Islanders or Westerners (i.e. haole, palagi, pakeha) do you think are most prevalent today?  How do you think these stereotypes could be overcome?  

3. What do you think is most important in defining one’s identity?  Is it ancestry, place, or experiences?

4. Do you think one’s cultural identity is easier to define when contrasted with another?

5. For those who are doing Service Learning. Why did you choose SL?  What do you hope to learn from this experience?

6. Regarding "Tales of the Tikongs," what is true in this comical depiction of a fictional place?

7. What do you think Epeli Hau'ofa was trying to achieve in writing "Tales of the Tikongs"?

8. What is the role of the church in "Tales of the Tikongs"?

9. Do the stories convey a particular message about development?

10. What is history and how is it, or should it be, transmitted?

11. If you could invite only one native author to a conference to discuss islander identity and how it should be represented to the rest of the world, which of the following authors would you choose to invite: Epeli Hau'ofa, Vilsoni Hereniko, or Patricia Grace? Why?

12. After reading Francis Hezel's "A Teacher's Tale," what insights have you gained about cultural assumptions and how an outsider can become an insider?

13. For those who participated in the loko i'a (fishpond) service project on Saturday (9/12). Mai maka'u i ka hana; maka'u i ka moloa. (Don't be afraid of work; be afraid of being lazy.) Ma ka hana ka ‘ike. (In working one learns.) How did your work at Waikalua Loko help you understand either or both of these 'olelo no'eau (wise saying)?

14. For those who are doing Service Learning. Describe your duties and responsibilities at your SL site. What new information are you learning and/or skills are you acquiring from this SL experience?

15. Do you think classifying Pacific islanders into cultural categories (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia) adds to or detracts from our understanding of them? From the perspective of islanders, do you think the effect of this classification is more positive or negative?

16. How does the "First Contact" video challenge or reinforce common stereotypes?

17. Considering that the Pacific navigators and European discoverers were voyaging into the same unknown waters at different periods in history, which do you admire the most? Why?

18. Why do you think Captain Cook is considered a hero to the Western world? Do you think he was a hero? Explain your answer.











19. How representative is Hiram Nihoa of the cultural conflict that was occurring in Hawaii during his lifetime?

20. For those who participated in the Kaniakapupu service project on Sunday (10/4). What did you learn about the site, the volunteers who maintain it, or Hawaiian history by helping at Kamehameha III's summer palace in Nu'uanu?

21. For those who participated in the lo'i kalo (taro patch) service project at Ulupo Heiau (10/10). How did your taro patch experience complement what you're learning in this class? Did you learn any lessons that go beyond the study of history or literature (i.e. work, community, the learning process)?

22. What is added by having both Hiram Nihoa and Saul Bristol as narrators? What would be lost if the Saul Bristol section were omitted?

23. After reading LivesDeath.pdf, which do you think was more important in causing the depopulation more frequently found in Polynesia than Melanesia, the islanders' welcoming nature or their location in the Pacific? Are there any other important factors that might have made depopulation less severe in Melanesia than in Polynesia?

24. Considering either a specific trade (e. g. sandalwood) or a specific place where trade occurred (e. g. Hawaii), do you think there was exploitation of one side over the other or was the interaction mutually beneficial?

25. What insights about Christianity in the Pacific islands are provided from reading Tales of the Tikongs and/or Ka'a'awa?

26. For those who participated in the Kualoa Ranch service project on Saturday (10/17). How did our shared service experience in Ka'a'awa Valley help you better understand the novel, Hawaiian history, and/or yourself?

27. For those who are doing Service Learning. Share specific SL experiences that stand out in your mind.  Why do you think they made such an impression on you?

28. How has All I Asking for Is My Body helped you to see at least one of our course themes (i.e. identity, assimilation/alienation, culture conflict, colonialism/post-colonialism, storytelling, importance of place) in a new way?

29. What, for you, is the most important conflict in this book (i.e. cultural, generational, economic, social, class, ethnic)? How is this conflict revealed? Is it resolved in any way?

30. How well does Kiyo resolve the conflicts in his life? Does he achieve "freedom"?

31. What is the role of sporting events such as boxing? Why do the young men want to participate? Why does the plantation encourage this?

32. Write a conversation between two people that brings out the conflict of values in All I Asking for Is My Body. Feel free to use Pidgin if you like in whatever way seems appropriate.

33. Why do you think Christianity became so firmly imbedded in the various Pacific islands?

34. To answer this question you need to read two articles: WestwardVoyage.pdf and HawnMissn.pdf. After reading Ta'unga and Kauwealoha's accounts of their missionary experiences, do you think their Christian perspectives are similar to the perspectives of other foreign missionaries, or do they offer a unique islander perspective?

35. The military victories of Pomare II, Kamehameha I, and Taufa'ahau allowed them to unify their kingdoms. What were some of the benefits of unification? Did the ends jusfify the means?

36. Campbell said: “The history of the partition of the Pacific islands does not fit very well the idea of predatory European imperialist nations grasping for every speck of available land.” Do you agree with his assessment?

37. Were Gordon’s “Native” policies in Fiji better in the long run than those enacted in other British colonies or Hawaii?

38 . For those who are doing Service Learning. How has this SL experience impacted you as a person and as a student of Pacific Islands history and literature?