Black Rainbow
By Albert Wendt
Novelist and Poet Albert
Wendt
·
Author of five novels concerning Samoan culture
·
Pacific Rim and English literary scholar in New Zealand
·
His Master's thesis was about the Mau, Sāmoa's independence
movement during the early 1900s colonialism[1]
Hone
Papita Raukura "Ralph" Hotere
·
August 11, 1931 – February 24, 2013
·
New Zealand artist of Maori descent (Polynesian)
·
Most Famous Works are “Black Paintings”- politically active art
utilizing black on black materials: lead, charcoal, and sea wood
Discussion Questions
1.
In
Chapter 1 “On Maungakiekie”, the interviewer tests the protagonist’s cultural
history and understanding of the Ralph Hotere’s political lithograph “Black
Rainbow”. Interviewer: “You play rugby? Where you’re from?” Narrator responds,
“Used to. But our community banned it…Caused to too much violence among
supporters” Interviewer: “Yeah? What kind of violence?” Narrator: “A few people
were killed with stones and sticks?” [4]
Considering Hotere’s “Black Rainbow” is about
Samoans reacting to the controversial rugby tour of New Zealand by apartheid
era South Africa in 1985 and it invokes historical awareness of French nuclear
testing in the Pacific, how does the narrator’s cultural amnesia about his own
country’s art play into the belief that historical knowledge shapes our
identity? Does his lack of cultural context make him more vulnerable to the
Tribunal, who has a monopoly on memory, or more secure?
2.
In
Chapter 2 “Cocaine”, the narrator recognizes his absolute power over the lives
of other’ non-Chosen people. “I was scared of the power the Tribunal had
bestowed upon me […] I denied the power”. The hotel manger responses, “It’s the
wish of our Illustrious President and our all-seeing Tribunal that our Free
Citizens, who’ve earned the Freedom of our State, be treated well. And obeyed
utterly”[5]
What does the definition of free and
freedom mean in this context? Is the right to do whatever you please over
others truly freedom outside this book’s context?
3.
Throughout
the text, Nurse Honey and Big Nurse extract truth from the protagonist. The housekeeper
in the safe house tells him of her autobiographical truth. [6]
In spite of the females using sex to obtain information, both seek truth. What
do these women’s roles as truth seekers or truth givers mean in the context of
story telling, literature, and actively pursuing truth?
4.
In Commitment
to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education, the role of Jesuit educators and
students is defined. “Their mission tirelessly to seek the truth and to form
each student into a whole person of solidarity who will take responsibility for
the real world” (35-36). Similarly, Tribunal selects the protagonist for
tirelessly seeking the truth. “TRIBUNAL IS YOUR FAMILY. YOUR SEARCH IS FOR THE
TRUTH OF THE TRIBUNAL. THE TRUE CITIZEN NEVER GIVES UP”[7].
How does the Jesuit University’s mission
to educate and seek truth differ from the Tribunal’s mission to form the
protagonist into a person who takes responsibility of Tribunal’s real world?
5.
Does
the travel format and quest of this postmodernist, post-colonial novel
interwoven with literary and film references have more to do with
de-colonization of English Literary Canon or more of a mocking of people’s
general notions of a travel novel? Because generally history is considered
truth not fiction, does the format question the credibility of history?
6.
Mau was official
name associated with the movement for Samoan independence from colonial rule
during the early 1900s. In Samoan, Mau means 'opinion,' 'unwavering,'
'to be decided,' or 'testimony' denoting 'firm strength'[8]. How is definition applied
to the final chapter that tells the reader, “to improvise whatever other
endings/ beginnings they prefer”[9] Is meaning of Mau make this book postmodernism or does
it give the reader the agency to seek the truth by selecting which history to
believe? Do modern historians, journalists, and educators do justice or
disservice to their students by presenting what they believe is truth?
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