Voices from Kalaupapa
Davenport uses the foundational background of Kalaupapa to draw us a picture of social context and how it relates to the life of her...
The Dark Underbelly of Plantation Literature
The life of a plantation worker in Hawaiʻi was the life of a slave. Sugar plantations thrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Before...
Power Diminishes Choice
During plantation times, the luna was the highest ranking position for a non-haole person, a position held with great honor and...
Pidgin and Humor: Shark Dialogues vs. Reality
It is difficult to properly imitate a dialect on paper – to do so requires a lot of research and a fierceness to remain true to its...
The Power of the ʻĀina: Chants of the Land
In her text “Within the Circle of the Sea” Katherine Luomala explores the connection between Polynesian chants and the origins of myths...
Nature as a Unifying Thread in Kiana Davenport's Shark Dialogues
Kiana Davenport’s Shark Dialogues begins with an introduction to a Hawaiian Kahuna, Pono, and her four granddaughters, “hybrids of the...
Nā Kaona o Ke Aloha o Ka Haku: The Hidden Meanings of The Queen's Prayer
The illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom was one of the most monumental events in Hawaiian history. Our kingdom was illegally...
The Real Plantation Life
Plantation life as described in the book All I Asking for is my Body by Milton Murayama is one of hardships and sacrifice. Within the...
Shark Dialogues: A Confused Piece of Fiction
Shark Dialogues is a novel about a multigenerational family. It focuses on Pono, and four of her grandchildren. We are given the story of...
Kalaupapa: The Land of Forced and Eventual Voluntary Confinement
Kalaupapa is a place where its inhabitants were forced to live separated from their family and leave behind the life they once knew....
