Shams Al-ani's Briefs

Response to Sons of the Return Home:

Sons of the Return Home is a novel, written by Albert Wendt, about a Samoan family that moves to New Zealand in hopes of bettering their financial situation in order to escape the then-poor economy back home in Samoa. Their intention was to always move back to Samoa with a new-found financial stability, however, many years went by and the family still remained in Wellington, New Zealand. The parents also have their minds set on their two sons fitting in to the Samoan culture quite easily, but end up realizing that this is not the case when their youngest son falls in love with a 'white' girl. The two sons eventually end up feeling confused as a clash of both cultures occurs. A Romeo and Juliet-esque theme then occurs between the two families when both parents become involved and attempt to dismiss the couple's love for one another. This is due to the racist beliefs that each family holds towards the other as they all believe that their own race is superior to other races. This book highlights the racism that occurred in New Zealand in the mid 1960's and portrays a view that was considered relatively uncommon for this time-frame. I found myself sympathizing with the main character of Sons of the Return Home because his confusion and the fact that he had an open mind allowed him to be more relate-able, particularly as I read this in 2013, where racism has lessened quite drastically. Throughout the novel, the male and female couple are simply referred to as 'he' and 'she' or 'boy' and girl. I believe that the writer chose to intentionally do this in order to prevent the reader from identifying on a more personal level with the characters, instead choosing to represent the boy and girl as unique figures in their community. What I find very interesting is that 'white' students bullied the boy despite his advanced knowledge in school subjects and the boy had his mind set on never being able to forgive 'white' people for this, however, he ended up falling in love with a 'white' girl. This proves that the boy's love for the girl began to take over and his racist environment in his home life lessened drastically as he continued to fall in love and show his affection for her.
Growing up in New Zealand while being raised with a Middle Eastern background and environment, I can relate to the boy's state of confusion over a clashing of completely opposite cultures. While I have adapted to the westernized culture here in New Zealand, my home life is different as my family members are still greatly influenced by the Arab culture that they have grown up in and are not as open-minded as I have learned to be when other cultures are involved. This is because my parents have never needed to learn how to mix with other cultures back in Iraq.
I can also relate to the boy in this novel being shunned by his peers for being 'different' in the cultural respect, as I was bullied consistently by other class-mates during primary school for being Iraqi. This occurred as the between America and Iraq was taking place and therefore I was being called names and stereo-typically categorized just as the main character in Sons for the Return Home was.
Although the main character ended up having his heart broken by his love and her choice to abort their unplanned baby was particularly upsetting to him, I very much enjoyed reading this novel as it not only showed me just how much racism has lessened over the years, but also how a great love and strong emotions can triumph the environmental factors that one is raised in no matter who the person is or where they come from.


Seminar Response:

For our seminar, my partner and I had chosen the poems 'Tatz' and 'Wild Dogs Under my Skirt' as they both refer to the traditional tatau originating from the pacific island culture. The tatau is a tattoo given to men and women that want to celebrate their culture and this is done by holding a traditional ceremony. The ceremony lasts for over five hours as the tatau generally covers a large surface area on the upper thigh of the person receiving the tatau.
Tatz and Wild Dogs Under My Skirt are both poems which portray the tatau in a positive light, however, the writer of Wild Dogs Under My Skirt uses a sarcastic and mocking tone by writing the poem in pigeon English. This is likely done as an attempt to dismiss any rejections of the tatau by the writer.
The tatau represents a higher level of understanding the culture among pacific islanders and is considered a highly prestigious privilege.
I do not feel that I can strongly relate to either poem as I am from a Middle Eastern background and my family and I moved to New Zealand when I was two years of age. This means that although I have grown up in New Zealand and have learned to accept tattoos as a form of art and expression, I have also been influenced by my family's train of thought. In Iraq the only people that have tattoos are considered Gypsies and therefore I am constantly reminded of the rejection that people with tattoos face in the Middle East. Although I have tattoos of my own, because I am not used to tattoos being a part of a culture, it is much harder for me to understand the exact significance that the tatau holds in the Pacific Island culture.
In Wild Dogs Under My Skirt, the writer has written the poem in a tone that demands to have the tatau done on her and to feel the pain of her ancestors as a way of connecting with her culture on a deeper and more intimate level. I feel that this only strengthens the tone of the poem and keeps the reader more engaged.
What particularly caught my attention about these two poems is the fact that both seem to be in favor of receiving the tatau, however, the author of Tatz uses a contrasting style of writing in order to get their point across, while also mocking those that are not in favor of having the tatau done.
The writer of Wild Dogs Under My Skirt also uses a range of 'universal' similes and metaphors in order to get her point across to the reader. This is important as readers that do not have much knowledge in the Pacific Islander culture can still understand on some level the imagery that the writer is trying to convey in her poem. I found that this helped me greatly in understanding just how important the tatau is in the writer's culture and by the end of the poem I also found myself relating the importance of the tatau to the importance of some cultural rituals practiced in the Middle East, such as henna-painting and wedding rituals.
The comparison between Tatz and Wild Dogs Under My Skirt ends at the subject of these poems, however, both do a great job in getting the importance of the tatau across to readers and proving that Pacific Islanders are incredibly faithful to the same cultural rituals that their ancestors once practiced.

Creative Response to 'Wild Dogs Under My Skirt' by Tusiata Avia:

By now I should know what shade of red my blood is
To represent who I am in a world full of uncertainty
And to keep my grandmother's blood running through generations
I used to be ashamed to never have been able to keep up with the culture

My mother tells me
'You used to sit on your baby chair and grandma would make you Dolma, how can you not remember?'
My father asks me
'What do you know about your country? About your culture?'
My sister mocks me
'You wouldn't remember because you were too young'
My brother insults me
'You don't know how to speak Arabic; I'll speak in English so you can understand'

For the most part,
They are right.
I don't remember very much of my grandparents
I don't know much about my country's history
I was too young to remember everything
I don't understand Arabic to the extent that my family does

But I have been privileged to meet my existing family on the other side of the world
To have parents that educate me about my culture on a daily basis
To have photographs and videos of my past
And to have the ability to understand, let alone, speak the language of my ancestors

And those that question the knowledge of my background;
My history
Will only end up weeping 
And their wrongly-spoken words will come back to haunt them
When they open their eyes one day
To find that they had laced their words with such ignorance

Because it is the tickets to the other side of the world,
The cultural information,
The photographs,
The home-videos,
And the language
That have eventually shaped the person that stands today;
A mixture, a privilege and a blessing.