Sons for the Return Home

 Sons for the return home response

To my surprise, this novel became increasingly engaging as I continued reading it. It definitely wasn't a novel that I would have found myself saying "now this is a novel I could get into", whilst browsing through bookshelves of a local library.

Before I finished reading it, I did not expect it to leave a bigger than expected impression and impact on me. Firstly, I'd admit, I was not too fond of the genre. I generally had a lack of interest in New Zealand novels, and especially ones that involved culture/race that I could not fully understand. However, after diving deeper into the novel, I noticed that the Samoan culture is no different than many other cultures, especially Asian culture (Chinese for me).

There are certain issues, taboos, morals, values rooted to the Samoan culture that reflected in my own. For instance, education. For Chinese people, it is extremely important for one's children to have the best education and pursue top careers such as lawyers and doctors. It's pretty stereotypical but for traditional families, they believe that success is determined by these kinds of professions. The sad truth is that people treat you differently based on your education in China, this applies to Samoa as well. For example, the main character is treated differently almost immediately in the chapter when the receptionist at the hotel finds out that he has high education and held two degrees from NZ. He was treated as an outsider at first, with the hotel people thinking he was just a villager who had no business at the hotel.

Another example is the emphasis of family. Family is everything in Samoan culture as it is in Chinese culture. They are the backbone, the crutch, the spine, and your only support in the world. To dishonor your family is like turning your back on your own identity. Respecting your parents is the same for these two cultures, what your parents say is treated as law, and respecting your elders is an undying principle to follow. Having "face" is huge in China, this means to have something like social value to the community. Losing face, is one of the worst things you could do in Chinese culture because it not only affects you but it affects your family as well. Regarding the novel, the main character's mother gives 100 dollars as donation to the church where as the other families gave at most 10 dollars each. It was definitely the mother's own need for the feeling of superiority among her peers, however, to the others, it was a sign of generosity and that the New Zealand soil had not made her greedy or snobbish. Also, bringing her son back to Samoa after acquiring a higher form of education gives her face, and in turn gives her whole family face. It showed the others that their family was amazing and one to be respected.

The issue of inter-racial marriage is also big in both cultures. Chinese people typically do not like to marry outside of their race due to cultural differences and language barriers. This seems to apply to the Samoans as well. However, in today's society, it seems that inter-racial marriage has become more acceptable. In regards to novel, if the main character were to marry the white girl, all the face that his family had required would have vanished. They would then be exiled by their community and be treated unfairly, which I find pretty ignorant.

I found the novel relative to my culture and how it could be relevant to anyone. The ending was not what I expected, however, it gave me a sigh of relief. I thought it would have been a typical love story with a happy ending but it wasn't - it was deeper than that. When stripping away the surfaces, I found that it showed the dark side to culture, and how people treat other people based on their appearances - something like "judging the book by its cover". It's ironic because that is how I judged the book at first, but now given the chance to read it, I was proven wrong. I love the book!