Hawaii: Analysis of Major Characters
"Hawaii: Analysis of Major Characters" presents a detailed exploration of a diverse array of characters set against the backdrop of Hawaii's historical and cultural transformations. Central to the narrative is Tamatoa VI, the chief of the Bora Borans, who embodies leadership and adaptability as he guides his people from Bora Bora to Hawaii in search of a new home. His brother Teroro, the skilled navigator, complements Tamatoa's practicality with his bold and impulsive nature, leading to critical discoveries during their perilous journey.
The narrative also highlights key female figures, such as Marama, Teroro's wise and resourceful wife, who plays a pivotal role in shaping their new settlement. The arrival of missionaries is marked by characters like Abner Hale, whose strict beliefs clash with Hawaiian traditions, and his compassionate wife, Jerusha, who strives to bridge cultural divides. Other notable figures include Kelolo Kanakoa, who resists conversion to Christianity while grappling with the loss of his family, and their children, Keoki and Noelani, who navigate the complexities of identity and power in the changing socio-political landscape.
As the story unfolds, the character dynamics reflect broader themes of colonization, cultural exchange, and the persistence of traditional values amidst external influences. This rich tapestry of characters offers insights into the historical intricacies of Hawaii and the diverse experiences that have shaped its society.
Hawaii: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: James A. Michener
First published: 1959
Genre: Novel
Locale: Primarily Hawaii
Plot: Historical
Time: 814–1954
Tamatoa VI, the chief of the Bora Borans, whose name means “the warrior.” In his thirties, he is a burly and serious man. He leads his people during a time in which the gods are changing; he recognizes that he must change himself if his people are to be saved. He devises a plan, with his brother Teroro, to migrate with his people to a land in the north known only through myth and legend. Although he is following a dream, he is very practical about organizing the supplies for the trip. He successfully leads his people and their traditional gods to the northern land, Hawaii, in an arduous sea voyage that shakes his self-confidence.
Teroro, the navigator of the ceremonial canoe used to transport the Bora Borans to Hawaii. Handsome and impetuous, he takes revenge against the priests of the new gods despite objections from his brother. It is Teroro who discovers the meaning of the new fixed star that appears after the canoe crosses the equator. Using the star for navigation, he returns to Bora Bora for his wife and additional settlers.
Marama, Teroro's wife. She cannot accompany him on his northern journey because she is thought to be barren and, therefore, not useful to the new settlement; however, she conceives his child the night before he leaves. She is stately, resourceful, wise, and compassionate. As a priest's daughter, she sees the essentials of a situation and always gives good advice. When she returns with Teroro to the new colony, she brings flower seeds and plants with her for cultivation there. She becomes the seeress for the new settlement.
Malama Kanakoa, the ruler of Maui when the missionaries arrive. She is a large woman and very progressive. She recognizes that the white men have more power than the Hawaiians and equates Christian conversion with this power. She learns English and establishes a new civil code of laws to match the tenets of Christianity that she finds beneficial to her people. She pretends to accept more of Christianity than she really does as a means of placating the missionaries. On her deathbed, she asks her husband, Kelolo, to bury her according to traditional and ancient ceremonies.
Kelolo Kanakoa, Malama's husband, who never accepts Christianity despite the missionaries'efforts. He is devoted to Malama. When he establishes a police force, he becomes its chief. He welcomes his son Keoki's reversion to the ancient gods. As keeper of his family's history, he recognizes that the coming of the missionaries is the end of his way of life. After the death of his son and his wife, he takes his gods with him in a canoe for a trip to Bora Bora, knowing that he will never return.
Keoki Kanakoa, the son of Malama and Kelolo who converted to Christianity in the United States. Educated at Yale, he is a powerful speaker and convinces many missionaries to travel to his pagan homeland to take the word of Christ there. He has a simple and direct faith in the goodness of Jesus. He is hurt by Abner Hale's refusal to ordain him as a full minister and reverts to the ancient beliefs of his family. He marries his sister, Noelani, in the traditional rites. He contracts measles and dies without reconciling with the Christian faith.
Noelani Kanakoa, the daughter of Malama who is groomed to be the next ruler of Maui. Although she is not interested in the Christian faith, she is very interested in the power and money of the white men. She knows that the royal Hawaiian families have lost their power. After Keoki dies, she marries Rafer Hoxworth because she believes that he is the kind of strong man who will shape her country's history.
Kelly Kanakoa, an attractive Hawaiian beach boy and nightclub singer. Kelly makes his living by squiring American divorcées around Hawaii. Although he is a descendant of the royal Hawaiians Malama and Kelolo, he owns no land and has no money. He marries Judy Kee despite objections that he is not good enough to marry into a prominent Chinese family.
Abner Hale, a thin, sallow, and unattractive man who becomes the leader of the first group of missionaries to go to Hawaii. He is a strict Calvinist from a pious and penurious New England family. He has not known any women physically before he is required to marry Jerusha Bromley to be accepted to the Hawaiian mission. He believes that his will and God's are the same, which leads him to profess a proud and unbending form of Christianity that is at odds with the relaxed Hawaiian culture. He truly likes Malama, whom he teaches, but he views Hawaiians in general as abominations to God. He continues to rave against nonwhite cultures his entire life and dies separated from his family.
Jerusha Bromley, a compassionate New England woman who marries Abner Hale in a burst of Christian zeal after she comes to believe that she has been spurned by her true love, Rafer Hoxworth. She accompanies Abner to Hawaii, where she teaches Malama to read and begins a school for the Hawaiian children. She grows to love Abner despite her dislike of his fire-and-brimstone religious policies, and she eventually convinces him to soften his preachings.
Rafer Hoxworth, a rough and cruel whaling captain who becomes rich and influential through his commercial dealings and his marriage to Noelani. He never forgives Abner for taking Jerusha away from him and encourages the marriage of his daughter and Abner's son as a form of revenge. He expects and needs to have control over all situations and takes what he wants, regardless of the consequences. After Noelani's death, he becomes more interested in his grandchildren and encourages Whipple Hoxworth, his grandson, to be as bold and daring as he was in his youth.
Whipple Hoxworth, Rafer's grandson, who is known as Wild Whip for his womanizing and brawling. He is a visionary and a doer. He chooses agriculture over commerce and the family business. He brings an improved type of pineapple to the islands for cultivation as a cash crop. He designs a way to bring water from the wet side of the mountains to the dry side and turns thousands of unproductive acres into fertile fields. He has a great concern for beauty and brings various flowers and plants back from his travels. He is responsible for the diversification of the agricultural economy.
John Whipple, one of the first missionaries to come to the islands at the behest of Keoki Kanakoa. Although he begins as a missionary, he returns to medicine after finding missionary work as defined by Abner Hale to be too restrictive and hypocritical. He joins with the captain of the ship that took him to Hawaii in a merchandising and trading venture that grows into one of the most powerful and richest firms in the islands. He is responsible for bringing the Chinese into Hawaii, both to work on the sugar plantations and as a means to rejuvenate the Hawaiian race.
Micah Hale, the son of Abner and Jerusha and the husband of Rafer Hoxworth's daughter Malama. After a youth spent in the United States, to be educated away from pagan Hawaii, he returns to the islands with Rafer and his family. He becomes a partner in the firm of Hale and Hoxworth and works for the political and economic acceptance of Hawaii by the United States. He is somewhat less rigid than his father, but, as he grows older, he reverts to the Calvinist teachings of his childhood. He disapproves of the behavior of the younger generation.
Char Nyuk Tsin, also known as Woo Chow's Auntie, a Chinese woman who is taken to Hawaii to be sold into prostitution but becomes the unofficial wife of Kee Mun Ki instead. She is unattractive but strong and tenacious. She is very loyal to Kee, bearing him four sons who are destined to become important in Hawaiian politics and business. She never loses sight of her goal to own land and works indefatigably toward that goal. She is ambitious for her children. She acquires a degree of fame and respect for following Kee to the leper colony when he contracts the disease. She cares for him and for other lepers and brings a modicum of order to what had been a lawless and brutal life for the victims of leprosy.
Kee Mun Ki, a gambler and wheeler-dealer who goes to Hawaii to make his fortune. He marries a girl from his home village and requires the sons that he fathers by Char Nyuk Tsin to send money and respect back to his official wife. He contracts leprosy and spends the last years of his life in a leper colony, where he continues his success at gambling.
Africa Kee, a son of Char Nyuk Tsin. He becomes a lawyer and one of the Golden Men. The term “Golden Men” was invented to describe a type of intercultural man that had developed in Hawaii. Africa is modern and American in style, but he understands the ancient Oriental ways.
Hong Kong Kee, a grandson of Char Nyuk Tsin. He is appointed to high positions in government and business in recognition that Oriental peoples are controlling more and more of Hawaii's commerce.
Kamejiro Sakagawa, an émigré from Japan who goes to Hawaii to make his fortune. He is singled out by Whipple Hoxworth for his toughness to help him dynamite a tunnel through the mountains to bring water to the fields. When money troubles plague him, he becomes receptive to the ideas of labor organizers and loses his job on the plantation. After being accused of dynamiting a plantation home, he is blacklisted from plantation work. He opens a barbershop and allows his daughter to work there, in contrast to traditional Japanese ideas.
Ishii, or Oshii, the husband of Reiko, Kamejiro's daughter. He is a zealous supporter of Japan during World War II. He informs the Sakagawas that Japan has attacked Hawaii before that event occurs.
Goro Sakagawa, the son of Kamejiro, who begins his success by becoming a high school football star. He volunteers for service in the American Army immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He becomes a respected war hero, rising to the rank of lieutenant. After the war, he returns to Hawaii and is instrumental in organizing agricultural laborers.
Shigeo Sakagawa, the youngest son of Kamejiro, who knows much about the Japanese attack on Hawaii because of his job as a telegram delivery boy. He becomes a captain in the U.S. Army and later becomes a lawyer and political leader.