Formal Words Symbol Analysis

Formal words, which stand out amid the story’s conversational tone, represent the narrator's lack of power in New Zealand’s racist society. In the beginning, the narrator makes a point of using more formal words in his thoughts, such as “journey,” “farther afield,” and “spectacular.” While he thinks these words, he never says them out loud, taking pride in the fact that he knows words that people assume he does not know because of his appearance. In thinking these “special” words, the narrator feels that he can get close to the power they wield. Yet the fact that he does not say these words—because people assume an old Māori man does not have enough education to use them—reveals how anti-Māori racism prevents the narrator from accessing power in New Zealand society.

Words continue to symbolize power in the meeting at the city planning office. The city planner’s use of formal words conveys his power as a white elite and conceals his racism. For example, the planner uses formal words to condescend in subtle ways towards the narrator, such as by using the word “Sir” with slight sarcasm. By contrast, the narrator speaks to the city planner in a more conversational tone, symbolizing his lack of power in the situation due to the society’s racism. The narrator’s climactic act of violence (angrily kicking the city planner’s desk) replaces his words altogether: this final lack of words represents the narrator giving up on accessing power in white New Zealand’s racist society.