Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Whale Rider, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Humans and Nature
Maori Identity
Gender and Power
Familial Love
Summary
Analysis
The next summer, Rawiri decides to move to Australia. He goes to stay with his cousin Kingi in Sydney, and he’s surprised to see other Maori people all over. The big city’s energy is intoxicating, and he parties with other cousins, who ask about the family back home. He gets a job and finds a roommate, Jeff, who’s from Papua New Guinea. He teases Jeff by insinuating that Kahu is their age and would be interested in him. About a year later, Porourangi calls Rawiri to announce that he’s marrying Ana and update him on Kahu’s life. Jeff realizes that Rawiri has pulled a trick on him. When Jeff’s family calls to tell him to go home and help run the coffee plantation, he asks if Rawiri wants to join. Rawiri agrees, but he knows that this will mean missing his family even more.
Rawiri’s move to Australia has nothing to do with the drama over the chieftainship; rather, he just wants to explore and broaden his perspective as he comes of age. His travels create an interlude in the novel, underline his special connection with his family (which contrasts with his cousins’), and enable Ihimaera to explore Maori people’s place in the broader world, where other indigenous peoples are fighting similar battles for autonomy, recognition, and dignity. Indeed, Rawiri is used to living in a supportive, tight-knit Maori community. But in Sydney, he learns that many Maori people aren’t lucky enough to grow up in a traditional environment—yet they face the same prejudice, poverty, and criminalization in everyday life. In this way, Rawiri’s time in Australia presents him with a major life dilemma: would he rather live a modern, assimilated life in one of the big cities, or a traditional life back home in Whangara? Through his travels, he grows even more deeply grateful for his family—even if he won’t return to see them for a few more years.
Themes
