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Hawaii, by James A. Michener, is a novel which covers, on both a fictional and a non-fictional level, the total history of Hawaii from its beginning until approximately 1954. The work traces Hawaiian history from the geological creation of the islands ("From the Boundless Deeps) to the arrival of its first inhabitants, ("From the Sun-Swept Lagoon"), then to the settlement of the islands by the American missionaries, ("From the Farm of Bitterness"). In the novel, as the island's agricultural treasures in pineapple and sugar cane were discovered, the Chinese were brought as plantation workers to Hawaii ("From The Starving Village"). Years later, when it was realized by the island plantation owners that the Japanese were more dedicated workers, and did not feel the need to own their own lands as the Chinese did, they too were shipped in vast amounts to Hawaii, ("From The Inland Sea"). The final chapter deals with what Michener refers to as "The Golden Men": Those who lived in Haw (not necessarily Hawaiians) who contributed a great deal to the islands and their people. Since Hawaii covers such a huge time span, there are a great many plots and sub-plots, all of which show the different situations that each of the many "types" of Hawaiians are confronted with. Michener uses mostly specific, fictional details to support the general ideas of the islands and their various people, that he conveys through Hawaii. I will go into more detail about the plot in the "Documentation" section. Michener's Hawaii is a superb example of a great work of literature. He paints vivid literal pictures of various scenes throughout the novel. For example, in the first chapter, the Pacific Ocean is described: "Scores of millions of years before man had risen from the shores of the ocean to perceive its grandeur and to venture forth upon its turbulent waves, this eternal sea existed, larger than any other of the earth's features, vaster than the sister oceans combined, wild, terrifying in its immensity and imperative in its universal role." Many other stylistic devices are employed; most of them fall into the category of figurative language, (i.e. metaphors, similes, etc.). As Abner Hale, a missionary , was teaching Malama Kanakoa, a Hawaiian ruler, to rebuild a fish pond for the survival of the village, Malama "ordered her handmaidens to help, and the three huge women plunged into the fish pond, pulling the back hems of their new dresses forward and up between their legs like giant diapers." Although it is not the most pleasant example of a simile in Hawaii, it is used. James Michener tells the story of Hawaii in the language of Hawaii; he mixes, at times, English with Hawaiian, Japanese, and Chinese. As readers may encounter these foreign words, the meanings of the words usually become evident to them as they read. Not only does Michener explain Hawaii to a reader in highly descriptive detail, he also makes the reader part of Hawaii, aware that the story lines are just small examples of how life in Hawaii really was for so many people of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Documentation The major events that take place in Michener's Hawaii follow history closely, however, the characters, except for one, are fictional. Likewise, most of the historical events which Michener writes about did take place under the circumstances that he included; however, the people involved and some of the events that take place may only resemble what actually happened. For example, a comparison of Hawaii to actual history can be made through selected events in each chapter of the novel. In order to compare the events in Michener's Hawaii, it is necessary to recap the events of the novel. The following selected events from each chapter will serve this purpose. The first chapter of Hawaii, "From the Boundless Deep", describes the formation of the islands, very descriptively. It states that the creation of Hawaii took place "millions upon millions of years ago, when the continents were already formed, and the principal features of the Earth had been decided." Although the creation is a purely fictional account, it is known that the Hawaiian Islands are volcanic islands, and it is possible that they were created in the way that Michener describes. Next, in the second chapter entitled "From the Sun-Swept Lagoon", Michener describes, once again in great detail, who the first settlers of Hawaii were, and how and why they went there. According to Michener, they were from the island of Bora, which is near the island of Hawaii, and northwest of Tahiti. It is known for a fact that the first people to arrive in Hawaii were from the South Pacific. The Bora-Borans, according to the novel, on their trip to Hawaii, sailed in a long double canoe, with a platform between and a small hut in the center. According to historians, "on voyages of exploration, the courageous sea men used double canoes - from 60 to 80 feet long and three to five feet wide, joined with several pieces of bamboo. They built a platform, 16 to 18 feet wide, straddling the large canoes and, on top of it, constructed a crude shelter." Although the second chapter is mainly about a pre-historical time period, historians have made some inferences and come to some conclusions about how life may have been before and after the settlement of Hawaii by the various people that planted their roots there. In the novel, there was only one race that arrived; however, historians feel that, because of linguistic reasons, the first people to arrive were Negroids. Next were Polynesians, and finally, Caucasians. In the third chapter, "From the Farm of Bitterness", the reader is introduced to the New England Missionaries before they depart for Hawaii. A Hawaiian named Keoki Kanakoa gave a sermon at Yale University, which had great impact upon many people who attended. He stated that in his "father's islands immortal souls go every night to everlasting hell because... there has not been any missionaries to Hawaii to bring the word of Jesus Christ." Abner Hale, who attended the sermon, was deeply moved; so moved that he went to apply to the mission, along with his friend and classmate, John Whipple. Similarly, in 1809, in truth, history records that a certain Henry Obookiah stirred the emotions of religious New Englanders. He was sent to school, for he was a promising candidate to return to Hawaii and preach Christianity. Unfortunately, in 1818, he died of typus or pneumonia.
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