Hawaii is a novel by James A. Michener[3] published in 1959, the year that Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state. It has been translated into 32 languages.[4]
Wikiquote has quotations related to James Michener's “Hawaii”.
The historical correctness of the novel is high, although the narrative about the early Polynesian inhabitants is based more on folklore than anthropological and archaeological sources.[citation needed] It is written in episodic format, like many of Michener's works, and narrates the stories of the original Hawaiians who sailed to the islands from Bora Bora, the early American missionaries and merchants, and the Chinese and Japanese immigrants who traveled to work and seek their fortunes in Hawaii. The story begins with the formation of the islands themselves millions of years ago and ends in the mid-1950s. Each section explores the experiences of different groups of arrivals.
For Hawaiian history, Michener researched at the Hawaiian-Mission Historical Library and consulted experts on island history, volcanoes, botany, pineapples, and Chinese culture. His technical adviser, noted Hawaiian scholar Clarice B. Taylor, explained customs, language, family names, and nuances of Hawaiian culture to Michener. Taylor said, "The things you want are not in books...all this material you want has to come out of my head. A book cannot tell you how a Polynesian acts or how he talks."[5]
Several characters in the novel are inspired by actual individuals. The character Reverend Abner Hale is a caricature of true-life missionary Hiram Bingham I.[6]Asa Thurston was also a model for a missionary character in the novel.[7]Chinn Ho, the "Chinese Rockefeller", was popularly considered to be the inspiration for the character Hong Kong Kee.[8]
Plot
The novel tells the history of Hawaiian Islands from the creation of the isles to the time they became an American state through the viewpoints of selected characters who represent their ethnic and cultural groups in the story (e.g. the Kee family represents the viewpoint of Chinese-Hawaiians). Most of the chapters cover the arrivals of different peoples to the islands.[9] With the exception of Chapter 1, all the chapters are of standalone novel or novella length.
Chapter 1: From the Boundless Deep describes the creation of the Hawaiian land from volcanic activity. It goes into flavorful detail describing such things as primary succession taking root on the island to life finally blooming.[10]
Chapter 2: From the Sunswept Lagoon begins on the island of Bora Bora, where many people, including King Tamatoa and his brother Teroro, are upset with the neighboring isles of Havaiki, Tahiti etc. because they are trying to force the Bora Borans to give up their old gods, Tāne and Ta'aroa, and start worshiping 'Oro, the fire god, who constantly demands human sacrifices. Tamatoa suggests to his brother and friends that they should migrate to some other place where they might find religious freedom. After finally agreeing to this plan, his brother secretly sets fire to Havaiki to take revenge for the human sacrifices they have been demanding from Bora Borans. Later they take the canoe Wait for the West Wind and sail to Hawaii. Later some return to Bora Bora to bring back with them some women and children and an idol of the volcano goddess, Pele.[11]
Chapter 3: From the Farm of Bitterness follows the journey of the first Christian missionaries to Hawaii in the 1800s and their influence over Hawaiian culture and customs. Many of the missionaries become founding families in the islands, including the Hales and Whipples.
Chapter 4: From the Starving Village covers the immigration of Chinese to work on the pineapple and sugarcaneplantations. The patriarch of the Kee family contracts leprosy (a.k.a. the ‘Chinese sickness’) and is sent to the leper colony in Molokai. Chapter 4 includes a fictionalized version of 1893 historical events known as the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Chapter 5: From The Inland Sea focuses on Japanese workers brought to the islands to replace Chinese laborers; the latter begin to set up their own businesses. It also covers the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Chapter 6: The Golden Men summarizes the changes in Hawaiian culture and economics based on the intermarriages of various groups in the islands.[12]
Cinematic adaptations
In 1966 parts of the book were made into the film Hawaii (1966), starring Max von Sydow and Julie Andrews.[13] The film focused on the book's third chapter, ‘From the Farm of Bitterness’, which covered the settlement of the island kingdom by its first American missionaries.[14]
A sequel, The Hawaiians (1970), starring Charlton Heston, covered subsequent chapters of the book, including the arrival of the Chinese and Japanese and the growth of the plantations.[15]
References
^Ali Rothstein (Fall 2001). . Pennsylvania Center for the Book. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
^"Books—Authors". The New York Times. November 6, 1959. p. 26.
^Albin Krebs (October 17, 1997). "James Michener, Author of Novels That Sweep Through the History of Places". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
^May, Stephen J. (2021). Michener: A Writer's Journey. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 139–142. ISBN9780806182148.
^David Stowe (1999). "Bingham, Hiram". In Gerald H. Anderson (ed.). Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions. William B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 63–64. ISBN978-0-8028-4680-8.
^Sheehan, Nancy (December 7, 2001). "'Curiousities' tell tales of earliest Hawaii". Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts). p. C1. ProQuest 268822576.
^Beissert, Wayne (May 4, 1987). "Man of many firsts dies". USA Today. Chinn Ho breached Hawaii's white power structure to become a multi-millionaire businessman, but was perhaps better known in the other 49 states as the basis for the character Hong Kong Kee in James Michener's novel Hawaii.
^""Hawaii" by James A. Michener". Novelguide.com. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
^"Hawaii A Novel by James A. Michener". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
^"The main gods in Polynesian mythology". Introduction to Polynesian Mythology. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
^Betty Lytle (December 18, 2016). "Spotlight: 'Hawaii' by James Michener". The Oklahoman. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
^"Hawaii". Turner Classic Movies, Inc. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
^Emily Soares. "The Hawaiians". Turner Classic Movies, Inc. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
January 31, 2023
hawaii, novel, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, hawaii, novel, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jsto. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Hawaii novel news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Hawaii is a novel by James A Michener 3 published in 1959 the year that Hawaii became the 50th U S state It has been translated into 32 languages 4 HawaiiFirst editionAuthorJames A Michener 1 CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishPublisherRandom HousePublication dateNovember 20 1959 2 Media typeprintPages937pp Wikiquote has quotations related to James Michener s Hawaii The historical correctness of the novel is high although the narrative about the early Polynesian inhabitants is based more on folklore than anthropological and archaeological sources citation needed It is written in episodic format like many of Michener s works and narrates the stories of the original Hawaiians who sailed to the islands from Bora Bora the early American missionaries and merchants and the Chinese and Japanese immigrants who traveled to work and seek their fortunes in Hawaii The story begins with the formation of the islands themselves millions of years ago and ends in the mid 1950s Each section explores the experiences of different groups of arrivals Contents 1 Development 2 Plot 3 Cinematic adaptations 4 ReferencesDevelopment EditFor Hawaiian history Michener researched at the Hawaiian Mission Historical Library and consulted experts on island history volcanoes botany pineapples and Chinese culture His technical adviser noted Hawaiian scholar Clarice B Taylor explained customs language family names and nuances of Hawaiian culture to Michener Taylor said The things you want are not in books all this material you want has to come out of my head A book cannot tell you how a Polynesian acts or how he talks 5 Several characters in the novel are inspired by actual individuals The character Reverend Abner Hale is a caricature of true life missionary Hiram Bingham I 6 Asa Thurston was also a model for a missionary character in the novel 7 Chinn Ho the Chinese Rockefeller was popularly considered to be the inspiration for the character Hong Kong Kee 8 Plot EditThe novel tells the history of Hawaiian Islands from the creation of the isles to the time they became an American state through the viewpoints of selected characters who represent their ethnic and cultural groups in the story e g the Kee family represents the viewpoint of Chinese Hawaiians Most of the chapters cover the arrivals of different peoples to the islands 9 With the exception of Chapter 1 all the chapters are of standalone novel or novella length Chapter 1 From the Boundless Deep describes the creation of the Hawaiian land from volcanic activity It goes into flavorful detail describing such things as primary succession taking root on the island to life finally blooming 10 Chapter 2 From the Sunswept Lagoon begins on the island of Bora Bora where many people including King Tamatoa and his brother Teroro are upset with the neighboring isles of Havaiki Tahiti etc because they are trying to force the Bora Borans to give up their old gods Tane and Ta aroa and start worshiping Oro the fire god who constantly demands human sacrifices Tamatoa suggests to his brother and friends that they should migrate to some other place where they might find religious freedom After finally agreeing to this plan his brother secretly sets fire to Havaiki to take revenge for the human sacrifices they have been demanding from Bora Borans Later they take the canoe Wait for the West Wind and sail to Hawaii Later some return to Bora Bora to bring back with them some women and children and an idol of the volcano goddess Pele 11 Chapter 3 From the Farm of Bitterness follows the journey of the first Christian missionaries to Hawaii in the 1800s and their influence over Hawaiian culture and customs Many of the missionaries become founding families in the islands including the Hales and Whipples Chapter 4 From the Starving Village covers the immigration of Chinese to work on the pineapple and sugarcane plantations The patriarch of the Kee family contracts leprosy a k a the Chinese sickness and is sent to the leper colony in Molokai Chapter 4 includes a fictionalized version of 1893 historical events known as the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii Chapter 5 From The Inland Sea focuses on Japanese workers brought to the islands to replace Chinese laborers the latter begin to set up their own businesses It also covers the bombing of Pearl Harbor Chapter 6 The Golden Men summarizes the changes in Hawaiian culture and economics based on the intermarriages of various groups in the islands 12 Cinematic adaptations EditIn 1966 parts of the book were made into the film Hawaii 1966 starring Max von Sydow and Julie Andrews 13 The film focused on the book s third chapter From the Farm of Bitterness which covered the settlement of the island kingdom by its first American missionaries 14 A sequel The Hawaiians 1970 starring Charlton Heston covered subsequent chapters of the book including the arrival of the Chinese and Japanese and the growth of the plantations 15 References Edit Ali Rothstein Fall 2001 Michener James Albert Pennsylvania Center for the Book Archived from the original on February 25 2016 Retrieved April 1 2017 Books Authors The New York Times November 6 1959 p 26 Albin Krebs October 17 1997 James Michener Author of Novels That Sweep Through the History of Places The New York Times Retrieved March 1 2017 Lum Doris date unknown Michener James A Hawaii in 20th Century American Bestsellers University of Illinois Retrieved on 2010 03 24 from http www3 isrl illinois edu unsworth courses bestsellers search cgi title Hawaii May Stephen J 2021 Michener A Writer s Journey University of Oklahoma Press pp 139 142 ISBN 9780806182148 David Stowe 1999 Bingham Hiram In Gerald H Anderson ed Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions William B Eerdmans Publishing pp 63 64 ISBN 978 0 8028 4680 8 Sheehan Nancy December 7 2001 Curiousities tell tales of earliest Hawaii Telegram amp Gazette Worcester Massachusetts p C1 ProQuest 268822576 Beissert Wayne May 4 1987 Man of many firsts dies USA Today Chinn Ho breached Hawaii s white power structure to become a multi millionaire businessman but was perhaps better known in the other 49 states as the basis for the character Hong Kong Kee in James Michener s novel Hawaii Hawaii by James A Michener Novelguide com Retrieved March 1 2017 Hawaii A Novel by James A Michener Kirkus Reviews Retrieved April 1 2017 The main gods in Polynesian mythology Introduction to Polynesian Mythology Retrieved April 1 2017 Betty Lytle December 18 2016 Spotlight Hawaii by James Michener The Oklahoman Retrieved April 1 2017 Hawaii at IMDb Hawaii Turner Classic Movies Inc Retrieved April 1 2017 Emily Soares The Hawaiians Turner Classic Movies Inc Retrieved April 1 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hawaii novel amp oldid 1136326031, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
