Sons for the Return Home (Text to Text)

Sons for the Return Home

Upon reading Sons for the Return Home by Albert Wendt, my initial response is that people don’t start questioning their identity unless they are surrounded by people that are different from them, or someone who seems to be at the other end of the spectrum. When we are surrounded by people that we “belong” with, whether this is in a religious or cultural sense, there is a sense of security. On the other hand, being surrounded by people that we “don’t belong” with, makes us doubt.

This is the main challenge that “the boy” has found himself in – he has been questioning his own identity, just by moving into a different country, and having a relationship with someone who isn’t from his culture, only made him raise more questions.

Racial Stereotypes

The main male character in Sons for the Return Home has his own perception of different cultures, particularly the Maoris and the Caucasian. Each culture views another culture differently and this is something that seems to be taught. Much like racism, these ideas do not exist until someone learns about them, and once they know, this are passed on from one person to another, until the idea becomes a generalization of one culture. More often than not, these generalizations are often negative and sometimes, based on a person’s skin colour. The poem “Brown Brother” by Joshua Iosefo is a great example of this generalization of culture. He talks about his skin colour, the food and “the mud” that “his people” is judged upon, and how you can be the “first” ‘brown’ person to graduate or be a prime minister. This shows just how much the Pacific culture is belittled, when in reality, we don’t know if this speaks the truth, because we only get a glimpse of their life. Therefore, one shouldn’t so easily generalize.

Gender roles

In Sons for the Return Home, there is a distinct difference between the roles of men and women. The mother is expected to be the typical, submissive housewife, whereas the father isn’t expected to show any affection, especially in public as this is apparently a sign of weakness. The wife must “obey [the husband], give him children and keep the home in order.” On the other hand, the man must be that who shows physical strength and able to “protect his family” whenever he needs to. There is also a scene in the book, where the main character hits his girlfriend, yet, she apologized, even though she was the one who got hurt.  

Here are a few excerpts from the Bible that says that a woman should be submissive, especially towards their husband:

“This is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands.”

(1 Peter 3:5)

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.”

(Ephesians 5:22)

It’s easy to see that this image of a submissive woman is something that is encouraged in the society even in the past. Like I have stated before, when something is constantly repeated, whether it’s an idea or a way of life, it becomes the tradition and this is passed on because the home is where we learn the most important things in life. Also, it’s quite safe to assume that Pacific Islanders tend to continue the teachings of the Bible. After all, Christianity is a dominant religion in the Pacific.

A woman was only created after the man, biblically speaking, which is another reason why wives should submit to their husbands – because women have always been perceived as inferior, from the time that Christianity was taking over until in today's society. 

Sons of the Return Home makes a person understand what it’s like to have different perceptions of people from different cultures, though I think that the essence of the book is a question of identity in crisis. However, when you do meet them, you’ll find that these ‘common’ perceptions are often wrong, if not exaggerated. It’s so easy to judge other people, yet you forget that you are judged, too, because society relies on first impressions and assumes that what they see, or rather what they hear about what they see, is what they get.