SHORELINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

English 258

Final Paper: Interpreting Pouliuli and/or The Lunatic

Please consider all aspects and requirements explained in the first writing assignment and then answer one of the following questions:

• Professors Benedict Anderson and Sean Rody claim that fiction can help create national identities through devices like characters that identify themselves as a member of a national community, fictional plots in which characters never meet but nonetheless affect each other’s lives because they are embedded in firm and stable societies, etc (see handout). Assuming this to be correct, are professors Albert Wendt and Anthony Winkler through their stories creating a national identity for the relatively young nations of Jamaica and Samoa? Explain your answer in detail.

• "As he [Faleasa] pondered further he understood more clearly why people enjoy being enslaved, why they willingly sacrifice their freedom, their true selves, their individuality: life was immeasurably easier if one became a castrated pet" (Wendt 115). Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain your answer in detail.

• In The Lunatic who is the lunatic? Is it Aloysius, Inga, or one of the other characters? Explain your reasoning with examples.

• In Pouliuli, Faleasa claims to be mad. In the Lunatic Aloysius claims to be sane. Compare how other view them to how they view themselves. Who do you think is correct in their judgment?

• In The Lunatic Aloysius talks to many things. What do the trees, bushes, goats, etc. symbolize? Explain your answer in detail.

• In The Lunatic the bushes claim "Pum-pumism" is the new form of government in Jamaica, succeeding Socialism and Communism. Do you agree that Pum-pumism is a legitimate governing body of men and their actions? Support your answer in detail.

• Assuming papalagi culture has influenced Faleasa Osovae, what impact has this had on Faleasa, Lemigao, Moaula, and others close to him? Also, how has papalagi culture impacted the Aiga and the identity of those in Malaelua? Explain your answer in detail.