Creating Aotearoa through Discourse: Language and Character in Keri Hulme's The Bone People

I will be looking at Keri Hulmes novel The Bone People as a postcolonial text. The beginning will explore the current conversations taking place about the importance of language(s) within texts that are deemed postcolonial as they relate to Hulmes novel which is written in both Maori and English. Other important postcolonial ideas applicable to the text such as space, magical realism, and current postcolonial theory will be looked at. Previous criticism will also be examined. The final sections of this thesis will focus on Hulmes three main characters separately: Joe, Kerewin, and Simon, and their places within and outside the text. These sections will center intensely on each characters use of the Maori language. These are the sections where I will bring all of the previously discussed points to bear on the novel, and prove that the bone people is a successful postcolonial text.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts in English (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis (open access)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Department of Literature and Philosophy

Year dc:date.available

2008

Author dc:creator

• Sarver, Sabryna Nicole

Contributors dc:contributor

• Caren Town
• Gautam Kundu

• ETD
• Hulme
• Keri
• The bone people
• Language
• Maori
• Postcolonial
• Magical realism
• Home spaces
• Postcolonialism in literature
• Maori in literature

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/170

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1170