56 pages 1 hour read

Alan Duff

Once Were Warriors

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1990

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Themes

The Impact of Internalized Intergenerational Trauma

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of domestic abuse, rape, and alcohol addiction.

One of the main conflicts in Once Were Warriors is the characters’ idea of a Māori nature that impedes their development, be it social, educational, or economic. Given the socio-historical context of this story, Duff suggests to the reader that the Māori families in Pine Block are survivors of a colonial past that has resulted in their marginalization from mainstream society, their cultural disruption, and a declining sense of self-worth. Such a history, in combination with racist stereotypes, pushes characters like Nig to think that social afflictions like poverty, abuse, and other social ills are inherited or predestined for Māori people: “the stain of growing up a Pine Blocker. Of growin up havin to fit a role, a race role, man, and thassa fuckin truth you know it and so do I: havin to turn yaself into sumpthin ya mightn’t be. Yeah, thas what bein a Maori is for a Pine Block Maori” (135). Duff uses Nig’s perspective to explore the damaging perception that the issue at hand is not a history of political subjugation and exploitation but rather a self-inflicted and pre-determined fate based on a “race role.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 56 pages of this Study Guide
Plus, gain access to 8,500+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools