Patricia Grace's Tu: Reading the novel of indigenous insight

Abstract

This thesis centres on Patricia Grace’s novel Tu, which is a fictional story based on historical facts, namely 1940s New Zealand and Italy, the 28th Māori Battalion and World War Two. The title of the thesis research is Patricia Grace’s Tu: Reading the novel for indigenous insight. Therefore, the major research question is what are the indigenous insights portrayed in Patricia Grace’s novel Tu? Analysis of Grace’s Tu seeks to flesh out indigenous insights of, for example, the novel’s characters, a sense of place like land and identity, inner conflict in the form of psychological and emotional issues, trauma and many other aspects that portray Māori (the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand) perspectives.

Grace’s novel Tu was produced with, among other resources, the aid of a memoir manuscript written by a 28th Māori Battalion captain, called Aku Korero. Together with Grace’s most recent and biographical book Ned and Katina: A True Love Story, are the two primary sources. Ned and Katina: A True Love Story is the journal account of a 28th Māori Battalion soldier’s experience on the island of Crete during World War Two.

Selected renowned Native American authors of fiction and non-fiction will have their stories compared with Grace’s novel to check for similarities or differences of aboriginal nations’ perspectives with those of Māori. One aspect of this thesis is to research what impacts indigenous insight may have on Māori and autochthonous American peoples’ identities and culture in countries colonised by hegemonic European settlers.

Major themes conveyed in Grace’s Tu and Ned and Katina: A True Love Story will include whānau (family) and whenua (land). Their importance to indigenous insight will be revealed in this thesis.

An interview with author, Patricia Grace, will determine what Māori perceptions she portrayed in her fictional novel. A conclusion will be formed based on evidence the data shows about indigenous insight in Grace’s Tu.