Lessons from Hawai'i
by Yael Nolan
May 2022
Lessons From Hawai’i is a very important poem, with a very important lesson. It speaks up about social prejudices against Micronesians, especially from Hawaiians. This poem is a personal account, expressing what Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner went through whilst living in Hawai’i.
Growing up, the people around her constantly had something to say about Micronesians. They quickly took back what they said, or said it has nothing to do with Kathy, when they remembered that she was a Micronesian woman herself. Hawaiian prejudice against Micronesians has been around for years. This is mostly due to stereotypes of Micronesians having a lower economic status, and that more Micronesians rely on welfare.
In her poem, Kijiner uses metaphors to explain what the Micronesian islands actually are. “tiny crumbs of islands scattered,” she says, to speak up about her home. The metaphor, tiny crumbs of island scattered, shows how small her island home is, and how it could be easily missed. Although her home is so small, it contains so much culture, which she explains more later on in this poem. In Lesson Number 3, she uses her culture to convey how people think of Micronesians. Her cousin, a more westernized Micronesian, is heard complaining about the other Micronesian girls. She seems disgusted by the way the other girls are able to wear their guams out to the store and school with no shame. This shows what the impact of the constant prejudice can do to Micronesians. They get influenced by what is said about them, causing them to be disgusted by their own culture. This begins a sort of disconnect between many Micronesians and their culture.
This poem is structured into 7 different parts, each having something to do with the part before. In the last part, Kijiner says that slowly, she has learned to hate herself. This poem, in a way, was a cry for help. Micronesians want to stop the prejudice against themselves, but with these stereotypes against them, there isn’t much that they can do.