7 – The Night’s Last Act (Grace’s POV)

Short Info:  Grace watches the Tramberts as their daughter plays the piano and sees their ‘wonderful’ life.  She sees the horrific comparison between their life and her own and hates it. Foreshadowing of the event that will change her life in discussion of the stars, death, coffins, her changing body.

Themes:  Womanhood / Rape / Pakeha/Maori Cultures / Alcohol / Music

In the previous chapters, we have seen Grace run away from her mother dancing alone in the house.  She runs and runs – Duff trying to emphasise her youth here in order to make the upcoming act against her even more disgraceful.  In this chapter we learn that she dislikes her changing body and the act of sex, “Ee, yuk. I don’t ever want one a them inside me.” (P84).

Grace hears piano music, wonders at the stars, describes being ‘black’, how she hates it. “… I’m black, even for a Maori.  Hate it too. I hate it.” (p85).

Grace describes what it is like to live in Pine Block, describing the deaths that occur from violence and carelessness.  She  ruminates on her ancestry and the fact that Pine Block has no connections with their culture.  Talks about death again, more foreshadowing.

She watches the Pakeha family and compares them to her own. The house, the lawn, the mother are all well-groomed.  Grace realises that the mother is about the same age as Beth but she doesn’t look it, because she doesn’t look like she’s ever had a fist in her face.  The young girl playing the piano is Grace’s age.  “Grace astonished. Crushed. At the girl her ability. But mostly her confidence.” (p86). Grace watches as the mother and father hug the girl, seeing something that she will never have. “A girl felt more than crushed, she wanted to die.” (p87)

Grace is heard crying and the family call out ‘Who’s there?’. Grace runs away, back to her own family and we see the juxtaposition clearly between her life and the life of the Pakeha family.  The music is different in her house – it is loud, the house is full of people, aggressive noise.  Page 88 describes Grace’s awareness at the difference and the relationship between her father and herself.  She almost wants to tell him that she is bleeding because somebody hit her and longs to know whether Jake would defend her.  “(I just want to know I’m loved.)” (p88). We meet Uncle Bully here also – complimenting Grace.

She escapes from her father and his mates and goes to check on the younger children.  She undresses for bed, making sure to close the curtains (foreshadowing) and again wonders at the changing state of her body.  “A woman, eh? Won’t be long and I’ll be a woman.  Feeling scared at that thought: a sense of loss. And yes, sorrow. (I don’t wanna change. I don’t wanna grow old.) ”  (P89).

Grace is assaulted in the next part of the chapter.  Once it is over, she runs out in to the night again, the men of the party talking about her as she walks past them.  Grace goes to visit Toot, wanting to try the glue to block out the memory of what has happened to her.  It is sad that she searches for comfort from this boy who is in desperate need of his own comfort.

Duff tries to emphasise how futile this life is, how endless and repetitive the cycle of abuse is. “Same place, same time, next week.” (p92).

6 – Jake And The Broken Of Hearts And Spirits

Short Info:  After waking in the afternoon of Boogie’s appearance in court and the night after beating Beth, Jake goes with a mate to the pub.

Themes:  Maori Pride / Violence / Prejudice/Bigotry / Maori Culture / Gangs

Jake grinding his teeth and waking from violent dreams.  ‘Just as he woke, almost invariably, with a desire to punch someone, which grew quickly to vivid imaginings of wrongs done him, slights, looks, and so he feeling hurt and then – naturally enough, as he saw it – wanting to right things the only way he knew how: with his fists.’ (p50)

‘Jake’s world was physical; and he was aware it was physical.  He assumed damn near the whole world was seeing it the same.’ (p50). The way Jake sees the world is always with a potential for fighting – he doesn’t think there is anything wrong with this view – it’s the way all his drinking mates see the world.  His language is different to that of both Beth and Grace – more violent, more swear words.

‘… Even love.  Why not love?  Every man needs love: a woman’s love (her twat, more like it), his mates (very important), his kids (in a man’s own way, mind.  Don’t wanna be a fuckin sook about it.  Gotta get their respect or they’ll walk all over you.)  But it was violence that Jake Heke was most tuned to.’ (p51)

Jake’s ramble continues as he walks down the street, every second word the ‘f’ word and thinking about beating his wife.  She’d deserved it.  Thoughts go to Beth catching taxis, buses etc to do the shopping, thinks that he would buy her a car if he had the money because he didn’t want people thinking he didn’t take care of his family.  Mixed up sense of responsibility / love.  Thinks he’s a good man for giving his wife half the dole money so that she can buy the food and pay the bills.  Scorns the other men who don’t do the same.  Jake’s world is about respect and power.  Discusses going in to the bar and not even having to have money because people would shout him ‘And a man knows, they’re buying his favours, his promise he’ll leave em alone, or look after em if they get picked.  They’re buying Jake Heke the man – and so they should.  Not as if God or sumpthin handed a man his rep on a plate, said, Here, take it.  It’s for free Might be free beers sometimes in this world, but there ain’t free scrapping reps, not with Maoris.  You got to earn it . . . Us Maoris, man, we used to be warriors.’ (p53/54)

Jake and Dooly discussing giving their wives the dole money, Dooly giving his wife more than Jake to run the house on.  Jake saying that he’d kick the missus out if she couldn’t run the house on half the money.  Dooley responding ‘Aw c’mon, Jake.  But I like my missus.  Jake’s eyes flashing briefly wide as the sentence tried to cognite in his mind.  Then his face relaxing when he rejected the pronouncement as his friend meaning he liked his missus for what she had on live-in tap for his choice of taking – her sex.’ (p54)

Jake and Dooly cruising the neighbourhood, going past his own house and having a fleeting moment of what might be guilt / remorse, but not recognisable to us.  Yelling at some slum kids ‘Haven’t ya got mothers?’  The question jumping from Jake’s mouth without forethought nor afterthought.  And grinning all over’ (p55) not caring about their neglect.

Going through the white neighbourhood and Jake thinking about the Pakeha and their houses and cars – jealous, but without thinking of it as jealousy.  ‘Jake was getting to fume more and more over the car-loving-successful-appearing white maggot shits.’ (p56)

The chapter concentrates on Jake’s hatred, his bigotry.   Dooly trying to say that we’re all the same.  Jake disbelieving. Jealous, hating.  Seeing the Brown Fists and also hating them.  Seeing old Maori men outside the pub and having no respect for them.

Inside the pub

–        noise – lots of sound.  Violent sound to reflect Jake’s world, the world of the drunken Maori.  ‘Shrieking explosions of laughter, exclamation, SOUND! . . . layers and layers of em, of babbling, jabbering, moaning, cursing, swearing, beer-pouring humanity’ (p60)

Concentrates on fighting – on who is the bigger man. Jake feeling pride that his table was emptied for him, describing the accolades of the people waiting for him:  “People greeted at every step, near. Laughin’ their crawlin’ laughs, patting him, shakin his mit, even the left one’d do in their eagerness to be withim; asking him who he was gonna sort out tonight. Shet.  Lodging their greetings with him so he’d not forget, falling at his feet damn near; brushing, touching, squeezing a man’s rock-hard muscularity just like I’m a fuckin god. Shet. (P62).

Builds the mood/atmosphere:  so people going, all over the joint they were going.  Out of their minds, that is.  Heads rolling, eyes too, things coming out jumbled, rubbishy, and aggression growing; spit-drops on every spat out word, sentence, a gibberish, mixed-up, fuck-up gibberish from a person supposed to be human. Man.  Did a fulla get as bad as that?  Jake always found it hard to believe of himself whenever he did happen to come in sober.

Talk about singing – then Dame Kiri and how she is an international star.  Jake has heard over the years people say “I cried that day to see a Maori – a Maori – singing for royalty in front of the whole world.  Cried.  Only thing, didn’t like that damn dress she wore, made her look like she’d bought it from the Sally Op Shop, eh. “

“when Mavis sang she gave you no choice she bowled you with her talent, almost frightened you with the scope of herself, the tones and shades and hues and sheer range of her notes. Except you didn’t understand what was happening to you, escpeially not if you were Jake Heke, yet you could hear – hear – and so you had this thing happening inside of you but you did not know what.”  (P64)

“Oh kia ora! Jake being greeted in Maori, the language of his physical appearance, his actual ethnic existence, and yet they could be speaking Chink-language for what it mattered . . . made him uncomfortable if they spoke it to him …” (P64)

“Then – Huh? (Boogie.) Boogie? It just popped up in his mind.  O shit, a  man forgot Boog had to go to court and I was sposed to be there.  Jake stopping in his tracks a moment . . . (Sorry Boog.) Ah, fuckit. Wasn’t me got him in trouble with the courts … he’s a wimp anyway. Ya wouldn’t think he’s a son of mine”. (P65)

Jake gets to the bar, says it must have taken 8 minutes “he felt like a chief, a Maori warrior chief – no, not a Maori chief, I can’t speak the language and people’ll know I can’t and it’ll spoil it …” (p65)

… so he stood there swelled with pride and vanity and this sense of feeling kingly and inside a voice was going: Look at me. Look at me, ya fuckers.  I’m Jake Heke. Jake the Muss Heke. LOOK AT ME (and feel humble, you dogs). (p66)

Jake stands off against the Brown Fists and describes the feeling of rage that builds inside of him.  “And Jake at the front there’d built to his HATE state: a steady, mad burning inside of hatred – hatred – HATRED! and this funny, deep-down hurt.” (p76) The Brown Fist gets close to Jake and pleads with him not to punch him “Y’ can’t do this, man.  I got my boys watching … I lose my, uh, my pride here, man …” (p77).

The chapter is intersected at this point by following Grace as she watches her drunken mother and gazes at the stars above, wondering about the Pakeha and their lifestyle.  Foreshadows her death as she watches a shooting star “Ah, so sad really: just a brief moment in time and then gone forever.” (p79)

The bar closes and the narrator gives (his) impression of the Chinese people, how different again they are to the Maori (and the Pakeha, too).  There is clear hatred for them on Jake’s part, he wants their goods and services, but he doesn’t like them. “And the Slit-eyes waiting hungrily forem to arrive, hiding their contempt behind sugary Oriental smiles … and snatched your money, man.” Jake’s contempt stems from envy, from tunnel vision – the Chinese people have a strong work ethic enabling them to do well in life, to have the money they need to be comfortable.  Jake dislikes this because he does not have a work ethic and he will never make anything of himself, even if he doesn’t recognise that this is the reason for his anger.

3 – They Who Have History (Grace’s POV)

Themes: Pakeha / Maori History : Opposite Worlds of Maori and Pakeha

Short Info:  Descriptions of the courtroom, Grace’s description of white people, Boogie being taken away

Grace and Boogie still inside the courtroom, looking at all the ‘fancy’ pictures etc, on the walls.  Grace imagining that the Trambert’s house would look similar – reverential. Grace and Boogie ashamed that their parent’s aren’t there.  Grace looking at the white people, with their nice clothes and judgements and thinking that they’d never had to live through their mother being beaten for not cooking eggs, etc.  ‘oh, it’s not fair.  Boogie plays the wag from school because half the time he’s scared of being picked on, or he’s being led by other kids and he’s scared to say no.  He doesn’t go to school because he can’t see what good school is going to do him anyway.  Lots of us don’t.’ (p34)

Most of the chapter concentrates on Grace’s impressions of the white people and how Boogie doesn’t seem to fit in to the world of white or Maori.  Boogie (Mark) is declared a ward of the state, under the control of welfare officers, to live in a Boys Home.

Chapter concludes with looking up at all the pictures of the grey-haired, white men in robes thinking about how they had a fair chance, fancy schooling, money ‘History.  (He’s got history, Grace and Boogie Heke, and you ain’t.)’ (p35)

2 – Two Kids on a Bench (Grace’s POV)

Chapter Two – Two Kids on a Bench

Themes: Youth mirroring Parents : Hopelessness : Music : Alcohol : Violence : Manhood

Short Info:  Introduction to Grace and Boogie (Jake and Beth’s children), Family life,

Grace and Boogie are together in the courthouse, waiting to hear the sentence for Boogie’s misbehaviour.  We learn about Boogie’s personality here – he’s a ‘sook’, a ‘wus’ – the opposite of his manly father.  He is picked on because of this, and so tries to commit crimes, etc. to live up to the Muss name.

‘Oh Bog, you’re such a sook at times.  You really are.  No wonder the old man picks on you.’ – Grace to Boogie (p22)

Grace ponders Maoriness and boys, and reflects on her relationship with Boogie – ‘…maybe she loved him more for being sort of a freak, a standout from the rest of the Pine Block roughies, let alone a son of Jake Heke.  Boys: they make such a big deal out of being tough.  It’s the most important thing in the world to em.  Specially Maori’s.’ (p22)

We discover that Boogie is ‘hated’ by his father ‘Ain’t no kid of mine they can’t look after emselves.  His own kid. And being disowned because he couldn’t fight.  What about Boogie’s other qualities? Always near the top of the class, very kind and very sensitive to the kids that everyone else forgets about, or scorns.’ (p23)

Discover that Boogie hates violence but goes around telling all the other kids that his dad is Jake The Muss, tough guy, etc and boasting about older brother Nig.

Scenery descriptions of the court officials, mostly Pakeha, dressed nicely ‘Funny that, how one side of the double doors are one race, and the other this race: Maori.’ (p24)

Grace recounts the fight at their house the night before and Jake the Muss yelling and cursing.  ‘Aw, shut ya mouth, woman’ (to a bystander in the fight) As if she hardly existed.’ (p25).

‘Grace figuring that it must be a kind of madness comes over em when they’re boozed up; and maybe its also fear, so they yell and scream, just like kids do when they’ve been unexpectedly frightened’ (p25)

Grace sees her father’s violence as a disease / illness ‘Oh God, I hope it’s not inheritable.  Whatever it is that Dad’s suffering from.’ (p25)

Grace comforts the smaller kids whilst the fight goes on ‘On and on and on into this lovely night, this lovely night and lovely children corrupted, ruined, raped, and all you can say is shake? Put it here, brother?  And next week, next month, next year, for all the years of your terrible existence, you lot’ll be doing the same’ (p26)

Music playing after the fight – seeming to sort everything out.  Women fighting  ‘… it wasn’t hard for experienced girl to picture em hanging onto each other’s hair, clawing at each other, taking big raking gouges out of one another’s facial skin, spit flying, froth bubbling out of frantic mouths, eyes bulged blood red with the effort, the booze, and that certain madness that afflicts a girl her own race and only them . . .’ (p27)

First foreshadowing of Grace’s suicide ‘No wonder a girl felt she was going half-mad, or didn’t want to live no more, not here, in this house, in this street.’ (p27)

Woman’s role to cook.  Beth refusing, Jake hitting her because of it.  Grace waking in the morning to broken beer bottles, overturned crates etc.  the kids cleaning it all up ‘And Huata was too young yet to know Boog’d failed the test of pending manhood, but he’d learn.  He’d be one of the judges one day against one of his own peers.  All boys are judges against their own.’ (p29)

Back to the present, courthouse, Grace’s shame that their parents aren’t there, the welfare officer patronising them with the ‘Maori’s and their late nights’ comment. ‘The mothers with fags in their mouths, in hands that had a tattoo, an arm with one, two of them that Grace could see.  Most ofem – there’d be eight or nine mums – fat things.  And most wild-looking.  The Lost Tribe . . .’ (p30). Mother hitting a small child across the face in front  of the welfare officer and he being powerless to do anything but admonish the woman.