Identity In Kristiana's The Old Paniolo Way

As a native Hawaiian, Kristiana Kahakauwila has extensive knowledge on Hawaiian customs and culture. Though she was not raised in Hawaii, Kristiana is still connected to the culture. Her upbringing in California did not separate her from the customs of Hawaii. Kristiana has a master’s in fine arts and a degree in comparative literature. Her degrees and background with Hawaiian culture led her to write the book “This is Paradise,” which is composed of multiple short stories. Each short story unveils a new layer of Hawaiian culture that many people tend to overlook. Before the first short story begins, Kristiana sets the tone for the novel with the cover of the book.
At first look the cover of the book features warm tones and the silhouette

of a hula dancer. After closer inspection, the hula dancer is actually a dashboard figurine in a car that is in traffic. The red tones are from the cars stopped in front of the car and the red traffic light. The first impression when seeing the cover is that someone is driving somewhere; perhaps they are driving to paradise. However, the central focus is on the hula dancer, whose expression is hidden. Through this silhouette, Kristiana sets up the theme that paradise is not necessarily what we expect it to be. There is more to paradise than what meets the eye. Since there is not a clear view of the hula dancer it presents a theme of identity related to place for all we know is that this figure is a Hawaiian dancer. How does a place influence identity and how does identity change across places. Both of these themes are explained further in the short stories contained in the book. The cover successfully sets the tone for the short story collection included in “This is Paradise,” which analyzes Hawaiian culture as well as tourism’s impact on local life.
Throughout her short stories, Kristiana shows different narrations of individuals in Hawaii. There is a culture for Hawaiians that is a misidentification of their actual culture. The culture where they are expected to say aloha, hula dance, and be relaxed. Within her first story titled “This is Paradise,” Kristiana sets the standard for how native Hawaiians actually feel about this tourism culture that has invaded their land. Three narratives are presented in the short story that depict different perspectives between natives. The pressure to not break up the superficial identity, the dislike of tourists, and the need to return home are all represented in the first short story. Kristiana uses the native tongue in order to distinguish the “us vs. them” theme portrayed between the locals and tourists. Stylistically this enables the reader to identify with the natives and have a better understanding of the local culture compared to the tourism industry that encompasses the region. The native language adds to their identity and background that is usually diminished to a simple ‘aloha.’ The story enables us to see the real Hawaii that has not been tampered by tourism, where local culture still presides. It also brings in key elements of the destruction the tourism industry is doing to the land and Hawaiian customs. One of the narrators remarks that “paradise no longer belong to us, but we have to watch foreigners destroy it” (Kahakauwila 23). As the industry expands, some natives gain a respect for the tourist view of Hawaiian culture, while others maintain their local culture. There is a systematic divide between the tourist’s view of Hawaiian culture and the native’s view. In the first story, Kristiana also manages to show the perspective of a native Hawaiian who has returned home after leaving the region. The connection between identity and place is interpreted through businesswomen who have returned to Hawaii and want to make a difference for their home. The role of the identity is an important aspect throughout all the stories. Kristiana manages to portray identity across space as well as the discrepancies of identity between local and foreign cultures. With each story, we see this break up between the imagined paradise and the local’s actual paradise.
Kristiana’s consistent theme of identity across place is clearly represented in the final short story titled “The Old Paniolo Way.” Through this short story, we are introduced to a character whose identity is influenced by his family’s customs and home as well as the new identity formed away from home.

“The Old Paniolo Way” focuses on the identity we form away from home and the identity we have when we return home. Kristiana expresses the theme through the tension the son has with his family after being embraced in a culture away from home. The story follows the tension between the old Hawaiian traditions and the new perspectives the son has learned on the continent. The story also focuses on how we address the fluctuations between our identities across place in a stressful situation. In the story, the narrator has an identity disturbance when he returns home as his father’s death draws near. The customs of his family frown upon his identity, which makes it hard for the narrator to open up to his family. In one scene in the story, the narrator tries to come out to his father but once again hides his identity (Kahakauwila 217). The narrator has become used to an accepting culture, but is once again thrown backwards when he returns home. The final story perfectly examines the different identities an individual can have across place. Kristiana uses this narration and Hawaiian terms once again in order to address the cultural differences present in

Hawaii.
The main reason the collection of short stories in “This is Paradise” is that it elaborates on home and the individual. Many themes are addressed within the short stories that present a different image of paradise that is not normally presented. Kristiana uses local terms in order to easily identify a culture, and separate the local from the foreign. The natives live in a region many tourists classify as paradise, but there is more to the narration than a simple ‘aloha.’ These short stories are important for addressing the side of paradise that is often silhouetted. From the hula dancer figurine on the cover to the climax in the final short story, Kristiana expertly explains identity in a way that is relatable across multiple cultures. She relates one culture in a way that could be identifiable in other cultures that are also confined by their outside image. By reading this collection of stories, she gives the reader a cultural appreciation that was absent before.