“The Whale Rider” Made Simple for Students: Summarized and Analyzed

By Raja Sharma

“The Whale Rider” by Witi Ihimaera was first published in 1978. The book received a huge amount of critical acclaim. The book was written in the early years of the author’s writing career.

Before writing “The Whale Rider,” the author had written only three other novels. The author admits in the introduction to the book that he got inspiration to write the book when his two young daughters came back from their vacation.

The daughters complained that most of the heroes in the stories they had read were male, and women were always crying to be rescued. The daughters told the writer that the women in those stories were always presented as helpless characters.

“The Whale Rider” Made Simple for Students: Summarized and Analyzed
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Major Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Sep 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310478697

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

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The Whale Rider Made Simple for Students: Summarized and Analyzed

Copyright

The Whale Rider Made Simple for Students: Summarized and Analyzed

Raja Sharma

Copyright@2015 Raja Sharma

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Chapter One: Introduction

The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera was first published in 1978. The book received a huge amount of critical acclaim. The book was written in the early years of the author’s writing career.

Before writing The Whale Rider, the author had written only three other novels. The author admits in the introduction to the book that he got inspiration to write the book when his two young daughters came back from their vacation.

The daughters complained that most of the heroes in the stories they had read were male, and women were always crying to be rescued. The daughters told the writer that the women in those stories were always presented as helpless characters.

The author decided to write a story in which he wanted to make a female character not only strong but also independent and heroic. He decided to keep that female character in the same situation where his daughters found them facing the same prejudice. The book was basically written to please his daughters.

Since its first publication, the book has been republished many times. The book won the New Zealand Bookseller’s Choice Award. It was made into a movie in the year 2002. The movie was made with a huge budget of millions of dollars.

It also proved to be a hit and won the critical acclaim. The move was the winner of several movie awards. It was also nominated for several prestigious awards in numerous categories.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

Before the beginning of the main story, there is the introduction of the ancient days. At that time nature and wildlife were waiting for the arrival of man.

The nature and wildlife seemed to be excited. Eventually, the man came from the east. After that arrival of the man, the relationship between the man and nature began to flourish.

There was one particular relationship that was noticeable; it was between the whale rider and his giant whale. The whale rider throws his spears as life-giving objects to the islands. One such spear he casts one thousand years into the future. It is the time when young heroine Kahu is there.

The narrative shifts to the school of whales. The whale mothers take care of their young whales while the bull whale, the leader, remembers his own youth several years before. He remembers the precious time he had spent with the whale rider.

Years have passed after their separation. However, the bull whale still remembers the rider. At this point, the story shifts to Kahu.

Rawiri is Kahu’s uncle. He is the narrator of the story from this time period. At Kahu’s birth, her great grandfather shows disdain because Kahu is a girl. He happens to have been looking for a successor. The custom demands that heritage be passed from the eldest child to the eldest child.

Porourangi is Kahu’s father. He is the eldest grandson so he becomes the successor for the generation. Koro, the great grandfather is now worried because Porourangi’s eldest child is a girl, Kahu. She can not lead the generation because she is a female.

Koro does not love the girl, Kahu, and even does not agree to conduct the traditional burial of the birth cord after the birth of the child. Nanny Flowers is Koro’s wife. She is