An analysis of the short story “Betel Nut is Bad Magic For Airplanes” by author John Kasaipwalova, about civil liberty in Papua New Guinea.
The paper discusses how, in the short story, “Betel Nut is Bad Magic For Airplanes”, author John Kasaipwalova portrays the importance of civil rights and shows, through his characters and narrator, what an important part they play in civil society. The paper discusses the injustice the native people feel at this point in history and how it is apparent in every part of this short story. It shows how, using situations and speaking with the voice of the native people of Papua New Guinea, Kasaipwalova weaves an entertaining and message driven story about the quest for social justice.
“This exchange shows the clear rage and anger the people felt at being subjugated by white people, being colonized and told to follow unjust laws that were no their own. The narrator says he wants, at that time, nothing more than to be a true kanaka. He wants to fight the colonizers down and retake what he believes is rightfully his, and he is willing to do whatever it takes, even go to prison, to try and prove that he is right, and return civil In liberties to the natives of the island.”