Post-colonialism in Papuan culture
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Post-colonialism in Papuan culture
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[post_content] => Practice Passage (Question 1-6)
*This passage is the property of Khan Academy and has been reformatted into an AAMC-style interface in their entirety by MedLife Mastery. MedLife Mastery does not endorse and is not an affiliate of Khan Academy.
Vincent Eri’s novel, The Crocodile, is the coming-of-age tale of Hoiri, a member of the Toaripi coastal people of the Gulf District in Papua, who reaches manhood against the backdrop of Australian colonial rule. The novel gives the foreigner encyclopaedic information about commerce, education and history of the tribe, about the vegetation, and village life; about marriage customs and rituals. Indeed, much of the narrative is devoted to providing the reader with a thick description of Toaripi customs and practices based in the village of Moveave.
Yet Eri’s novel is much more than a fictionalised anthropological account of Toaripi life. The Crocodile gives dramatic form to the devastating entry of white man’s civilisation into the Papuan universe, and presents us with a society at the verge of disintegration. The narrative proceeds along two arcs: one relating to the tribal laws and their internal contestations and the other, the decomposition of those already fluid social mores by Australian colonialism. The first arc revolves around the mysterious death of Hoiri’s young wife Mitoro, presumed to be taken and killed by the eponymous crocodile, and involves the complex actions and motivations of sorcerers—mesiri men—thought to be tribesmen from a neighbouring clan. The second arc consists of the hardships endured by the Papuans under the Australian colonial government. They are exploited as domestic workers and as labour for government officers— kiaps—who regularly patrol the interior in the effort to ‘pacify’ and ‘civilise’ the natives. The literary tension produced by the two narrative arcs constitutes the novel’s profound critique of the effects of colonial rule. Notably, this is a novel where the enchanted world shares narrative space and ontological reality with Euro-Australian colonial and capitalist realities. In its most commented upon scene, Hoiri wages an attack on the evil sorcerer crocodile, where literal and metaphoric crocodiles are somehow the same. But having only injured the crocodile/sorcerer, Hoiri remains confused about how to deal with the mesiri he holds responsible for his family member’s death. He cannot pursue a ‘traditional’ course of action both because of his father’s deaconship—the church frowns upon such ‘superstitions’—and because white kiap law forbids ‘primitive’ payback law.
Significantly, Australian colonial laws are not the only authority Hoiri encounters. Despite Hoiri’s suspicion of white ways, he comes under the spell of the white man’s commodity culture on a visit to the colonial capital of Port Moresby. His father and uncle buy clothing and some canvas sail, in the process suffering racial harassment from the white store clerk. The episode reveals both an enchantment with gleaming commodities and resentment at the racist colonial environment. Hoiri’s uncle, meanwhile, astutely perceives the underlying relationship between things and labour in a colonial economy: ‘White people are very clever aren’t they? They bring all these wonderful things here and also make the money that one needs to buy them. We’ve got to work for them to get the money to buy them with’. The money economy thus functions to erode traditional trading and labour practices and deepen colonial authority.
[post_title] => Post-colonialism in Papuan culture
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[question] => According to the passage, which of the following best describes the main goal of The Crocodile?
[value] => Array
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[answer] => 2
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Foundations of Comprehension” question which is asking you to recognize an accurate paraphrase or summary of the central theme or of particular statements in the passage, or to interpret word choices made by the author.
In paragraph 1, the passage opens by describing The Crocodile as a novel that gives “encyclopaedic information about commerce, education and history of the [Toaripi] tribe, about the vegetation, and village life; about marriage customs and rituals.” However, cataloguing the customs of the Toaripi tribe is not the main purpose of the novel (option 1). The second paragraph immediately makes that clear by stating that the novel is more than a “fictionalised anthropological account of Toaripi life,” and proceeds to discuss how the novel explores the effects of colonization (option 2). The exploitative and racist behavior of the kiaps (option 3) is described in paragraph 2, where the passage describes how the kiaps patrol the “interior” to pacify the natives, exploit locals for cheap labor, and disrespect already established social customs and norms. However, the kiaps are only one element of colonialism. The colonial economy, rule of law, and the overall colonial dependency forced upon the people of Papua are also important themes that are highlighted in paragraphs 1 and 2. The purpose cannot be to show the difficulties of a newly decolonized, sovereign government (option 4) because The Crocodile takes place during the “backdrop of Australian colonial rule” (paragraph 1).
Option 2 is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
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[0] => Array
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[each_answer] => A. to catalogue Toaripi customs and practices in the Gulf District of Papua.
)
[1] => Array
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[each_answer] => B. to demonstrate the encroachment of colonial systems on the Toaripi way of life.
)
[2] => Array
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[each_answer] => C. protest the exploitative and racist behaviour of the kiaps.
)
[3] => Array
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[each_answer] => D. to show the difficulties faced by a newly decolonized, sovereign government.
)
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[1] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 3873426850
[question] => The author mentions Hoiri’s experiences with the crocodile in paragraph 2 most likely in order to support which point?
[value] => Array
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[answer] => 1
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Within the Text” question. These items generally ask you to think about the author’s reasoning, such as what claim an author is trying to support with a piece of evidence, what assumption underlies a specific statement, or whether an argument is flawed.
In paragraph 2, the passage author writes that The Crocodile’s narrative “proceeds along two arcs: one relating to the tribal laws and their internal contestations and the other, the decomposition of those already fluid social mores by Australian colonialism.” The crocodile attack is mentioned by the author to show how the main character is unable to use local value systems and modes of justice due to the conflicting colonial value systems and modes of justice (option 1). Thus, the examples have more to do with supporting the idea of conflicting values and social systems, and less to do with colonial resistance (option 2 and 4). Since the crocodile is also metaphorical, it is not merely a literal animal that is part of the natural ecosystem (option 3).
Option 1 is correct.
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[each_answer] => A. Hoiri is caught in the clash between two cultural universes that have competing values.
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[each_answer] => B. Papuan sovereignty can be imagined and asserted against white rule.
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[2] => Array
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[each_answer] => C. The ecosystem in which the Toaripi people lived was dangerous.
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[3] => Array
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[each_answer] => D. Resisting colonial cultural hegemony and political power was futile.
)
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[2] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 83407773
[question] => Suppose that currently, the majority of the population in modern Papua still identify with particular clans, observe tribal laws, and earn livelihoods from subsistence-based agriculture. Based on the passage, the author of The Crocodile would probably view these realities as:
[value] => Array
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[answer] => 4
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Beyond the Text” question, which means that it wants you to either apply or extrapolate the ideas in the passage to new situations or to assess how new information would impact the ideas presented in the passage. It is important to understand the assumptions underlying the article, and how new information may or may not shift the central thesis.
The central theme of The Crocodile relates to the disintegration of traditional Papuan society under Australian colonial rule. The book portrays colonialism as having negative effects on society, so the author is unlikely to consider retention of pre-colonial practices and values in modern Papuan society as a negative (options 1 and 2). No elements from colonial society are discussed in the question prompt as having been incorporated (option 3). Because the author views the entry of white man’s civilization into the Papuan universe as devastating, the author would likely view the retention of pre-colonial practices and values as a positive outcome (option 4).
Option 4 is correct.
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[each_answer] => A. Negative, considering the economic and social progress anticipated by colonialism.
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[1] => Array
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[each_answer] => B. Negative, a sign that Papua has not been able to recover from colonial rule.
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[each_answer] => C. Positive, a sign that Papua has balanced both modern and traditional values.
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[3] => Array
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[each_answer] => D. Positive, a sign that Papua was able to resist social disintegration under colonial rule.
)
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[quiz_unique_key] => 872728905
[question] => Of the following premises, which best represents an example most similar to what the author probably means by the phrase, “literary tension,” in paragraph 2? A novel that:
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 2
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Beyond the Text” question, which means that it wants you to either apply or extrapolate the ideas in the passage to new situations or to assess how new information would impact the ideas presented in the passage. It is important to understand the assumptions underlying the article, and how new information may or may not shift the central thesis.
The “literary tension” mentioned in paragraph 2 refers to the two thematic arcs the passage author believes are brought to the fore in The Crocodile. The first arc involves difficulties in navigating tribal customs, expressed through events surrounding the death of Hoiri’s young wife. The second arc consists of the difficulties the Papuans experience under the Australian colonial government’s new social and economic systems. You are therefore looking for an option that presents a similar theme that involves a new authority imposing new cultural values and customs onto someone that is already struggling to adapt to an initial set of customs. Trade routes resulting in cross-cultural cuisine (option 1) would imply cultural enrichment, rather than tension. Consequences of a religious conflict between neighbors (option 3), would involve competing religious values and beliefs, but would not always entail one culture imposing its customs onto the other. Finally, the experience of an ethnic minority under authoritarian rule (option 4) would involve a power disparity, but would not necessarily involve competing value systems. Ethnic minorities within a country may actually still retain national identities and share the cultural values of non-minorities, depending on the context. Adoptive parents represent a new authority whose own values and customs become imposed upon a child still learning the ways of their birth culture (option 2).
Option 2 is correct.
)
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[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. revisits the ancient spice trade routes that resulted in cross-cultural cuisine.
)
[1] => Array
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[each_answer] => B. captures the experience of a teenage girl being adopted by parents of another culture.
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[2] => Array
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[each_answer] => C. explores the consequences of religious conflict between neighboring cultures.
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[each_answer] => D. illuminates the social experience of an ethnic minority under authoritarian rule.
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[4] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 3143847772
[question] => Which of the following assertions best captures a key idea in the passage? Vincent Eri’s novel, The Crocodile, illustrates how Australian colonialism in Papua:
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 2
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Foundations of Comprehension” question which is asking you to recognize an accurate paraphrase or summary of the central theme or of particular statements in the passage, or to interpret word choices made by the author.
The passage describes how kiap law did just the opposite of encouraging native communal and family values (option 1). Paragraph 2 clearly states that one of the thematic arcs of The Crocodile has to do with colonial erosion of local communal tradition and life. There is no mention of a unified educational system (option 3) or a ‘divide and rule’ stratagem (option 4). In paragraph 2, the author writes that in addition to control through church deacons, the kiap government officers closely monitored the physical environment (option 2).
Option 2 is correct.
)
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[0] => Array
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[each_answer] => A. reinvigorated local cultures by encouraging native communal and familial values.
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[1] => Array
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[each_answer] => B. asserted control through government and religious authority.
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[2] => Array
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[each_answer] => C. established a strong national identity through a unified educational system.
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[3] => Array
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[each_answer] => D. conquered Papua through the ‘divide and rule’ colonial stratagem.
)
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[5] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 3143847772
[question] => Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as having a negative effect on Papuan society?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Foundations of Comprehension” question which is asking you to recognize an accurate paraphrase or summary of the central theme or of particular statements in the passage, or to interpret word choices made by the author.
The negative effects of kiap justice (option 1) and exploitive labor (option 2) are both mentioned in paragraph 2. The kiaps, or government officers, exploit the natives as domestic workers and regularly “patrol the interior in the effort to ‘pacify’ and ‘civilise’ the natives.” The negative effect of new goods (option 4) is discussed in paragraph 3 when Hori’s uncle observes “They bring all these wonderful things here, but also make the money that one needs to buy them.” When the main character Hoiri tries to resolve a dispute, he is prevented from taking a traditional course of action by modern colonial laws and values. However, this does not suggest that the traditional customs have a negative effect on society (option 3).
Option 3 is correct.
)
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[each_answer] => A. kiap justice
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[each_answer] => B. labor practices
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[each_answer] => C. traditional customs
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[each_answer] => D. imported goods
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