Welcome to Your Study Guide for The Bone People!
Hello! If you are studying Keri Hulme’s The Bone People for your Edexcel A Level, you are in for a truly unique experience. This novel is famous for its haunting beauty, its mixture of languages, and its deep dive into what it means to be an individual trying to find a place in society.
In this guide, we are focusing on the theme "Society and the Individual" (examined in Component 2, Section B, where you will compare this text with an anchor text such as The Great Gatsby or Great Expectations). We will explore how characters like Kerewin, Joe, and Simon struggle to fit in, how they deal with isolation, and how they eventually try to build their own version of a "society" or family. Don't worry if the book feels a bit "strange" or difficult at first—it’s meant to! By the end of these notes, you’ll have the tools to tackle any exam question with confidence.
1. Understanding the Core Characters
To understand the theme of the individual vs. society, we first need to look at our three main characters. None of them "fit in" to normal New Zealand society at the start of the book.
Kerewin Holmes: The Hermit
Kerewin is a brilliant artist who has cut herself off from everyone. She lives in a Tower she built herself.
• The Individual: She chooses to be alone because she feels society doesn't understand her or her art.
• Real-World Analogy: Think of Kerewin like someone who "unplugs" from modern life and moves to a secluded tower by the sea because they find society suffocating.
Joe Gillayley: The Struggling Father
Joe is a Māori man who is caught between two worlds. He wants to care for his foster son Simon, but he carries a lot of pain and anger.
• Society: Joe represents the struggle of the Māori individual in a society dominated by Western (Pākehā) values. He feels the weight of his culture's expectations but struggles under isolation and grief.
Simon: The Silent Outsider
Simon (Haimona) is a young boy washed ashore from a shipwreck who cannot speak and has no known history.
• The Individual: Because he is mute and "different," society often views him as a problem to be solved or a strange outsider. He represents the ultimate alienated individual.
Quick Review: Each character starts the novel in isolation. Kerewin is in her Tower, Joe is trapped in his grief, and Simon is trapped in his silence. The "Society" theme is about how these three lonely individuals navigate separation, trauma, and the eventual formation of a new kind of community (or Whānau).
2. Key Symbols: Society vs. The Individual
Hulme uses symbols and motifs to show how characters relate to the world around them. Here are the most important ones for your exam:
The Tower
Kerewin’s home is the ultimate symbol of the Isolated Individual. It is literally a physical wall between her and society. It represents her desire for autonomy (independence) but also her pathological self-containment.
Key Description: Joe observes Kerewin as "self-contained, wrapped in iron".
The Chess Game
When Kerewin and Joe play chess, it represents the clash of individuals. They are testing each other, trying to see how they fit together. It serves as an extended metaphor for how people in society interact—combining strategy, defence, and confrontation.
The "Bone People"
The title translates the Māori concept of iwi (bones, tribe, or people)—the ancestral skeleton of society. It suggests that for an individual to heal, they must reconnect to their "bones" (their ancestral roots and community).
Memory Aid: Think of "Bones = Roots". Without communal roots, an isolated individual cannot thrive.
Key Takeaway: Symbols in this book usually show the tension between being alone (The Tower) and being connected (The Bone People).
3. Cultural Context: Māori and Pākehā
You cannot talk about "Society" in this book without mentioning New Zealand’s bicultural context. This is essential for your AO3 (Context) marks!
Post-Colonial Society
The book is set in a Post-Colonial society where British/European (Pākehā) colonial dominance intersects with indigenous Māori heritage.
• Joe and Kerewin both carry Māori ancestry, but they live in a modern world shaped by colonial institutions.
• This creates an identity crisis for the individual caught between competing cultural worlds.
Whānau (Family/Community)
In Māori culture, communal responsibility and kinship within the Whānau (extended family) are paramount. The novel demonstrates that individual suffering cannot be resolved in isolation; renewal occurs through communal reconnection.
4. Language and Narrative Style
Hulme integrates distinct linguistic techniques to convey internal psychology and cultural tension. This is crucial for your AO2 (Analysis of Language and Structure) marks.
Stream of Consciousness and Syntax
The writing frequently shifts into internal monologue, fragmented syntax, and non-linear associations. This mirrors the unstructured, raw reality of an individual's consciousness under stress.
Bilingualism (English and te reo Māori)
Hulme integrates te reo Māori phrases, proverbs, and vocabulary directly alongside English.
• Linguistic Effect: This linguistic hybridity highlights the dual cultural reality of New Zealand society. Hulme provided a Māori-English glossary to support readers while retaining the authentic bilingual texture of the text.
5. Common Mistakes to Avoid
• Mistake 1: Viewing Joe as a one-dimensional villain. While Joe commits severe physical abuse against Simon, Hulme portrays him as a deeply fractured individual shaped by grief, colonial displacement, and personal trauma. Analyse his actions through both psychological and social lenses.
• Mistake 2: Forgetting the comparative focus (AO4). In Paper 2, Section B, remember to link Hulme's portrayal of societal alienation and individual identity to your chosen anchor text (The Great Gatsby or Great Expectations).
• Mistake 3: Misunderstanding the narrative arc. The novel progresses from isolation, through severe division and sundering, to a transformative spiritual and communal reconciliation.
6. Summary: The Individual's Journey
To help you remember the structure of the novel for the "Society and the Individual" theme, keep this three-part journey in mind:
1. Solitude: The characters start emotionally and physically isolated (Kerewin in her Tower, Simon in muteness, Joe in grief).
2. Sundering and Suffering: Their attempts to form a unit collapse into violence and trauma, leading to total separation and breakdown.
3. Communal Renewal: Reconnecting with ancestral roots (Māori spirituality and community) enables them to rebuild a collective, healthy whānau together.
Key Takeaway for the Exam: Focus on how pain isolates the individual, but healing requires social and cultural reintegration.