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". 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 social media and moves to a cabin in the woods because they find modern life too noisy and fake.
Joe Simon: The Struggling Father
Joe is a Māori man who is caught between two worlds. He wants to be a good father to 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 doesn't always know how to meet them.
Simon: The Silent Outsider
Simon is a young boy 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 "freak." He represents the ultimate "outsider."
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 come together to form a new kind of "family" (or Whānau).
2. Key Symbols: Society vs. The Individual
Hulme uses symbols to show how characters feel about 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 wall between her and society. It represents her desire for autonomy (independence) but also her loneliness.
Key Quote: "I am a self-contained person."
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’s a metaphor for how people in society interact—sometimes it’s a game, sometimes it’s a battle.
The "Bone People"
The title refers to the ancestors—the "skeleton" of society. It suggests that for an individual to be healthy, they must be connected to their "bones" (their history and their people).
Memory Aid: Think of "Bones = Roots". Without roots, an individual falls over!
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 history. This is part of your AO3 (Context) marks!
Post-Colonial Society
The book is set in a Post-Colonial society. This means a place where one culture (the British/European) took over another (the Māori).
• Joe and Kerewin both have Māori heritage, but they live in a world that often follows European rules.
• This creates an identity crisis for the individual. If you don't feel "Māori enough" or "European enough," where do you belong?
Whānau (Family/Community)
In Māori culture, the individual is not as important as the Whānau (extended family). The book shows that the characters only find peace when they stop acting like "loners" and start acting like a community.
Don't worry if this seems tricky! Just remember: The characters are trying to figure out how to be Māori in a modern, Western world. That is their "Social" struggle.
4. Language and Narrative Style
Hulme writes in a very specific way to show the characters' internal thoughts. This is great for your AO2 (Analysis) marks.
Stream of Consciousness
The writing often jumps around, using fragments of sentences. This reflects how an individual's mind works—it’s messy, fast, and private.
• Example: Instead of saying "Kerewin was thinking about her tea," Hulme might write: "Tea. Steam. The bite of ginger. Quiet now."
Bilingualism (English and Māori)
Hulme mixes Māori words with English.
• Why? It shows that the "Society" of the book is a mix of two cultures. As an individual reader, if you don't know the Māori words, you might feel like an outsider—just like Simon or Joe!
Did you know? When the book was first published, some people complained that there wasn't a glossary for the Māori words. Hulme refused to include one at first because she wanted the reader to experience the cultural gap.
5. Common Mistakes to Avoid
• Mistake 1: Viewing Joe as just a "villain." While Joe does terrible things (he is physically abusive to Simon), Hulme wants us to see him as a broken individual shaped by a broken society. Don't just judge him; analyze why he acts that way.
• Mistake 2: Forgetting the setting. The isolation of the New Zealand beaches and bush is vital. The environment acts as a mirror to the characters' individual loneliness.
• Mistake 3: Ignoring the "Healing" at the end. The novel ends with a sense of "Sundeering" or coming together. The individuals eventually find a way to fit into a new kind of society.
6. Summary: The Individual's Journey
To help you remember the structure of the novel for the "Society and the Individual" theme, use the "Three S's":
1. Solitude: The characters start alone and isolated (Kerewin in her Tower).
2. Suffering: Their attempts to join together are violent and painful because they don't know how to "fit" yet.
3. Sundeering (Healing): They rediscover their roots (Māori culture) and form a new, healthy society together.
Key Takeaway for the Exam: Focus on how pain is an individual experience, but healing is a social one. These characters cannot fix themselves alone; they need the "Society" of each other to survive.