Analysis of The Poem "Kidnapped" by Ruperake Petaia

This poem is considering the impact of the coloniser on the people’s culture and reflecs the negative effects on the colonies. It shows the emotional feeling by neglecting their land and ancestry. The poet at the first of the poem referred to the education system that is an alien for him and it does not belong to indigenous people or link to their own root at all. The poet does not like the idea of the imperialist to promote or impose a foreign culture in the colonies they establish. It is leaving a strong feeling of losing the identity and culture.

Petaia said “Mama was careless.” This speaks to me that he accused his people or government for obeying to a strange education system that forced him to go to the school unwillingly to learn a different culture and language.

“One day I was kidnapped by a band of western philosophers armed with glossy pictured text books am d registered reputations holders of BA and MA degrees.”

It could be explained that the western books and philosophy were not really favourite subjects or something excitement for him. He wants to study about his own culture and ancestry. However, the western education sparked his sight about freedom and independent. It also explains his feelings of anger as he said “Guevara pointed a revolution at my brains.”

The theme culture shows that the pacific people are keen about their kids as it stated “Each time mama and papa grew poorer and poorer.”

Pacific people see through that education is a factor to the future. So, our parents are eager to put frontward no matter how much it costs for uniform and fees. It shows how much the pacific people love and support their kids and care about their future.

At the last bit of his poem, in his view he described the school as a prison and he was not quite happy for his graduation and his described his fellows as victims. Eventually, he called his certificate is a paper of release, which means he finally got the freedom.

The reader can touch or feel how Petaia suffers from the coloniser. He shows or clarifies the struggled that he went through since he was forced to the school until the graduation. Also Petaia conveys a real message that he was a part of it which is the colonisers is destroying the colonies and devastated the cultural identity.