Pouliuli

A detailed Summary of Pouliuli

In Pouliuli, a novel written by Albert Wendt, Faleasa Osovae awakens to find the life he's been living all along is a mere facade. Pouliuli invites readers into the Samoan community of Malaelua, which is turned topsy-turvy when Faleasa misleads his aiga and community by acting maniacal. Albert Wendt ties a famous Malaelua saga about a mythological hero named Pili to Faleasa Osovae's life. In the myth as well as in Faleasa's story, they both had the same goal, which was to live the rest of their life "free". To accomplish this goal, they both had to accomplish three tasks. Pilis' tasks were to eat a mountain of fish which the giant's had caught that day, to race the giants down a river, and make himself disappear. Faleasas' tasks were to destroy Filemoni, Make Moaula the new leader, and remove Sau and Vaelupa as council leader. Of course they couldn't have done these tasks alone so both of them enlisted help from friends. Pili enlisted the help of Tausamitele, Lelemalosi, and Pouliuli. Faleasa enlisted the help of his long time friend Laaumatua and his son Moaula. Finally to get the freedom they so wished for they had to complete one last task. In Pili's case it was to divide his kingdom among his children while Faleasa had to rem

...looking bigger still in falling gloom, he stretched his arms and back and looked over at his father. (29)

...like Pili in his bitter old age, he too had voluntarily jumped up, as it were, into a living death, into the living darkness of Pouliuli. This conclusion did not frighten him: it was consoling, like being suspended in the core of a timeless sea, without a beginning or an end; and all was well. (97-98)

In Wendt's novel Pouliuli, he introduces us to a seventy-six years old man that creates a plan that will allow him to attain freedom in the final years of his life. Wendt also acquaints us about a Malaeluan saga of a lizard that takes on three tasks to be converted into a human. They both enlist the help of friends that have similar characteristics to carry out each task. Each of them are successful but in the end comes up short and fail to achieve what they had set out to do. In conclusion things could have gone smooth sailing for Faleasa if he had noticed that Pili's saga were similar to what he was going through and could have changed the outcome but instead followed the same steps as Pili into the darkness of Pouliuli.

That same night Pili vanished from Malaelua. Some Malaeluans claimed that he had jumped up and been swallowed by his friend Pouliuli and would refuse to become visible again.

"...If you set me three tasks and I perform them successfully will you lift the curse off me?" (96) In Pili's myth, Pili goes up to the Ninth Heaven to ask for his father, Tagaloaalagi, to restore him into a human. Tagaloaalagi sets three tasks for Pili to do. Pili does all the tasks with the help of Tausamitel and Lelemalosi and gets his wish to be restored human. "...Faleasa had just described to his lifelong friend his plan and his transformation from what he called 'cannibal meat' into a 'free angel'." (16) Pili's saga is similar to the story of Faleasa. Faleasa has created a plan that would relieve him of the duties as a leader

Some common words found in the essay are:
Pouliuli Pili, Pili Faleasa, Moaula Finally, Malaelua Malaeluans, Faleasa Moaula, Pili Faleasa's, Faleasa Osovae's, Faleasa Osovae, Tausamitel Lelemalosi, Laaumatua Tausamitele, pili's saga, pili faleasa, didn't change, didn't change outcome, saga faleasa's, allies pili, enlisted help, change outcome, darkness pouliuli, pili's saga faleasa's, faleasa's story, saga similar, pili's saga similar, friends tasks completed, heavy load taro,

Approximate Word count = 1316
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous