The Whale Rider

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Ben Pike ENG-1D-03 Mrs. MacDougall 12/5/2012 Whale Rider Essay by Ben Pike Within the movie “The Whale Rider” Paikea Apriana is seen to be a modern day hero as she plays a critical role in restoring the health of her Maori society. In New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their culture is thousand years or more and lead back to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a Maori tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather, Koro, is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai is able to show that she has the strength to become a leader and overcome challenges, but her grandfather, Koro, does not want a girl as a leader for his society. Even though going against everything Koro says, Pai still loves him more than she loves anything else. Throughout the movie Pai is seen disobeying Koro, but she is courageous in standing up for what she believes in. Pai is able to do things the average person only dreams of doing. Pai is the modern day hero because she never gives up on things she is confident on doing. Shown in the movie, when Koro is unable to fix the rope for the starter on the boat’s motor, Pai gives it a shot while Koro is gone to get another rope. Pai was successfully able to fix the rope and start the motor without the help of Koro, but of course he had to ruin what joy Pai had of fixing it by saying it’s too dangerous for her to do such thing. I think Koro should have let Pai do what she thinks is right for her society and allow her to qualify to be tested to be a chief. Pai can overcome many challenges that involves something
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