Disguised Resistance in Haunani-Kay Trask’s Light in the Crevice Never Seen

Abstract

            This paper aims to challenge the binary axis of power, the oppressors and the oppressed, by examining the numerous ways employed by Haunani-Kay Trask, a Hawaiian writer, to resist the impact of American colonization in Light in the Crevice Never Seen. This literary text is analyzed within the theoretical framework of Scott’s theory of infrapolitics. Trask utilizes disguised resistance strategies, combining English and Hawaiian languages, mythology, and imagery in her poetry collection. Trask inserts Hawaiian words into her poems to restore the native language and history and empower native Hawaiians. Myths are employed to stress the importance of nature, as well as Hawaiian cultures and religious beliefs. Imagery is Trask’s powerful tool for sending her hidden message—the negative effects of colonization and raising readers’ awareness of the need of nature protection. This study points out that domination and resistance continue to coexist: power breeds resistance.