Whale Rider Response Questions

1. One situation where Koro ignored signs of Pais ability to lead was when she was eavesdropping and looking in to one of the lessons through a window and one of the boys came out. They started to fight using sticks as taiahas. Pai was able to succeed and knock it out of the boys hands. Koro came out and saw this but just got upset. Another situation was when she was able to start the motor with the rope that Koro said was a piece of crap. He went to get a new one and came back to see the motor running and only told her that was a dangerous thing for her to do.
2. Since Pai was not able to recieve lessons about taiaha from her grandfather, she decided to ask her uncle. Rawiri used to be very good at it and even won a trophy, but had not done it in years. When he began teaching her, he became a new man and more involved.
3. When Pai walks alone towards the big whale, I think she realizes who she is and what she needs to become.
4. When Pai is in the hospital, they know Koro has changed his attitude towards her because we see that she is wearing the whale tooth necklace which he found out Pai had retrieved from the water. One could also tell his attitude had changed because of the emotions he expressed through his face.
5. The significance of the waka is to voyage out on the water and connect with ancestors. The part that struck me the most was how dressed up everyone was. The people all seemed to be wearing traditional clothing and chanting in Maori. It showed the togetherness of the Whangara people.