big brother little sister

author – witi ihimaera

text type – short story

date read – march 2019

Big brother Little sister is a story that is based on family relationships. Hema and Janey have a very strong relationship, that some siblings don’t have. Hema and Janey are quick to learn that the people who you are closest to in you life don’t always stick by you side.

The character i found the most interesting was Hema, personally I think Hema is a excellent role model for his little sister Janey. He’s always there for Janey, he takes responsibility for her. I could personally relate to this because, my sister and i have a very strong connection too. She is also an awesome role model for me because, she takes the responsibility when mum and dad aren’t there. When I was little she always use to look after me. If I got sick or take me out of the house when mum and dad would argue. This would make me feel protected when she would go out of her way to make me safe. When Hema and Janey’s mum excludes them from her life to hang out with uncle Pera, this is telling the readers that their mother isn’t a good role model for her kids. And doesn’t make very good decisions, like Hema does. An effective message that WIti ihimaera uses is ” look after you sister” Witi repeats this message in the text to tell the reader that the mum is showing neglection.

Witi ihimaera uses messages in the text to communicate his point across to the readers. The message that stands out the most for me is when Hema and Janey’s uncle Pera, comes into the picture, after the father leaves when this happen hema and janey are left to their own devices. And are neglected by their mother. ” Go away kids, uncle Pera and I want to be alone “. this quote made me feel empathic towards Hema and Janey. Because of how she was treating her kids, it also made me feel lucky that i don’t get treated like that on a daily basis, like they do. I have seen first hand what neglect looks like. One of my close friends is being neglected. I personally feel bad and lucky that I don’t have this happening in my life. it’s made me realise that not everyone’s family’s are happy, and have a good relationship. In society child neglect is very common to see 20% of new zealand children have been neglected by their family’s.

Challenges that the Hema and Janey had to face was being able to look after themselves properly, with no parent or caregiver to guide them through their lives. Hema and Janey struggle with surviving by themselves. An example of this is when they try to buy train ticket but can only afford one. ” We’ve only got enough for one ticket “, this is an indication that their family is poor. This is because they live in a two bedroom flat, and there mother goes out drinking all the time with uncle Pera. Another challenge that Hema and Janey had to face was having to hear and see there mum and dad fighting. This is showing the reader that there is family violence happening. I could personally relate to this as my parents used to get quite physical with their arguments.

Big brother Little sister is an appropriate title for this story because. The title tells the reader what the story is about, ” family relationships” big brother little sister is also focused on the relationship between the family, and siblings like Hema and Janey

I would recommend this story to teengers. Because most teenagers in society can relate to Hema and Janey. As they have been through, and have experienced neglect in their families just like most teenagers do in New Zealand.