The Descendants

Author: Kaui Hart Hemmings

Characters

Joanie King

Protagonist 1:
Matt King

father...

husband...

descendant of
Princess Kekipi...

Protagonist 2:
Alex King

leader & role

model...

sister &
daughter...

Protagonist 3:
Scottie King

sister &
daughter...

dependant...
out
spoken...

Antagonist 1:
Brian Speer

husband &
Joanies lover...

father...
selfish...

Minor Characters
Sid: Alexs boyfriend
Troy: Joanies co-pilot (seen as an
antagonist)
Julie Speer: Brians wife
Scott: Joanies dad
Kai and Mark: Joanies closest
friends
Mrs. Higgins: Lanis mother

Novel Summary

Joanie was in a boating accident

Plan B: no artificial life sustaining procedures

Matt decides to pick up Alex

Matt learns about the affair

Matt and the kids start their difficult journey

Trip to Kauai

Brian declines

Hollitzers connection

Decides to keep the land

Joanie passes away

Movie Trailer

#1. Hawaiian Ancestors and Culture

4 generations
later

King Kamehameha
the Great
(ka-may-ha-may-ha)
*died at age 63: ruled
from 1795-1819

King Kamehameha V, the

last descendant from
the Great
*died at age 42: ruled
from 1863-1872

Social Norms from the Past...

Polygamy:
King Kamehameha the
Great had many wives,
therefore he had many
children, but only a few
of them were males

Incest:
a popular Hawaiian culture
up until the early 19th
century in large families;
many would marry a brother
or sister in similar age
instead of looking elsewhere

The Matt King Explanation

My great-grandfather was
Edward King. His parents were
missionaries, but he went in a
different direction...

He managed the estate of

Princess Kekipi, the last direct
descendant of King
Kamehameha...

Kekipi was supposed to

marry her brother...

She left three hundred

thousand acres of land to
Kekipi...

She had an affair with

her estate planner,
Edward, and they married
soon after...

We got it all...

2. Effects of Loss on Children

No child is too young to notice when an important
person is no longer there.
(Chums, Web)
Children respond to death in the following ways:

Psychosomatic
Complaints

Denial

Anger

Panic
Idealisation

How Scottie and Alex Conform

(to this study)

Scottie

Alex

Bullies her peers

(anger)
Does things she
thinks her mother
would find cool and
that would impress
her (idealisation)
Speaks as if her
mother is going to be
okay (denial)

Tries to act like her

mothers accident
doesnt bother her
(denial)
Shows signs of being
scared of what is
going to happen
when her mother dies
(panic)

3. Love Affairs
Stage 1: Develop a close
emotional bond
Stage 2: Keep it a secret (You
know youre in deep when you
decide to keep the relationship
a secret - Psychologist, Debbie
Layton Tholl)
Stage 3: Dating phase

Stage 4: Sexual Attraction

Why do women cheat?

Top 10 reasons behind women infidelity:
1. Not enough sex
2. Being the bad girl
3. Self esteem
4. Payback for past wrongs
5. Lack of intimacy
6. Feeling neglected
7. Mens emotional withdrawal
8. Bedroom boredom
9. Exit strategy
10. Revenge for your cheating
Fight fire with fire and youre
gonna get burned!

Joanies Affair with Brian...

Checklist:

Stages:
Stage One
Stage Two
Stage Three
Stage Four

Reasons:
Not Enough Sex
Bad Girl
Self esteem
Payback
Lack of Intimacy
Neglected
Emotional Withdrawal
Bedroom Boredom
Exit Strategy
Revenge

This is...

https://jeopardylabs.com/play/the-descendants

Works Cited
Find Out the Real Reasons Women Cheat, the Specific Pattern They Follow and Why Now... They
re Cheating as Much as Men. Womens Infidelity. n.d. 21 November 2013.
How Loss Can Affect Children. Chums. White Stuff Foundation, Cawleys, Benchmark Brands
LTD. n.d. Web. 1 November 2013.
Rutherford, Scott, et al. Insight Guides: Hawaii. Singapore: APA Publications (HK) LTD, 1995. Print.
My Wife Had Multiple Affairs. GardenWeb. 17 January 2011. 14 November 2013.
The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 27 October 2013.
Gerhardt, Pam. The Emotional Cost of Infidelity. Washington Post News. 30 March, 1999. 12
November 2013.
Young, Allison. Top 10: Reasons Women Cheat. Ask Men. n.d. 21 November 2013.
Kavenna, Joanna. While You Were Out. New York Times: Sunday Book Review. New York Times
Newspaper. 20 May 2007. 15 October 2013.
(alphabetized by title of article/novel).