To Paradise

The novel portrays characters from a wide range of social classes and incomes and it consistently demonstrates that an individual’s class position can limit them and impede them from living authentic lives. In Book 1, David Bingham feels trapped by his wealth and privilege. While his class position does ensure that he lives a comfortable life surrounded by beauty, it also means that David is sheltered. He doesn’t realize the extent of how sheltered he has been until he encounters Edward Bishop. At first, David harbors fantasies that he could integrate a relationship with Edward into his existing life. For example, he imagines living with Edward in his beautiful Washington Square mansion, envisioning how the house became “not a prison, or something to dread—it was his home, their home, and this was their family” (66). However, David eventually understands that he will have to give up his wealth and status to be with Edward. Although he has some misgivings, David chooses love over an elevated social position. He believes that he can only have true freedom and authenticity if he abandons his wealth. As he tells his grandfather, “[Y]ou say I will be throwing my life to the winds if I leave, but I think I will be burying it if I stay” (164).

In Book 2, Wika also feels trapped and frustrated by his family’s money and lineage. In a more modern world, one in which America controls Hawaii, Wika’s social position is meaningless; when he goes to New York for college, he becomes more isolated because he is subjected to racist bullying from other students. Wika internalizes their bigotry, noting that “I didn’t resent them: I resented where I had come from” (291). Wika longs for love and authentic emotional connection more than any kind of social status; he is impressed by Edward and his mother because of how open and loving they are with one another. In contrast, Wika’s connection with his mother is rooted in their relationship with his late father: “she was now Kawika Bingham’s widow; I was Kawika Bingham’s heir […] without him, we no longer knew how to relate to each other” (268).

Because of how trapped and unhappy he feels, Wika attempts to build a new life in a utopian community with Edward. His attempt is not successful, but it does reveal that Wika believes he can only be true to himself by breaking with his social identity. However, the attempt leaves Wika without any sense of belonging at all, and he reflects bleakly, “I’m thinking about how I’ll never get out of here, about how my life—my entire life—has been spent in places I can’t escape” (262). Both David and Wika experience class and social status as barriers to living authentically, but it is unclear if either successfully creates an alternative.