Rídan the Devil, and Other Stories : 1899

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Becke, Louis, 1855-1913

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Rídan the Devil, and Other Stories" by Louis Becke is a collection of short stories written in the late 19th century. The opening story introduces Rídan, a mysterious and feared character living on a German plantation in Upolu Island, who is regarded as a devil or wizard by his peers. The tales likely explore themes of colonialism, conflict, and the struggles of indigenous populations, particularly in relation to Rídan's tragic experiences and the oppressive conditions he faces. At the start of the collection, readers meet Rídan, a man bound in iron and living in isolation due to the animosity and fear he evokes in his fellow workers on the plantation. After a violent altercation with the overseer, Burton, Rídan is sent back to the plantation, despite attempts to escape his harsh captivity. The narrative underscores the brutality of colonial rule as it follows Rídan's attempts to regain his freedom and the kindness of a man named Pulu, who shows compassion towards him even under dire circumstances. Rídan's heartbreaking story invites readers to grapple with issues of identity, cultural dislocation, and resilience in the face of systemic oppression. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

Rídan the devil

A memory of "the system"

A North Pacific lagoon island

Bilger, of Sydney

The vision of Milli the slave

Denison gets a berth ashore

Addie Ransom

In a native village

Maurice Kinane

The "killers" of Twofold Bay

Denison's second berth ashore

A fish drive on a Micronesian atoll

Bobaran

Sea fishing in Australia

An adventure in the New Hebrides

The south sea bubble of Charles du Breil

The white wife and the brown "woman"

With hook and line on an Austral river

The wreck of the "Leonora"

An old colonial mutiny

A boating adventure in the Carolines

A Christmas Eve in the Far South Seas.

Credits:

Produced by David Widger

Notes:

Reading ease score: 70.2 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read.

Release date is 2008-03-15