Setting

Physical setting

The short story “Hemi’s Gift” by T J Corrigan takes place in northern New Zealand, on a bus ride from Auckland to Whāngarei. Half of the story takes place on the bus itself, although the story begins at Auckland station, and most of the second half (ll. 62-121) takes place outside a roadside diner in the town of Kaiwaka, a middle point between Auckland and Whāngarei. 

The setting of the bus ride and the stop along the way acts as an ‘in-between’ space or the transition between one destination (Auckland) and the next (Whāngarei). The physical journey the narrator is undertaking is also a symbol of the emotional journey she is going through because of her father’s passing. The start point, Auckland, represents the moment of her father’s death, while the destination, Whāngarei, her home, represents the place her father...