B9: Tales of the South Pacific Part 2

Start date: October 29, 2025

Time: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Location: AU Kennedy 119

Category: WISE Class

Event Summary:

This is a five-week class that will meet in-person on the Assumption campus; meeting dates are Oct 29, Nov 5, 12, 19, Dec 3

Event Description


Class dates: Oct 29, Nov 5, 12, 19 and Dec 3 (5 weeks)

NOTE: This is Part 2 of a 10-week class; the first half will run during Session A

Class time: 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm

Location: Assumption, Kennedy 119

Michener’s “Tales of the South Pacific” is a collection of nineteen short stories loosely connected by recurring fictional characters going about day-to-day activities – some official, some not – in the South Pacific Theatre of World War II. The common thread throughout the book is the planning, preparation, and execution of a large amphibious assault of an enemy island. 

While the operation and the island are fictious, many of the people, places, and events mentioned throughout the book are real. It is my intention to provide periodic insight into the historical and biographical elements of Michener’s book in order to give the reader context behind the stories. 

The book was published shortly after the end of World War II and won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.  Readers of that generation were aware of what men and women in uniform endured in a war zone. 

Without insight to the War’s South Pacific Theatre, today’s reader of “Tales …” might find little appreciation for Michener’s work. My objective is to inspire the reader’s curiosity to probe each story beyond the written word, and to share questions and comments with the rest of the class. 

Required reading: Tales of the South Pacific , James A. Michener, Dial Press 2014, ISBN 978-0-8129-8635-8, Trade Paperback Edition.

There are eight reading assignments, the longest being 60 pages. It is expected that some participants will be curious regarding the relationship of “Tales …“ to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical “South Pacific”. Reading assignments are arranged such that this topic is discussed during weeks four and five. Participants are encouraged to view any version of the musical they can find.

Instructor: Ronald Paul Bernard Following 20 years of active duty in the Navy, and 25 years in I.T., Ron retired to pursue other interests. As a member of Tufts University Osher Lifelong Learning Institute he has presented courses on World War Two history as well as American popular music. He is a graduate of Assumption College with a B.S. in Liberal Studies.