The cultural clash between native-born residents of a land and outsiders who move to it is a universal theme. However, the tourist-based economy of Hawai‘i magnifies these tensions in Sharks in the Time of Saviors. Tourism, by its very nature, appeals to outsiders. Furthermore, tourism brings in a lot of outside investment and big international businesses, such as giant hoteliers and cruise ship companies. A large percentage of the profits of these multinational tourist companies go to foreign owners and partners. When a substantial portion of the native population feels left out and reduced to working low-paying service jobs, resentment emerges. In Sharks in the Time of Saviors, the Flores family embodies this tension. Each member was born on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, and throughout the novel the mother and father struggle to support their family by working menial jobs.

All the Flores family members derisively refer to non-Hawaiians, mostly Caucasians who visit or have relocated to the islands, as “haoles.” Malia is the most vocal in expressing her disdain for the outsiders who, she believes, have ruined the islands. Her ire is evident in passages like the following, which describes outside capitalistic forces encroaching upon and defacing the islands’ natural beauty: