Module 9 Blog

As Thompson’s “Travel Writing” discusses, it is common for travel writers to document their journeys and the people that they meet with a tone of superiority. Many travelogues, such as the logs kept by Europeans visiting the Americas for the first time, treat the natives not as equals, but as primitive beings ready for them to exploit. In these cases they create “an image of the Other which licenses a sense of cultural superiority in both traveller and audience, and many other travelogues historically have worked in the same fashion, thereby helping to generate or reinforce a range of prejudicial, ethnocentric attitudes” (Thompson 133). Travel writers are sharing the world according to their experiences and perspective, so their preconceived notions about a people or place will often shine through. This is sometimes the case for Daniel L. Everett when he is faced with cultural differences between his family and the Pirahas. For the most part, Everett tries to acknowledge that they are from different cultures and cannot expect to completely understand each other. There are a few instances, however, in which he thinks he is more knowledgeable or highly revered than the natives. When his wife and daughter contract malaria Everett is sure that they have typhoid fever and he “felt smug and superior to these people” (50) because he thought his knowledge of medicine was more advanced than theirs. This was a learning moment for Everett though, because he later realizes they were right. The difference between Everett and travel writers prior to him that approach travel writing with an attitude of superiority is that Everett sees where he is wrong and prejudiced and tries to correct his behavior. Everett is interesting in living among and working with the natives, not ruling over them or using them to do his bidding. This can also be seen when the natives want to kill him over a misunderstanding with a trader who sells them alcohol. He thinks it is his role to keep the people in line, but when they react poorly, he realizes his mistake and humbly accepts that he has no more status than anyone else living there. His desire to understand and assimilate to their culture sets him apart from those who look down on other cultures or desire to exploit them.