Voyage of the Beagle Adventures Term Paper

'

Likewise the native' darker skin which shields them against the sun reveals them, in Darwin's eyes, as closer to nature. The fact that they speak a different language that is not of the Indo-European family like Darwin's English, or Romantic (presumably, he would not look down upon them if they spoke French rather than their native tongue) likewise is unscientifically judged upon the basis that Darwin finds it unpleasant to listen to. Strikingly, even though some of these natives have already picked up a few words of English and can mimic the body language of the crew, showing what might be called a quick linguistic intelligence, Darwin sniffs that all savages are good mimics, and complains about the difficulty of getting black and white answers from individuals who have shown remarkable efforts in rapid language acquisition!

In his account of the Beagle's voyage to the Straight of Magellan, he is more complementary to native dwellers, but only so far as they acquire European manners and mores. "It was long before we could clear the boat; at last we got on board with our three giants, who dined with the Captain, and behaved quite like gentlemen, helping themselves with knives, forks, and spoons: nothing was so much relished as sugar. This tribe has had so much communication with sealers and whalers that most of the men can speak a little English and Spanish; and they are half civilized, and proportionally demoralized" (Chapter 11). He praises some natives for their good humor towards the Europeans, but does not praise this much more open and tolerant civilization than his own in turn. One wonders if, an expedition of native people had come to his own shores, if Europeans would be equally accommodating with their hospitality!

The paradox of Darwin's views is perhaps best exemplified when he muses: "At the base of the lofty and almost perpendicular sides of our little cove there was one deserted wigwam, and it alone reminded us that man sometimes wandered into these desolate regions.But it would be difficult to imagine a scene where he seemed to have fewer claims or less authority. The inanimate works of nature -- rock, ice, snow, wind, and water -- all warring with each other, yet combined against man -- here reigned in absolute sovereignty" (Chapter 11). On one hand, this passage is marked by an extraordinary humility about the power of nature, and 'man's equal place in nature, relative to other species and forms of life. There is no sense of Christian superiority that God created Man to rule over the animals and all living things and to triumph over the environment. However his dismissive comment about the wigwam, which is seen as pathetic -- what race of men would live in such conditions, how could they evolve -- is robbed of any dignity in terms of its evidence of the native's ability to survive in such harsh conditions. Rather than paying tribute to native survival in harsh lands, Darwin looks down upon alien tribes, even though he was born in Scotland, a place he calls almost equally barren and uncivilized in its topography.

Works Cited

Darwin, Charles. The Voyage of the Beagle. E-text. 24 Sept 2007. http://www.literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/the-voyage-of-the-beagle/index.html.....