The Myths of Paradise and the Noble Savage: The Role of Captain James Cook and His Voyages to the South Pacific, 1768-1780

Date
2014-09-26
Authors
Tom, Henry
Contributor
Advisor
Department
History
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Volume
Number/Issue
Starting Page
Ending Page
Alternative Title
Abstract
“Paradise” and the “noble savage” are two myths of long standing in Western thought. They are grounded in the belief that at some earlier stage of development the world was better and man happier. Paradise embodies the idealization of that word as a land in which nature is perfect: it is abundant, the climate is temperate, and the life there is simple. To complement paradise, the noble savage stands for man as he longs to be: simple, virtuous, free, and happy. These two myths stretch far back into antiquity and continue through the Middle Ages and into the modern age. They are usually associated together, for the noble savage lives in paradise and paradise is the abode of the noble savage. As myths, paradise and the nobel savage suggest something of the mysterious or the imaginary. They have a sense of mystery about them –where are they? Just what are they like? They can be imaginary or semi-imaginary, like the Isles of the Blest and the Hyperboreans of the distant east. In one sense of the word, a myth is a fable, a story; but here paradise and the noble savage have transcended fables and have become what A. O. Lovejoy and George Boss call “traditions.” As Henri Baudet says, they have become part of the European unconscious. (And yet, at the same time, they may be projections of that same unconscious.)
Description
Keywords
Citation
Extent
vii, 84 pages
Format
Geographic Location
Time Period
Related To
Table of Contents
Rights
All UHM Honors Projects are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.
Rights Holder
Local Contexts
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.