Representation of cannibals exists adjacent to the representation of any culture associated with alterity, political discourse, or blasphemous rhetoric. [1] [2] Homer's Odyssey , Beowulf , Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus , Flaubert's Salammbo , Conrad's Heart of Darkness , and Melville's Moby Dick each feature a type of cannibalistic representation that is larger than the ambiguity of cultural versus survival cannibalism. [2]
Travel narrative is a literary genre characterized by factual reportage represented and interpreted through techniques better known in fiction. Other aspects of travel literature include the disciplines of ethnography, geography, history, economics, and aesthetics. [3] Travel narratives were used in the ages of discovery to map the world and, during the exploration of the New World, establish traits of indigenous people, survey for gold, and relate back to sovereigns the positives of their investments while encouraging more travel. This style of writing can be traced back to the 1st century. [4]
Christopher Columbus invented the term "cannibal"[ citation needed ] after arriving in the Bahamas in 1492 during his search for India. The friendly Arawak tribe described an island of enemies, the "Carib" or "Caniba" depending on translation, who, as Columbus described them, ate men with their monstrous dog snouts. The binary of friend and foe, good and evil, man and eater can be traced to this point in Western literature. [5] [6]
Source: [7]
Cannibalism comes up with surprise frequency in European literature during the High Middle Ages. [1] The symbolism of cannibalism and representation of cannibals is used "as a literary response to the politics of external conquest, internal colonization, and territorial consolidation". [1]
For theorists like James Marlow, Charles Dickens's literary use of cannibalism could be an extension of his personal beliefs and fascinations, becoming more of a psychoanalytical tool, rather than a literary one. [8]
"Cannibalism in the Cars" is an 1868 short story by Mark Twain in which the narrator meets a member of Congress who talks about their descent into cannibalism on a train. Twain's use of "parliamentary cannibalism" satirises 19th century American politics. [9]
Toni Morrison uses the "jungle savage" stereotype and imagery to present "polemic points about racial, sexual, and class conflicts in American, African American, and Black Atlantic culture". [10] Her novels The Bluest Eye (1970), Sula (1973), and Beloved (1987) use cannibalism in the particular context of black narratives in the white "standard".
The Bluest Eye tells the story of a young African-American girl, Pecola Breedlove, who is regarded as ugly according to the white beauty standard. As a result, she develops an inferiority complex, fueling her desire for blue eyes and whiteness. At one point, she purchases a few pieces of candy called Mary Janes, which feature a picture of a beautiful little white girl with blue eyes, called Mary Jane. Pecola fixates on this fictional girl:
Each pale yellow wrapper has a picture on it. A picture of little Mary Jane, for whom the candy is named. Smiling white face. Blond hair in gentle disarray, blue eyes looking a her out of a world of clean comfort. The eyes are petulant, mischievous. To Pecola they are simply pretty. She eats the candy, and its sweetness is good. To eat the candy is somehow to eat the eyes, eat Mary Jane. Love Mary Jane. Be Mary Jane. [11]
Morrison uses symbolic cannibalism to represent Pecola's "entrapment in a globalized capitalist system in which intensively plantation-farmed sugar and its teeth-rotting products are signs of Third World peoples' exploitation both as workers and consumers." [12] [10]
Beloved tells the story of a formerly enslaved family whose home is haunted by a malevolent spirit. The titular character, Beloved, "had two dreams: exploding and being swallowed." Morrison again uses the cannibal trope to characterize the exploitation and inner exploration of slavery. [10]
Tender is the Flesh is a 2017 Argentinian dystopian novel written by Agustina Bazterrica focusing on a society which consumes human flesh instead of animal flesh as a satire on capitalism. [13]
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In Romance of the Three Kingdoms , Xiahou Dun engages in autocannibalism when he is shot in the eye in a show of bravery and filial piety towards his parents. Additionally, while Liu Bei is traveling, he takes shelter with a hunter overnight. The hunter is unable to hunt any animals to feed him, and murders his own wife so that the visiting warlord might have meat. This pleases Cao Cao when he hears of it, and the hunter is rewarded. [14] This showed the Confucian values of being filial and of respecting those of a higher rank than oneself, along with the lack of value women had at the time.
In Ming and Qing dynasty literature, filial children engage in the practice of gegu [15] or cutting of their own flesh and feeding it to their parents in order to extend the lifespan of their parents.
"Diary of a Madman" is a 1918 short story written by Lu Xun, credited as the first Chinese modern short story. [16] It concerns a "madman" who begins to see "cannibalism" in his community, his family, and ultimately between the lines of Confucian text. The use of cannibalism becomes the catalyst of satire and critique of Chinese society's dependence on Confucian idealism. An effect of this idealism, to Lu Xun, was the cannibalizing of the family. [17] [18]
Human cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh or internal organs of other human beings. A person who practices cannibalism is called a cannibal. The meaning of "cannibalism" has been extended into zoology to describe animals consuming parts of individuals of the same species as food.
Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison, known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon (1977) brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987); she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
Wendigo is a mythological creature or evil spirit originating from Algonquian folklore. The concept of the wendigo has been widely used in literature and other works of art, such as social commentary and horror fiction.
Alexander "Sawney" Bean is a legendary figure, said to be have been the head of a 45-member clan in Scotland in the 16th century that murdered and cannibalised over 1,000 people in 25 years. According to the legend, Bean and his clan members were eventually caught by a search party sent by King James VI and executed for their heinous crimes.
The Bluest Eye, published in 1970, is the first novel written by Toni Morrison. The novel takes place in Lorain, Ohio, and tells the story of a young African-American girl named Pecola who grew up following the Great Depression. Set in 1941, the story is about how she is consistently regarded as "ugly" due to her mannerisms and dark skin. As a result, she develops an inferiority complex, which fuels her desire for the blue eyes she equates with "whiteness".
"Diary of a Madman", also translated as "A Madman's Diary" is a short story by the Chinese writer Lu Xun, published in 1918. It was the first and one of the most influential works written in vernacular Chinese in Republican era China, and would become a cornerstone of the New Culture Movement. Lu Xun's stories often critiqued early 20th century Chinese society, and "Diary of a Madman" established a new language and revolutionary figure of Chinese literature, an attempt to challenge conventional thinking and traditional understanding.
Child cannibalism or fetal cannibalism is the act of eating a child or fetus. Children who are eaten or at risk of being eaten are a recurrent topic in myths, legends, and folktales from many parts of the world. False accusations of the murder and consumption of children were made repeatedly against minorities and groups considered suspicious, especially against Jews as part of blood libel accusations.
Cannibalism, the act of eating human flesh, is a recurring theme in popular culture, especially within the horror genre, and has been featured in a range of media that includes film, television, literature, music and video games. Cannibalism has been featured in various forms of media as far back as Greek mythology. The frequency of this theme has led to cannibal films becoming a notable subgenre of horror films. The subject has been portrayed in various different ways and is occasionally normalized. The act may also be used in media as a means of survival, an accidental misfortune, or an accompaniment to murder. Examples of prominent artists who have worked with the topic of cannibalism include William Shakespeare, Voltaire, Bret Easton Ellis, and Herschell Gordon Lewis.
Cannibalism in the Americas has been practiced in many places throughout much of the history of North America and South America. The origin of the term "cannibal" comes from the Island Caribs, who were encountered by Christopher Columbus in the Bahamas. Numerous cultures in North America were reported by European explorers and colonizers to have engaged in cannibalism, however these claims are not always reliable since the Spanish used them as part of their justifications for conquest.
The siege of Ma'arra occurred in late 1098 in the city of Ma'arrat Nu'man, in what is modern-day Syria, during the First Crusade. It is infamous for the claims of widespread cannibalism committed by the crusaders.
The Man-Eating Myth: Anthropology and Anthropophagy is an influential anthropological study of socially sanctioned "cultural" cannibalism across the world, which casts a critical perspective on the existence of such practices. It was authored by the American anthropologist William Arens of Stony Brook University, New York, and first published by Oxford University Press in 1979.
Incest is an important thematic element and plot device in literature, with famous early examples such as Sophocles' classic Oedipus Rex, a tragedy in which the title character unwittingly kills his father and marries his mother. It occurs in medieval literature, both explicitly, as related by denizens of Hell in Dante's Inferno, and winkingly, as between Pandarus and Criseyde in Chaucer's Troilus. The Marquis de Sade was famously fascinated with "perverse" sex acts such as incest, which recurs frequently in his works,The 120 Days of Sodom (1785), Philosophy in the Bedroom (1795), and Juliette (1797).
Scarlet Memorial: Tales of Cannibalism in Modern China is a book of reportage literature by the Chinese novelist Zheng Yi. Zheng and a group of writers under the joint pseudonym "T. P. Sym" translated and abridged it from the Chinese work 红色纪念碑 Hongse jinianbei. Zheng uses local government documents, eye-witness accounts and confessions to describe the factional violence and even cannibalism that occurred in the Guangxi Massacre during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).
Camille DeAngelis is an American novelist and travel writer. Her novel about teenage cannibals, Bones & All, won an Alex Award in 2016. The story line deals with issues such as feminism, loneliness and self-loathing, and the moral problem of flesh eating. A film adaptation was released in 2022.
Abby Jane Morrell was an American writer who produced the first description of sub-Antarctic travel from a woman's perspective.
Medical or medicinal cannibalism is the consumption of parts of the human body, dead or alive, to treat or prevent diseases. The medical trade and pharmacological use of human body parts and fluids often arose from the belief that because the human body is able to heal itself, it can also help heal another human body. Much of medical cannibalism applied the principles of sympathetic magic, for example that powdered blood helps bleeding, human fat helps bruising, and powdered skulls help with migraines or dizziness. Medical cannibalism has been documented especially for Europe and China.
The Delectable Negro: Human Consumption and Homoeroticism within U.S. Slave Culture is a 2014 book by Vincent Woodard. The book explores the homoeroticism of both literal and figurative acts of human cannibalism that occurred during slavery in the United States.
Young-Oak Lee is a South Korean scholar, literary critic, and academic figure in the field of English literature and humanities. Lee is a professor emeritus of English Language and Literature of College of Liberal Arts at Sungkyunkwan University. Lee played a major role in the academic circles of humanities by taking various leadership positions; she was the 26th president of the English Language and Literature Association of Korea (ELLAK), the 5th President of the Korean Association of Modern Fiction in English and the Korean Association for Feminist Studies in English Literature. In August 2011, Lee received the SKKU Teaching Award from Sungkyunkwan University for outstanding contribution in enhancing the quality of higher education. In 2012, she was awarded Geunjungpojang by the South Korean government, which is a Service Merit Medal given to a person who has contributed to the welfare of the people by working strenuously as a public official, a university professor, or an employee of public and social organizations. In 2019, at the 9th Proud Korean National Awards held at the Korea Press Center, Lee received the prize in the category of community service. In 2017, she was appointed as the 7th President of Ahn Junggeun Memorial Museum by Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs in South Korea. Chosun Daily reports that her term of office is three years. Working as the president, she endeavored to champion the independence spirit of the patriot Ahn Junggeun to the people of South Korea.
Acts of cannibalism in Asia have been reported from various parts of the continent, ranging from ancient times to the 21th century. Human cannibalism is particularly well documented for China and for islands that today belong to Indonesia.
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