Christopher Lucas

4 May, 2004

Moving Beyond Individualism

It would be interesting to know what it is men are most afraid of. Taking a new step, uttering a new word.

~Fyodor Dostoevsky ~

The fictional exploration literature examined as part of our course work appears to present many evolutions and development in the thought and understanding of what it means to explore. Chief among these developments is a shift in ideology regarding the role of exploration and the motivations behind explorers.  Fiction literature of exploration and space reflects an ideological expansion from the individual to a transnational or global perspective.  A shift to transnationalism ultimately provides a more cogent and comprehensive approach to the planning, execution and understanding of the exploration process. The structure and understanding of how mankind functions as a whole has begun to take shape and replace the rugged individualism of earlier exploration literature.

As an example of individualism, Poe presents Gordon Pym as an adventure story, short and sweet.  Poe does not appear to be addressing any profound social issues or constructs of the human mind. Poe’s own description of his novel highlights the emphasis on adventure. Poe highlights the adventure of the story by using terms like, “…mutiny and subsequent butchery…,” “…deliverance by means of a British schooner…,” and “…together with the incredible adventures and discoveries still farther to the south…”(1). to summarize his novel and his intent.

Implicit in this story are the general perceptions and opinions of explorers of that time. Poe attempts to work back and forth across the line of fiction and nonfiction. This constant crossing of fantasy and reality further integrates the mainstream opinions of the time. These opinions become the structure or context on which the behavior of the characters are based. In this way, though it was not Poe’s intention, he ultimately ends up telling a fair amount about the ideas and ideals of his time.

Poe began writing Pym around1836, just prior to the time when the term Manifest Destiny was introduced as an attempt to name the expansive movement already underway. One of the pillars of this ideology was a glamorization of the rugged self-sustaining individual who succeeded through sheer determination and God’s good grace. Pym’s adventures repeat this storyline over and over.  Pym is continually pitted against some apparently insurmountable circumstance only to succeed through determination or through some good fortune, which can be seen as divine intervention.

In addition to fitting the mold for Manifest Destiny, emphasizing the individual also allows Pym to represent the “average man” of his time. Gordon Pym comes from a nondescript middle class merchant family with no real ties to exploration, beyond the interaction with merchant ships. Yet, Pym still sees it as his right to participate in European man’s assumed natural progression throughout the world on a mission to essentially conquer or subdue everything that is found.

The motivation for Pym is essentially a desire for adventure.  He has become enamored with the sea stories he heard as a child and now wishes to take on his own adventures. There is no discussion regarding social responsibilities or consequences for the men aboard his ship. There is no debate on what role merchant ships should play in the exchange and interaction with foreign cultures. The focus rests solely on the individual and satisfying his individual desires.

The first contact with the tribe at the South Pole emphasizes the thoughts of the time.  Pym notes that “there were a hundred and ten savages in all” (131).  The automatic lumping of any people other than white Europeans into the category of “savages” says a lot about the mindset of the explorers.  By subjugating the tribe to the role of savages, the explorers place themselves in a dominant position.  Pym continues to support this power paradigm through his description of how the tribe reacted to certain aspects of the ship.  The tribe’s unfamiliarity with guns, mirrors, and metal cooking instruments is taken as an indication of how uncivilized they are.

Pym fails to note how strange and ignorant his advanced party must have seemed to the tribe as they walked inland to the village. Pym notes, “We saw nothing with which we had been formerly conversant” (135).  Certainly, the tribe could have viewed the sailors as uncivilized based on Pym’s reaction to a completely unfamiliar landscape. Pym, like the majority of individualistic explorers, equate unfamiliarity with being uncivilized.

Like Pym, John Carter is a character who is concerned with individual exploits and adventure. He may not have chosen to travel as Pym did, but his emphasis on the individual is similar.  As a character, Carter is alive following the Civil War during a time when there was a general push to expand westward and truly conquer the continental United States.  The official period of Manifest Destiny may have been over, but the sentiment lingered on.

Carter’s adventures could have easily continued taking place in the desert southwest with Indians tribes replacing the Martian tribes.  The storyline would have been essentially the same. More importantly, Carter would have behaved similarly in his dealings with the Indians.  As with Pym, everyone who is not a white male is simply a savage and someone that must be subdued.  Carter, more so than Pym, illustrates the narrative of power and dominance, which ultimately boils down to a good versus evil dichotomy.

Carter sees himself as being completely within his purview as an American male to not only fight alongside the Martians, but to take on a role as a chief and ultimate leader for the entire planet.  Carter does not abuse his power or mistreat anyone below him, but he clearly feels at easy in the role of lord over the Martians. Carter explains in his off handed way that, “for nine years I served in the councils and fought in the armies of Helium as a prince of the house of Tardos Mors. The people seemed never to tire of heaping honors upon me…” (140).

Like Pym, A Princess of Mars does not concern itself with any discussion regarding social responsibilities or consequences for the actions taken by the main characters. Carter drastically changes life on the red planet, yet it is taken for granted that it is perfectly fine for him to do so. There is no question in his mind about whether what he is doing is right or not. Carter simply handles every situation in a John Wayne-style, and then moves on. 

As we move ahead in time, social introspection appears to take a step forward in The Sparrow. In this story there is a decidedly different tone with regard to the implications of exploration and its’ possible affects. There are several factors contributing to this new perspective: When the story was actually written, the time period in which the story is supposed to take place, the number of fully developed characters, and the religious back drop of the storyline. All these changes serve to reduce the focus on individual exploits and move towards a more transnational perspective on exploration.

The Sparrow is set to take place between the years 2019 and 2060.  Economic, social, and political problems still exist here on earth.  For example, Sofia is forced to move from childhood prostitution to indentured servitude and Anne, George, and Emilio work with the poor in San Juan. With these problems noted, the characters do not embark on their trip to Rakhat with any delusions about solving all problems on Earth. The characters identify their mission as being “for the greater glory of God” (282).

Characters in The Sparrow lack the self-righteousness of individual characters like Carter and Pym. None of The Sparrow crew assumes that it is their role to simply go forth and conquer a new world. Religion, like individualism, was a pillar to the Manifest Destiny movement from the very beginning. After acknowledging the religious motivations of these characters, the overall intent towards exploration still seems to have shifted away from the mindset of Manifest Destiny.

The inclusion of a variety of characters from a variety of backgrounds is essential in the developing a transnational approach to exploration. The Jesuits decided not to wait for the UN to organize an official group that would more fairly represent the entire planet, but the Jesuit party certainly was painting from a larger pallet than a individualistic character like John Carter.

By including a mix of characters, each with varied opinions and necessary skills, the framework for discussion and expanded discourse was established.  With Pym and Carter, there were no other characters for them talk with that would have provided much useful ideological discourse.  Pym and Carter are very much “go do” type characters, where as the Jesuit party had the luxury of debate and discussion.

The differences in ideology are demonstrated in each novel as the characters encounter new people or beings for the first time. Pym is quickly left to his own devices following the attack which kills that majority of his shipmates.  Pym is not completely alone, but his actions are self preservation and instinct.

John Carter awakes to find himself in a new world and is forced to fight for his life almost immediately. He is an unwitting victim of circumstance with no time or option for council.  Like Pym, Carter is forced into survival mode with only his skills to protect him.

The crew of the Jesuit party on the other hand systematically decides where to land the lander vehicle in order to minimize the chances they will be seen.  The party remains at this location until they are comfortable with the new environment and have done some reconnaissance on the village. The crew attempts to control how and when they will engage the Runa, in doing so they are attempting to avoid the life and death scenarios seen with Pym and Carter.

After meeting Supaari and traveling to the city, Mark notes how dangerous it would have been for them to land near the city before they had time to orient and acclimate themselves to the planet. By controlling their integration into the new planet the Jesuit party is able to control and limit the number of possible dangerous situations that they may face. This scientific approach to exploration relies more heavily on a transnational approach than the individual approach shown by Pym or Carter. 

The Jesuit landing party also appears to be unaffected by the good versus evil paradigm seen in Pym and Princess of Mars.  The religious aspect of The Sparrow is central to the storyline, yet the characters take the Runa and Jana’ata at face value. Emilio explains of what was done to him and the conditions that exist on Rakhat, in doing so he does not presume to decide whether alien species are good or evil. After Emilio explains how the children were killed as a means of population control, he states “I am not defending them. I am trying to explain to you what happened and why” (379).  Emilio’s arguments are with God, not with the people of Rakhat.

The reluctance to cast judgment, or assume a position of superiority is a standard theme in other current exploration stories and storylines.  The overarching goal of exploration as a means of discovery and science, versus that of conquest, was a fundamental premise of the popular television series Star Trek.  Star Trek, like The Sparrow, seems to highlight a transitional process that continues to move the emphasis was from the individual and towards a transnational approach to exploration.

The Star Trek storyline was set to take place several hundred years in the future, but was actually written in the 1960’s.  Given the time period of the writing, it can be argued that the basic ideas underlying transnational exploration existed, but the notion may not have been fully integrated into the ideology or underlying assumption for the process of exploration.

An inclination towards transnationalism can be seen on the bridge of the Enterprise. In the command structure of the ship we see people from a variety of cultures and locations, to include a half alien.  Each fictional exploration is concerned with not disrupting the cultures they contact. Like the Jesuit party, the majority of the Enterprise crew are scientists with specific and relevant skills. 

With the religious aspect set aside, the real difference the Sparrow and Star Trek becomes how decisions are made. On the Enterprise, Captain Kirk would consult with his crew before making any major decisions.  Quite often however, he would overrule the opinions of his crew, or the opinions of Star Fleet, and take off a la John Carter to handle a situation as he saw fit.

This approach is markedly different from that of D.W. in the Sparrow.  D.W. is not the same kind of individualist we see with Captain Kirk. D.W continually chooses to remain a member of the team. He is aware that in many cases it is up to him to make the final decisions and that he is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the Jesuit mission. D.W. knows is limitations and does not assume that he can just walk in and dominate a situation.

The leadership style demonstrated by Captain Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation is closer to that of D.W. and appears to represent a more fully developed notion of true transnational exploration.  The Next Generation has all the base ingredients of a transnational exploration team.  The crew is comprised of a wide variety of people, aliens, and a robot. The crew’s primary focus in not to push any specific political agenda and the emphasis is on teamwork, versus individual exploits. Picard is much more diplomatic in his approach to dealing with aliens and not only seeks the council of his crew, but actually listens to what they have to say.  Captain Picard is not as inclined to fist-fighting aliens as Captain Kirk was.  Decisions are based more on group consensus rather than the ideology of one person who decides what is right and what is wrong.  As a result, there appears to be support for the notion of a continued development towards a fully integrated transnational ideology.

The transition from the ideology of individualistic Manifest Destiny to that of a transnational community is reflected in the fiction literature of our course work. Earlier fiction works appear to highlight the individual as part of the larger ideal of Manifest Destiny. More current exploration literature tends to emphasize the development of a transnational exploration concept.  Along with developing creative and inspiring storylines, literature of space exploration also serve to tell us about ourselves.  In this way, the stories we tell ourselves about the future may actually provide a beacon of light for us to follow. 

Works Cited

Poe, Edgar Allan. Arthur Gordon Pym. New York: Oxford UP, 1994.

Russell, Mary Doria. The Sparrow. United States: Ballantine Publishing Group, 1996.

Burroughs, Edgar Rice. A Princess of Mars. New York: Ballantine Publishing Group, 1963.