Typee, incidentally

Gerry Quinn · 13 Nov 2010, 20:12 · from 2010-November.txt.gz

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From: gerryq at indigo.ie (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2010 20:12:16 -0000
Subject: (urth) Typee, incidentally
References: <SNT123-W3AFB9416B7CAA9676B4E3CF330 at phx.gbl>
	<4CDD7917.8040402 at verizon.net>
Message-ID: <819FE4531DFC44AE89668B8BCC23ADB4@jill>

From: "David Stockhoff" <dstockhoff at verizon.net>
> In other words, the Hierodules treat Urth like an island of savages, and 
> their "uplifting" efforts are not too different from the "missionary work" 
> that corrupts and enslaves the islanders, in Melville's view. If this is 
> not immediately apparent, perhaps is it partly because we are not 
> accustomed to seeing ourselves as the savages in a colonial situation.

I'm not convinced - the Commonwealth may be bad, but the country of the 
Ascians would appear to be worse.  If Urthlings are corrupted and enslaved 
by the Hierodules, it is more down to earlier actions i.e. the introduction 
of a black hole into the Sun. And the Ascians seem to be worse enslaved by 
the undersea powers.

Of course you can if you want wrap up the current business and the earlier 
chastising of Urth as a combination of missionary work and more direct 
colonisation/subjugation. Or, if you like, the mission is the whole purpose 
of the colonisation - Urth is not the source of farmland, or spices, or 
slaves.

I tend towards the view that the Hierodules are on the right side in the 
Cosmic struggle; if they were merely human we could indeed be very 
suspicious of their motives, but I do not think they are intended to be.  Of 
course, that is just what one of theire dupes would be expected to think, 
but still... as I noted before, we haven't seen anything at all to make us 
think the other side is good.

- Gerry Quinn

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