StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Kon-Tiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdahl - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper “The Kon-Tiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdahl" claims the advanced genetic marker analysis proves Heyerdahl’s point. The South American voyagers on the raft were not the first inhabitants of the Islands. More likely they were greeted by the early settlers from the South East Asian peoples…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.6% of users find it useful
The Kon-Tiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdahl
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Kon-Tiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdahl"

The stupendous success of the book is as much owing to the author’s story-telling skills as it is about the thrills inherent in the adventure. In other words, Heyerdahl brings all ingenuity and creativity to bear on his writing, just as they were amply evident in the actual voyage. He utilizes varied literary devices of narration, description, and comparison to illustrate the central thesis. The main point of the work is that the native inhabitants of Polynesian islands, contrary to being thought of as of Asiatic origin, are actually from the Americas. Heyerdahl and his crew’s simple-sounding task was then to simulate the navigational experience of the Peruvian tribes who were said to have taken a journey on the same Pacific route several centuries ago.

The central concern of the book is to find out whether indigenous Polynesians arrived on the islands from the West or the East. The voyage undertaken by Heyerdahl and the team is to simulate the eastward arrival theory. If Heyerdahl were to succeed in completing the journey, it would pose a big challenge to conventional anthropology on Polynesia. It is with such high scholastic stakes that Heyerdahl begins his adventure, not to mention the real high stakes of life and death that awaited the sailors en route.

Heyerdahl employs the device of anthropological description in supporting his argument. For instance, he conducts a detailed and descriptive cultural-historical study of the huge Moai rock statues on Easter Island. The study reveals how these impressive monolithic structures were more reminiscent of pre-Columbian Peruvian art than the more proximate Polynesian art tradition. The author does not lack narrative skills either, as his passages on the myth of Hanau epe and Hanau momoko warring factions make obvious. In narrating the oral folklore about these two historical groups in conflict, Heyerdahl subtly suggests how these two groups could be symbols for the earlier settlers on the islands and the new wave of South American immigrants. This proposition is not irrational, especially in light of DNA evidence of traces of South American genes found alongside Asiatic genomes in the extant Polynesian tribes.    

Furthermore, Heyerdahl performs a comparison with a contemporary social group in rebutting his critics’ claims. For example, he observes correctly that it is more accurate to decide the historical origins of black Americans on the basis of their skin color rather than their fluency in English. If the former method was adopted, this demographic group would naturally be traced to Africa, whereas the second approach would lead to the wrong conclusion that they originated from England.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Read The Kon-Tiki Expedition, by Thor Heyerdahl, response on hard copy Essay”, n.d.)
Read The Kon-Tiki Expedition, by Thor Heyerdahl, response on hard copy Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/english/1660542-read-the-kon-tiki-expedition-by-thor-heyerdahl-response-on-hard-copy-in-which-you-show-how-heyerdahl-used-narration-description-and-comparisoncontrast-to-make-his-point-what-was-his-point
(Read The Kon-Tiki Expedition, by Thor Heyerdahl, Response on Hard Copy Essay)
Read The Kon-Tiki Expedition, by Thor Heyerdahl, Response on Hard Copy Essay. https://studentshare.org/english/1660542-read-the-kon-tiki-expedition-by-thor-heyerdahl-response-on-hard-copy-in-which-you-show-how-heyerdahl-used-narration-description-and-comparisoncontrast-to-make-his-point-what-was-his-point.
“Read The Kon-Tiki Expedition, by Thor Heyerdahl, Response on Hard Copy Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/english/1660542-read-the-kon-tiki-expedition-by-thor-heyerdahl-response-on-hard-copy-in-which-you-show-how-heyerdahl-used-narration-description-and-comparisoncontrast-to-make-his-point-what-was-his-point.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Kon-Tiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdahl

Nationalism in Pacific Settlements

The author of this essay "Pacific Settlement" comments on the origin of the Pacific inhabitants.... According to the text, there was a general consensus by the 1940s and 1950s that the origin of most of the inhabitants of the Pacific could be traced from the Southeast Asian region.... .... ... ... In the modern opinion, the Austronesian culture, which had emerged from Southeast Asia, had come to Oceania and they were known as Polynesians....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

The Lewis And Clark Expedition

The Lewis And Clark expedition University: Date Submitted: BACKGROUND In 1803, the US President Thomas Jefferson led a brilliant piece of diplomacy with the help of the senate when he purchased the territory of Louisiana from France.... Meriwether Lewisin in turn selected one of his most reliable friends and an exceptional frontiersman and draftsman, William Clark, and made him the co-commanding captain of the expedition.... There were two reasons why President Jefferson wanted this expedition to take place....
5 Pages (1250 words) Term Paper

Don Quixote Ballet Critique

Th rlist production of Don Quixot s bllt is dtd bck to 1740 prformd by Frnz Hilvrding in Vinn.... It ws lso in Vinn, in 1768, tht Jn-Gorgs Novrr producd nw vrsion with music by Josf Strzrin s stir on his rivl, Gspr ngiolini.... nothr production of Don Quixot ws chorogrphd by Polo Frnchi for th Ttro ll Scl, Miln in Dcmbr 1783....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Why do som popl consistntly inspir othrs to follow thir ld

Why do som popl consistntly inspir othrs to follow thir ld ccording to John C.... Mxwll, uthor of 24 books nd rgulr spkr on th topic, it's th "chrctr qulitis" thy possss.... Mxwll idntifis ths top trits s chrctr, chrism, commitmnt, communiction, comptnc, courg, discrnmnt, focus, gnrosity, inititiv, listning, pssion, positiv ttitud, problm-solving, rltionships, rsponsibility, scurity, slf-disciplin, srvnthood, tchbility, nd vision--nd thn dfins thm in wys tht rdrs cn bsorb nd utiliz....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Lewis and Clark Expedition

Lewis and Clarke expedition, which was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson in 1803 was one of the most crucial expeditions sent to explore the Northwestern regions of the American Continent.... “Although the expedition was not the first to cross North America it was....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Don Quixote's Expeditions

In the second part of the expedition, the author introduces the character of Sancho Panza to clearly demonstrate the next stage of Don Quixote's madness and obsession.... The obsession in the second expedition demonstrates how Quixotic the character of Don Quixote has become to the point that even differentiating between right and wrong becomes a challenge....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Lewis and Clark's Expedition

The expedition by Lewis and Clark did not just fulfill most of President Jefferson had anticipated but proved to be extremely worthwhile.... he Lewis and Clarks expedition Lewis and Clarks expedition was sanctioned by President Thomas Jefferson in 1803.... Additionally, the expedition is reputed as having shaped a crude route to the Pacific waters and hence marked the initial pathway for new nation to extend westwards from ocean to ocean (Allen 366)....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Reflection on Kon-Tiki and The Concept of National Cinema

It can be noted that it was derived from an expedition by thor heyerdahl who was a Norwegian explorer and writer.... It can be noted that it was derived from an expedition by thor heyerdahl who was a Norwegian explorer and writer.... A hero for the atomic age: Thor Heyerdahl and the kon-tiki expedition.... This film covers the cultural interaction the voyage experienced and the effect REFLECTION ON kon-tiki AND THE CONCEPT OF NATIONAL CINEMA Critical analysis of kon-tiki explores the various film production and literary tools....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us