In his book, Savages, Joe Kane describes the the intersection of the oil industries and indigenous communities, specifically the Huaorani. After a mysterious letter was received at the offices of the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) expressing the opposition of oil exploitation in the Huaorani territory (Kane, 9). This led Kane to not only meet Moi, but also to quit his job in order to travel to South America to not only learn more about Huaorani, but to also investigate the claims made in the mysterious letter (Kane, p. 11). Further, Kane structures his book into three parts entitled “East,” “West,” and “Among the Cannibals.” We can see from the start of the “Prologue” Kane’s respect and concern for the Huaorani and the Amazon and Kane’s style
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His style of writing allowed for the book to be an easy read to understand the conflict between both parties; including dialogue made it seem like Kane was bringing the reader along on the journey. The themes that I noted in Kane’s book were humor, history, conflict, hardships, and loss/destruction. In the “Prologue,” Kane discusses Moi’s travels to Washington D.C. to deliver his testimony before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Kane, p. 5). In addition, Moi had written a letter for the U.S. President in which he invited him to visit the Huaorani and explain to them why the U.S. “was trying to destroy them” (Kane, 4). Furthermore, the first part of the book, “East,” is made up of six chapters. Kane’s journey begins in Coca, a city in Ecuador, and notes the prevalent presence of oil companies. At the start of his journey, he meets four Huaorani men - Moi, Enqueri, Eugenio, and Nanto - and learns that five clans live in Block Sixteen, instead of ten Huaorani as Conoco and the …show more content…
22). Therefore, he begins traveling with Enqueri to Block Sixteen to take a census to prove that it is in fact inhabited; despite the military commander denying him permission to visit the Huaorani territory, he managed to sneak past an army checkpoint into the jungle accompanied by other Huaorani. As they make their way on Via Auca, they witnessed major oil pollution and met Babae's tribe, which many were victims of development - alcoholism, prostitution, illness with cowode disease (Kane, p. 29). Next, in chapter 3, Kane and Enqueri reach Quemperi’s settlement, where they spend eleven days and learn their lifestyle - work is divided by gender, but they are known for killing people; spear killing is still practiced (Kane, p. 38-39). In the following chapters, they get lost and experience hardships to the point where, Kane was convinced he would die of hunger. Eventually, they are rescued, fed, and visit different sites like Aucayacu, Garzacocha, and Nuevo Rocafuerte - Kane learns more about Conoco and the damages it caused.
His style of writing allowed for the book to be an easy read to understand the conflict between both parties; including dialogue made it seem like Kane was bringing the reader along on the journey. The themes that I noted in Kane’s book were humor, history, conflict, hardships, and loss/destruction. In the “Prologue,” Kane discusses Moi’s travels to Washington D.C. to deliver his testimony before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Kane, p. 5). In addition, Moi had written a letter for the U.S. President in which he invited him to visit the Huaorani and explain to them why the U.S. “was trying to destroy them” (Kane, 4). Furthermore, the first part of the book, “East,” is made up of six chapters. Kane’s journey begins in Coca, a city in Ecuador, and notes the prevalent presence of oil companies. At the start of his journey, he meets four Huaorani men - Moi, Enqueri, Eugenio, and Nanto - and learns that five clans live in Block Sixteen, instead of ten Huaorani as Conoco and the …show more content…
22). Therefore, he begins traveling with Enqueri to Block Sixteen to take a census to prove that it is in fact inhabited; despite the military commander denying him permission to visit the Huaorani territory, he managed to sneak past an army checkpoint into the jungle accompanied by other Huaorani. As they make their way on Via Auca, they witnessed major oil pollution and met Babae's tribe, which many were victims of development - alcoholism, prostitution, illness with cowode disease (Kane, p. 29). Next, in chapter 3, Kane and Enqueri reach Quemperi’s settlement, where they spend eleven days and learn their lifestyle - work is divided by gender, but they are known for killing people; spear killing is still practiced (Kane, p. 38-39). In the following chapters, they get lost and experience hardships to the point where, Kane was convinced he would die of hunger. Eventually, they are rescued, fed, and visit different sites like Aucayacu, Garzacocha, and Nuevo Rocafuerte - Kane learns more about Conoco and the damages it caused.