By utilizing “good fortune” to rescue Arthur out of dangerous positions he has thrusted himself into, Pym highlights Arthur’s privilege compared to the appalling circumstances that the “savages,” which is the derogatory term used for people of color throughout the novel that is meant to degrade their humanity, do not have such luck escaping. The narrative sanctions Arthur’s childish impulses of adventure that arise out of an insecure desire to manifest his masculinity by means of embracing the peril of the high seas, fulfilling 19th century standards of masculinity such as hypersexuality. Given this social context, the novel argues that these standards of masculinity are at a high level of necessity, and this need to validate masculinity does
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They are carefully crafted and calculated, and although they did everything in their power the crucial missing aspect of theirs was the absence of good fortune. In contrast, the actions of the white men were dangerously impulsive and wanton, and despite that they survived perilous situation after another. Through this variation in their separate narratives, Pym both justifies the actions taken by Arthur and his mates as a valid method of confirming their masculinity, and it celebrates the related conventions of the sea story related to self-indulgence and exploitation that gets tied back to the hypersexuality of the ideal male. This hypersexuality is reserved for reserved for the white men as an indicator of their privilege, because their aggression was in the interest of self defense and they did not act in the exploitive manner that the white men did. According to The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, the white man is justified in whatever means he deems necessary to disprove his insecurity related to masculinity, and the “savages” are on too low of a level on the scope of humanity to feel that similar need. In the history of American literature, this novel as well as many others serve to dehumanize the “savage” by stealing characteristics of humanity that others have the privilege to
They are carefully crafted and calculated, and although they did everything in their power the crucial missing aspect of theirs was the absence of good fortune. In contrast, the actions of the white men were dangerously impulsive and wanton, and despite that they survived perilous situation after another. Through this variation in their separate narratives, Pym both justifies the actions taken by Arthur and his mates as a valid method of confirming their masculinity, and it celebrates the related conventions of the sea story related to self-indulgence and exploitation that gets tied back to the hypersexuality of the ideal male. This hypersexuality is reserved for reserved for the white men as an indicator of their privilege, because their aggression was in the interest of self defense and they did not act in the exploitive manner that the white men did. According to The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, the white man is justified in whatever means he deems necessary to disprove his insecurity related to masculinity, and the “savages” are on too low of a level on the scope of humanity to feel that similar need. In the history of American literature, this novel as well as many others serve to dehumanize the “savage” by stealing characteristics of humanity that others have the privilege to