Irony of no Shame

(Peary Presenting Gifts to Eskimos)

In Chapter 10 of Ragtime, by E.L. Doctorow, the American explorers’ mentality about the North Pole Esquimos is characterized by strong racism. In the early 20^th century this expedition set out to reach the North Pole under the leadership of Robert Peary. The only human contact that the exploration crew of 24 American men had was with the native Esquimos. The explorers “learned all they could about dog sleds, furs and igloos” from the native people. In return for this knowledge, the explorers gave the natives material gifts (image below); however, they did not give the Eskimos their respect. The explorer’s utilization of Esquimo skills was a prime reason for the success of the expedition. However important the Esquimo contribution was, the Americans were not as appreciative to the Esquimos as they should have been with their mentalities about the group. Ragtime states “Peary defined the virtues of the Esquimos as loyalty and obedience, roughly the same virtues one sought in the dogs”(78). The native people were not looked at as human beings, instead as foreign objects of fascination and primitivism. Anthropologist Franz Boaz even asked Peary to bring some of the Esquimo people back to America so that they could be studied at museums. The explorers express great shock at the lack of privacy and discretion that Esquimos use concerning sex. “They cohabited without even undressing, through vents in their furs, and they went at it with grunts and shouts of fierce joy. One day Father came upon a couple and was shocked to see the wife thrusting her hips upwards to the thrusts of her husband”(74). Is the criticism of Esquimo ways by the explorers justified? The lack of shame Esquimos with which regard sexuality is one of the main issues described in Ragtime concerning the explorers’ qualms with the natives. The explorers show no shame in degrading the Esquimos, who are hugely helpful to them in accomplishing their mission. This shameless criticism of shameless behavior creates strong irony in the text. Which of these two actions is more demonstrative of the primitive ideals that explorers automatically associate with the Esquimos.

By Mac Kelley

“Robert Peary: To the Top of the World.” PBS Online. N.p., 1999. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. .

Stafford, Marie Peary. Robert Edwin Peary, full-length portrait, standing on deck of ship or dock, facing left, distributing gifts to Eskimos, Greenland. 1886-1909. Library of Congress. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. .

Unger, Harlow G. “’American Museum of Natural History.’” Encyclopedia of American Education, Third Edition. American History Online. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. .