Summary Of Savages And Beasts

As the animal rights movement has developed and grown substantially in recent years, there has been an increased focused on the welfare of captive animals. A popular institution that has received much attention for keeping animals captive is the zoo. Because of this focus, zoos have responded by publicizing their positive benefits for existence in order to justify keeping these animals on display. Since the term “zoo” can have a wide variety of meaning and characteristics, it is important to define what constitutes a zoo in this essay. Zoos are defined as a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and

In the article “PETA urges L.A. to ban all wild animals from circus performances”, Alexia Fernandez highlights the speed with which animal activists go in order to free wild animals from being used in circuses. According to the spokesman for the Ringling Bros, after L.A. “banned circuses from using bullhooks to manage elephants” in 2014, PETA activists demanded that circuses remove wild animals from their performances and Barnum & Bailey Circus begged to differ by arguing that animals in their facilities are taken good care of and are not mistreated (Fernandez, 2016). In conclusion, both sides of the arguments believe that neither is misinformed.

The frequent depiction of the “Noble Savage” trope has many functions, with its main function being to portray Native Americans as sinless uneducated humans and to make their abusers and torturers seem evil and superior, which in most cases the torturers are indeed evil. Bartolomé de Las Casas and Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca use the “Native Savage” trope for different reasons, which makes their portrayal different, and not because they are writing about different tribes and groups of Native Americans. The “Noble Savage” is a very common adaptation of Native Americans, but the definition isn’t as pretty as the name of the trope may seem to be.

Zoos, SeaWorld, and circuses are places for families to enjoy entertainment. However, most people do not realize how the animals in each of these establishments are handled. Yes, they all bring in revenue and present the tricks these animals can do, yet these places preform detrimental acts to the animals. For example, the killer whales at SeaWorld are sometimes starved if they do not perform the way the trainer wants them to. In comparison, circuses torture lions and tigers until they are submissive to how the show-people want them to act. Zoos do not necessarily torture their animals, but it is proven the animals live much shorter lives in captivity. “Lives of animals in the wild versus captivity are literally worlds apart, and even the best captive facilities can’t recreate the conditions of the wild — not exactly. Most don’t even try, leaving animals in tiny enclosures with no socialization, enrichment or joy. Captivity is unnatural and unhealthy” (Sentenac). People are starting to recognize the danger of continuing these practices, but there’s a long way to go.Furthermore, animals in all of these places have suffered many traumatizing and even deadly events. There was a recent report that two circus lions, whom had severe head injuries, were killed by poachers who snuck into the sanctuary. “Last year poachers bypassed an advanced security system at a lodge near the town of Tzaneen in the Limpopo province, killing two lions by feeding them poisoned meat” (Graham).

Zoos present a certain blend of nature and culture. They have always provided a way to bring natural wildlife and urban Americans together as a means of entertainment. Yet, throughout the years the role of zoos have changed. Though once used for amusement, zoos are now being used for education on preservation and the welfare of endangered species. One may wonder where and how the idea of zoos started and just how they, and the environment around them, have changed throughout history.

The Zoo is ever child’s dream of seeing strange animals that they have never seen before, but this zoo is like no other. “It was kept with things he could hunt, and it really wasn’t like any animal sanctuary” (Goldman 60). The zoo of Death as the zoo is called is full of

I read chapter 1 of the book Savage Inequlities where the author Jonathan Kozol explores the city of St. Louis Illinois. The author describes the city as one of the poorest cities in America with a population of almost 100% black people. Jonathan Kozol, emphasizes that the poverty of the city is so bad that there is no garbage pickup, sewages in the streets and in the schools, hazardous waste and no waste management system. Moreover, the city is surrounded by chemical plants that contaminate the air and soil which leads to sickness and death. High rate of unemployment cause 75% of the population living under welfare.

Lucy had heard stories before, about the pillaging the "savages" would do in a town after exacting vengeance. The newspapers loved to exaggerate moments like these to sell and try to find people to give "first hand" accounts, but she also knew that many of these reports had some truth to them.

In the 1900s, circuses were extremely popular and prevalent in the west. During the downfall of the circus industry, “wealthy industrialists and professionals who loved the circus formed the Circus Fans Associations…whose motto, “We fight anything that fights the circus,” summed up its philosophy” (Pfening 24). Ironically, it is proven that “the last twenty-five years of the nineteenth century was the apogee [or the climax] of the American circus” (Pfening 5). People were attracted to the charismatic spirit of the circus during the anguish and despair that came along with the Great Depression.

In Europe, a visit to the zoo was an expression of wealth. The European zoo provided a novel atmosphere for socializing and an upscale, refined form of recreation, further reinforcing that the European Zoo was for the upper class. A stark contrast, the American zoo, though attracting a diverse audience, has always been a middle class institution. New World zoos provided the opportunity for a diverse population to enjoy a balance of amusement and learning. Patrons of all classes were invited to engage in education and amusement along side of recreation, not experienced in everyday

The first modern zoo to be founded was in Vienna, Madrid and Paris in the eighteenth century and later on in London and Berlin in the nineteenth century. The first zoo to be established in America was in Philadelphia and Cincinnati in the 1870s. In today’s America there are thousands of zoos. Humans like to be entertained regardless of how they are being entertained, whether that is walking through the park, watching a show, listening to music or simply going to the zoo. There are truth behind zoos that many don’t see, for example, many zoos don’t show the death rates that many zoo animals have after being transported from their natural habitants or the experiences that the zoo keepers provide to the animals being kept in captivity. To what extent are we okay with animals being tortured or being aware that animals are being killed just so humans can be entertained? While there are benefits to keeping animals in captivity, scholars agree that there are more negative effects that are damaging to the animals. The purpose of zoos can be more than just keeping animals in captivity and creating significant health or mental problems, zoos also can have a positive outcome, zoos can help keep endangered animals safe from others who are trying to kill them for what they are worth. Jamieson explains and gives one example of when people started putting animals in captivity. The Romans is the example that Jamieson uses, the Romans “kept animals in order to have living fodder for games.” Jamieson continued to explain how over the years the use of animals historically grew in popularity and how the idea continued to “thrive until at least the eight century.” Jamieson also mentioned that keeping a large amount of animals showed who had power.

1.) I think the idea of the noble savage is really a great propaganda tactic that Columbus made use of. By painting these "savages" in this light, there is the tendency to de-humanize the people. Columbus able to create a sense of hostility and aggression towards this group of people, all in hopes of keeping his power strong and their power weak. Columbus, in a sense, is "othering" the indigenous populations. Othering can be assumed to parallel the idea of what a "savage" is - whether LGBTQ, Religious or Racially divided groups, a group that is "othered" is often considered, dirty, vile and inhuman.

There was some strange stirring, heard throughout the zoo; the animals were used to it as the magnificently ornate gates slid away. The human stampede towered in, destruction with every step, gaping and point at the creatures, as if they weren’t right there in front of them. The animals found themselves filled with no such joy as another tiresome day started. Snot-filled children, obnoxious adults, screaming babies; the humans were all the same, just going through different, vexing stages. They never even spared the animals a little privacy, something as simple as eating held under scrutinizing gazes. The animals hated it, though no matter the shame it brought upon them admitting it, they thrived on it as well. The attention made them feel wanted, and though redundant, the wide-eyed wonder of the

Perhaps the most famous human-zoo connoisseur was German Carl Hagenbeck, who, during the last quarter of the 19th century, not only supplied zoos throughout Europe with their wild animals for display, but kept them well stocked up on two-legged specimens as well. Hagenbeck would also put together stage shows starring his most exotic

Since approximately 1250 B.C., ancient Egyptians had created and practiced the capture and display of animals in what are now known as zoos (Fravel). Records describe such exotic animals as birds, lions, giraffes, and tigers in captivity (Fravel). Since then, zoos have continued to entertain millions with the exciting chance to view exotic animals up close and personal. Even in ancient Greece, exotic animals were on display in fighting arenas, and in enclosed viewing areas. Originally in America, zoos were just created so that royalty and the wealthy could flaunt their exotic animals to the public (Leolupus). Today, with species threatened and habitats disappearing worldwide, zoos are serving a new purpose other than the mere exhibition of