PROLOGUE QUESTION

Prologue Question:

Based on the Prologue, do you think that William Dampier is more of a Pirate, Explorer, or Swashbuckler? Please explain.

I looked up the definitions of Pirate, Swashbuckler, and Explorer and this is what I found:

Swashbuckler: A rough, noisy, boastful swordsman.

Pirate: Commits criminal acts such as robbery at sea.

Explorer: Looks for something new.

I think its kind of early to really come to a many conclusions regarding Dampier. I have the feeling that we will find him to be a very complex man. But from what I've read so far, I'd say he's not a swashbuckler. He seems a little too sophisticated to be the rough, noisy, boastful type. I think the prologue leads one to believe that he is primarily an explorer, but I have a feeling that he is also very interested in seeking his fortune and is not too particular about how he goes about it. We may find that he is every bit as much a pirate as he is an explorer.

After reading the Prologue, I felt like he was more of an explorer. He was more interested in the world around him, checking on prevailing winds, currents, wildlife. I did find it interesting that as a naturalist he felt the need to explain even how tasty the wildlife was.
--BJ

I think he was definitely an explorer who was interested in everything he saw and experienced and wanted to document it all. This was primary with him. (imo)

That said--he also seemed to crave adventure and definitely wanted to get money, so I think being a pirate was not disagreeable to him because it would take care of these two goals and still let him explore. It will be interesting to see later on if piracy will be as important as it seems in the beginning for him.

The prologue does seem to lean on the more 'explorer' side of Dampier but I reckon seeing the company that he kept, he would have been more of a swashbuckling piratical firstly & outwardly and explorer second. If he were otherwise, I don't think the rest of the crews may put up with him much? I don't know if I'm using my imagination too much here

Also keeping in mind that the authors may focus more on the exploration side than anything else (not sure at this stage) so we may see more of his explorer side as the prologue indicated.

Funny, no one said Adventurer...which nicely encompasses all three choices...and definitely would require a Compass....and money (hence the piracy) and inquisitiveness (the Explorer) and a bit of the bloodthirsty (if matters got dicey with the other Two). but i could be wrong ;-)

I like that, jdthloue! A nice, descriptive and inclusive designation for Dampier.

>5 babemuffin:, babemuffin - that's a really good point. The practicalities of Dampier living amongst pirates and sailing on their ships - obviously he would have had to do a lot of unethical and immoral things, regardless of whether he wanted to or not, just to not be thrown overboard (or abandoned in the next port, if he was lucky). I think I remember reading in the prologue that Dampier left out a lot of the stuff about his day-to-day life as a pirate in his books - it seems like he focused on the parts he was proud of.

My answer would be explorer, because I think that's what he wanted to be, and he only did the pirate stuff as a means to an end. Although, I don't suppose it would have been wise to go around trumpeting "I'm a pirate and I love it!" :-) So, perhaps he liked being dastardly more than he made out.

Already, I think he is pretty awesome for naming "avocado" and "cashew" - two of my favourite foods.

good point! loriephillips

The prologue does seem to point more to explorer, but I like the term adventurer, too. Pirate seemed a little (although not much) secondary to his natural tendency toward exploration of nature. He sought his fortune as a pirate, but his passion seemed to lie with recording what he encountered. He could have been a pirate without doing this, but he really couldn't travel extensively to feed his exploration habit to the extent that he did without finding himself in the presence of pirates. I think the term 'when in Rome....' may apply?

I may prove to be wrong on this, but that's what I got from the prologue...

His piracy supported his explorations, and I think one without the other would have been impossible for him.

Swashbuckler? Not at all, and never.

Just read the prologue yesterday and was amazed I never heard about Dampier before, him being among a lot of other things a navigator. And the only one sailing around in that period!

I think he most of all is an explorer, but that might be because that's also the part that interests me the most. And maybe acting like a pirate was more normal in that time.

And maybe it's just the combination of all that makes him interesting.

Wouldn't it be fun to find somehthing to name like cashew and barbeque and chopsticks. What did the
Chinese call chopsticks? If Dampier named them.

William Dampier was “seduced by the quest for knowledge. He had a rational and analytical mind.”
He had a passionate interest in nature. My impression is that Dampier was a not a natural Pirate. Piracy may have been just a means to an end. His natural bent was exploration, observation and making a record of all he observed. He was foremost an Adventurer, the piracy was a small but perhaps necessary part of his adventurous spirit.

- TT

Based on the prologue ...I'd say he was a naturalist....explorer...man of questionable morals (pirate by association)

Stemming from a wish to better his fortunes and not "be slave" to things (despite a not so poor birth) his adventures and choice of companions started him off on a rollicking adventure and pirate way of life. Later on he worried about becoming respectable what with the books and navy voyages.

Some men used piracy as a means for gaining wealth, but Dampier's treasure was knowledge.

Pirate!