The Explorer’s Daughter

Kari Herbert
 Contents

● Kari Herbert (The Author)

● Content
● Annotations
● Context
● Language/Structure/Form
● Themes
● Messages
● Resources
 Kari Herbert

Kari Herbert is a British Travel Writer who

was born to Sir Wally Herbert and his
wife, Marie. She was born on September
17, 1970 and lived with a remote tribe of
the Inuit with her parents for the first four
years of her life. After writing ‘The
Explorer’s Daughter’, she went on to write
two more books, appear on many radio
and television programmes, she also
presented a short documentary film on
climate change in 2006.
 Content

Throughout the extract, Kari Herbert describes

the hunting of narwhals from her perspective.
She explains how she felt as she saw it and
why she believed the hunting of narwhals in the
arctic exists. She explains why hunting in Thule
is such a necessity and what it means to the
Inuit tribe. Kari Herbert also explains her
internal conflict at watching the Inuit people
hunt the Narwhals.
From The Explorers Daughter, Kari Herbert

As a small child, Herbert lived, with her family, among the Inughuit people
(sometimes called Inuits, or Eskimos) in the harsh environment of the Arctic. In
2002 she revisited the area, staying near Thule, a remote settlement in North
Greenland. In this passage she writes about her experience of watching a hunt
for the narwhal, a toothed whale, and what she thought and felt about it.

Autobiographical - as she is writing

about her own experience
 Difficulty - shows that it is a Language- shows that the
difficult job to hunt narwhals. Narwhal are intelligent animals
Language - used to
Anticipation - shows the describe the lighting and
author’s surprise and Two hours after the last hunter had returned and eaten, narwhal were beauty of the Fjord.
amazement at the sight in spotted again, this time very close. Within an hour even those of us on
front of her shore could with the naked eye see the plumes of spray from the
narwhal catching the light in a spectral play of colour. Two large pods
of narwhal circled in the fjord, often looking as if they were going to
merge, but always slowly, methodically passing each other by.
Scrambling back up to the lookout I looked across the glittering
Structure - kingdom in front of me and took a sharp intake of breath. The hunters
present tense were dotted all around the fjord. The evening light was turning
butter-gold, glinting off man and whale and catching the soft billows
of smoke from a lone hunter’s pipe. From where we sat at the lookout Structure (Juxtaposition) -
it looked as though the hunters never moved. Distances are always shows that the author views
deceptive in the Arctic, and I fell to wondering if the narwhal existed man and narwhal as equal.
at all or were instead mischievous tricks of the shifting light. …

The narwhal rarely stray from High Arctic waters, escaping only to the
Factual Detached Tone
slightly more temperate waters towards the Arctic Circle in the dead
- shows that the
author knows what of winter, but never entering the warmer southern seas. In summer
she’s talking about the hunters of Thule are fortunate to witness the annual return of
narwhal to the Inglefield Fjord, on the side of which we now sat.
 Language Choice - Necessity

The narwhal … is an essential contributor to the survival of the hunters in the High Listing-used to
Arctic. The mattak or blubber of the whale is rich in necessary minerals and vitamins, emphasis why
and in place where the climate prohibits the growth of vegetables or fruit, this rich the Inuit peoples
source of vitamin C is one of the reasons that Eskimos have never suffered from scurvy. needs to hunt the
Factual - this Narwhals - trying
paragraph For centuries the blubber of the whales was also the only source of light and heat, and
to justify the need
shows why the the dark rich meat is also a valuable part of the diet for both man and dogs ( a single
to hunt
Inuit continue to narwhal can feed a team of dogs for an entire month). Its single ivory tusk, which
eat narwhal and hunting implements (although the ivory was found to be brittle and not hugely
how they use satisfactory as a weapon), for carving protective tupilaks, and even as a central beam for
the narwhal their small ancient dwellings. Strangely, the tusk seems to have a little use for the
other than for narwhal itself; they do not use the tusk to break through ice as the breathing hole, nor
eating
will they use it to catch or attack prey, but rather the primary use seems to be to disturb
the top of the sea bed in order to catch Arctic halibut for which they have a particular
predilection . Often the ends of their tusks are worn down or even broken from such
usage. Juxtaposition- saying the
Language Choice - shows that there is an important event going on narwhal doesn’t really
need the tusks anyway as
The women clustered on the knoll of the lookout, binoculars pointing in every direction, it doesn’t really help them
Language -
each woman focusing on her husband or family member, occasionally spinning round at
shows that the
wifes and sisters a small gasp or jump as one of the women saw a hunter near a narwhal…. Each wife knew
of the hunters her husband instinctively and watched their progress intently; it was crucial to her that
are full of the her husband catch a narwhal - it was part of their staple diet, and some of the mattak
tension and meat could be sold to other hunters who hadn't been so lucky, bringing in some
much-needed extra income. Every hunter was on the water. It was like watching a vast,
waterborne game with the hunters spread like a net around the sound.
Emphasis on
how intelligent
the narwhals are
The narwhal … are intelligent creatures, their senses are keen and they talk to one
another under the water. Their hearing is particular developed and they can hear the
sound of a paddling kayak from a great distance. That … was why the hunters had to sit
very still in the water.
One hunter was almost on top of a pair of narwhal, and they were huge. He gently picked
up his harpoon and aimed - in that split second my heart leapt for both hunter and
narwhal. I urged the man on in my head; he was so close, and so brave to attempt what
he was about to do - he was miles from land in a flimsy kayak, and could easily be Trying to justify
capsized and drowned. The hunter had no rifle, only one harpoon with two heads and the needs of the
one bladder. It was a foolhardy exercise and one that could only inspire respect. And yet Inuit having to
hunt.
Personal / at the same time my heart also urged the narwhal to dive, to leave to survive.
Emotional Conflict
of the Author - This dilemma stayed with me the whole time that I was in Greenland. I understand the
understands both harshness of life in the Arctic and the needs of the hunters and their families to hunt and
the needs of the live on animals and see mammals that we demand to be protected because of their
narwhal and the
beauty. And I know that one cannot afford to be sentimental in the Arctic. ‘How can you
needs of the
hunter possibly eat seal? I have been asked over and over again. True, the images that
bombarded us several years ago of men battering seals for their fur hasn’t helped the
issue of polar hunting, but the Inughuit do not kill seals using this method, nor do they
kill for sport. They use every part of the animals they kill, and most of the food in Thule
is still brought in by the hunter-gatherers and fisherman. Imported goods can only ever
Short sentence
account for part of the food supply; there is still only one annual supply ship that makes emphasises on
it through the ice to Qaanaaq. And the small twice-weekly plane from West Greenland ‘necessity’
can only carry a certain amount of goods. Hunting is an absolute necessity in Thule.
 Context & Background
Kari Herbert’s father was a polar explorer. This became the basis of her fascination with
the place, this also may have been the reason that she returned there when she was older
to write about it.
An Explorer’s Daughter is partly a memoir and partly a travel book as well as
autobiographical, this is to give the reader information about the strange and beautiful
place, its people and its animals. When she went there, she returned to find that the way
of life of the Inughuit people of Greenland was changing due to the impact of modern
technology, However they still retained aspects of their traditions, such as hunting for food
and driving teams of dogs.
A major part of the extract is also dedicated to sharing an account of Narwhal hunting, this
is an issue which involves a lot of emotion and many conservationists argue that whales
should be protected, Herbert’s feelings on this topic sympathises with both the Inuits and
the Narwhals. This is on how the Narwhals need to be protected and how the Inuits need
to hunt to survive to eat.
Language

Throughout the extract, language is used to show many things. Language is

used to show the the conflict of the author’s personal feelings about the
issue. She explains that she feels understanding for both the hunter and the
narwhal, she understands how the hunters have to hunt to survive and eat,
but she also understands that the narwhals need to be protected. Another
way that language is used within the extract, is to create tension, a way that
this is shown is through the reactions of the women, they are nervous, the
quote that shows this is “spinning round at a small gasp”. Additionally,
language is used to convey the effect the light, this is shown through the
quotes, “A glittering kingdom”, “catching the light in the spectral ray”.
Structure
Kari Herbert alternates between highly emotive
paragraphs and factual paragraphs. This shows
the contrast and conflict between her views on
the Inuits and the killing of Narwhals. This also
allows her to justify her views as well as accepting
what a necessity it is to the Inuits to hunt the
Narwhal in Thule.
 Form

‘The Explorer’s Daughter’ is written

in the form of an autobiography,
travel book and a memoir. It is
written in the first tense about Kari
Herbert’s personal experiences and
also explains about the arctic and
behaviors of the Inuit tribespeople.
Herberts Thoughts & Feelings

Respects The Narwhal -

◉ Literary Style creates a beautiful image- “spectral play”, “mischievous tricks”
◉ Language choice and use of facts highlights their intelligence “methodically”, “hearing is developed”
Respects The Hunter -
◉ Emphasizes the danger of hunting through language choice “flimsy”, “drowned”, capsized”.
◉ Use of factual language and listing to highlight the necessity of hunting
◉ Creates suspense through verbs such as “gasp” and imilie to reflect the anticipation like watching a “vast,
waterborne game”
Conflicted
◉ Juxtaposition of man and narwhal depicts them as equals
◉ Use of triplet to create a sense of panic
◉ Transitioning from a literary style to a factual style reflects how easy it is to romanticize the setting and
become sentimental, but the use of factual language brings the author back to the harsh facts
 Themes

Conflict - the writer switches between

Death - this theme is displayed through
descriptive and informative language
the deaths of the narwhals. A quote that
and the piece shows her conflicting
shows Death is “He gently picked up his
feelings between her love for narwhals
harpoon and aimed - in that split
and the need of survival of the hunters.
second my heart leapt for both hunter
A quote that shows this is, “The
and narwhal.”
narwhal is an essential contributor to
the survival of the hunters in the High
Arctic.” and “How can you possibly eat
seal”.

Necessity - Inuits have to hunt in
order to survive .
A quote that shows Necessity is,
“The mattak or blubber of the
whale is rich in necessary minerals
and vitamins, and in a place where
the climate prohibits the growth of
vegetables or fruit, this rich source
of vitamin C was the one reason
that the Eskimos have never
suffered from scurvy.”
Survival - Inuits have to hunt
narwhals as it is an, “essential
contributor to the survival in the
High Arctic.”
Pride - this is shown through the
people being proud when they catch
a narwhal.
A quote that shows this is, “It was a
foolhardy exercise and one that
could only inspire respect.”
 Messages

The message displayed throughout the

extract is mainly about the need to
understand both sides of the story.
Throughout 'The Explorer's Daughter',
Kari Herbert describes her conflicting
feelings for the Inuit tribal people having
to hunt Narwhals to survive. She uses
techniques throughout the text to show
that she sees both the tribespeople and
the narwhals as equals.
Resources
◉ http://www.kariherbert.com/about/4592957926

◉ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kari_Herbert

◉ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8oDZZY_uFI

◉ Edexcel International GCSE (9-1) English Language A Student

Book

◉ International GCSE Anthology