Durkhiem had two fixed fundamental principles: (1) "that the nature of society is the most suitable and promising subject for systematic investigation, especially at the present moment in history, and (2) that all such "social facts" should be investigated by the most purely objective scientific methods attainable." ... Looking at Australian tribal religion he also found totemism just as Tylor and Frazer had seen in previous tribes. ...
By creating a contrast between the values and attitudes of this dominant society of the particular time in history - and Ellen's dependence upon it for structure and stability - and settings within the text which contain societies who do not conform with such social restraints, the novel creates an even greater contrast between Ellen's response to her comfortable environment, and that to each of the uncomfortable environments she is positioned to encounter during her journey. When Ellen has been shipwrecked ashore the Australian mainland, she is faced with a society of people who exh...
Van Gennep had wrote his work on Australian totemism six years before Durkheim completed his own work, Van Gennep viewed the "totem" differed from Durkheim'. ... Van Gennep stipulated that these were critical for human social institutions, as necessary for human survival, he argued that humans form groups in order to survive, and thus that groups have a special place in the history of evolution. ...
