Throughout the text we have been reading, Newman strives to explain how our society constructs our social norms and our definition of what it means to be civilized, or having characteristics of a state of civilization (Webster's 244). It seems that the overall point Newman tries to make is that people feel a need to know what appropriate behavior is in order to function as a society. A problem can arise when one society examines another, simply because both groups of people could have a radically different set of cultural norms, values, and what is meant to be civilized. This difference can be clearly examined in Keep the River on Your Right by Tobias Schneebaum. As the author is submersed into a culture that is extremely distant from his own, he is forced to re-examine how he defines what is socially acceptable. Through examination of how the Akaramas treat cultural aspects such as physical standards, death, religion, and cannibalism, we can begin to understand how people define civilized behavior by using social rules and inherited cultural standards that have been passed down by previous generations and previous societal groups. By better understanding what is meant to be civilized, we (as Americans) can begin to see another side to the Akaramas, one that is better understood and respected. In this paper, the American notion of civility will be challenged and weighed against what civility means to the Akaramas.
In Keep the River on Your Right, Schneebaum is immersed into a culture that has a totally different set of social standards. When he first encounters the Akaramas, the first thing they did was promptly undress him in a very personal manner. They thoroughly examined him physically in a way that our society would deem to be a most intimate and private fashion. To them, it is nothing out of the ordinary to fully explore the bodies of those that are a part of their tribe.
