Kings & Cannibals

The consumption of human flesh has always fascinated writers and researchers throughout the centuries. Cannibalism is a social taboo in most societies and religions worldwide, representing the worst act of all. From Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, to Melville's Typee and Conrad's Falk; the acts of cannibalism explore the boundaries of society and perversion of human nature. They share a common theme of the perversion of civilization and the exploration of the seemingly fine line between the cultured and the primitive, the sane and the mad, nature and society. This fascination for cannibalism is based on a process of perversion of what we consider good and right. In these novels, a frightful image is created by showing the darkest, most perverted side of human nature in respectively a lovely, edenical valley, a Roman leader and a wearisome tug boat-owner in Bangkok. This book examines and explores the meaning and context of the literary uses of anthropophagic acts in the mentioned works and the seemingly fine line between the cannibal and the gentleman.