The Orchid Thief

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1998

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-7

Chapters 8-10

Chapters 11-13

Key Figures

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

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Background

Methodological Context: Immersion Reporting

Orlean uses a type of immersion reporting to research this book. Unlike in some forms of this technique, which call for the author to blend in unnoticed, Orlean makes no attempt to hide, becoming a prominent figure in the story and, thus, a character of her own in the book.

Traditionally, journalism focused on being as objective as possible in the telling of a story. In the 1960s, however, a style of writing that came to be known as “new journalism” changed some of the old conventions. One such change involved writers who included themselves in the stories they reported, often spending months or even years with their subjects to get an in-depth perspective. Prominent writers such as Gay Talese, Thomas Wolfe, and Hunter Thompson were among those who practiced this technique.

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Immersion reporting can be used in investigative journalism, in which case the writer is undercover, in a sense—trying to become part of the story without identifying him- or herself as a journalist in order to get an insider’s viewpoint or uncover something secret. Often, however, the writer immerses to observe as much as possible and report on the facts with firsthand knowledge and in-depth details. A more recent example of this is Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed. In an effort to learn what it was like trying to survive in America on the minimum wage, Ehrenreich traveled around the country working a series of low-wage jobs, like waitress, maid, and retail salesperson. She finds cheap lodging wherever she goes and tries to make a budget out of her limited means. By reporting in this way, she does not just interview others in this situation, but rather experiences it for herself.

Like Ehrenreich, Orlean becomes a part of the story by interacting with other characters and describing her own observations and feelings. Her personal desire to see the elusive ghost orchid becomes a narrative thread that ties the story together, while also imbuing it with a more personal authorial angle.

Historical Context: The 19th Century and Imperialism

The orchid hunting that the author describes in the 19th century is part of what is often called the “new imperialism” or “great power” rivalry that coincided with the Victorian era (1837-1901).

During this period, European powers vied for control of weaker nations, often to possess natural resources for themselves. The British Empire hit its peak of power and wealth during this time, and the well-known phrase “the sun never sets on the British Empire” refers to the fact that its colonial possessions so encircled the globe that it was always daytime in at least one of the empire’s dominions. This is the context in which wealthy collectors had the means to send orchid hunters far afield in search of new and rare orchids. Orlean quotes from a 1906 magazine article that part of the thrill of the hunt was the exotic location and danger that were often involved, “in a country full of hostile natives ready and eager to kill and very likely eat the enterprising collector” (56).

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This attitude reflects many of the assumptions of imperialism at the time, including the idea that colonizing countries outside of Europe and the United States was a “civilizing” mission as well as an economic one. The paternalistic and superior attitude of the imperialists implied that non-Western countries had no civilization or, at most, one of a lesser sort. Such an attitude was later criticized by various post-colonial scholars, such as Edward Said in his seminal work Orientalism. Said argued that the West held a patronizing view of the countries of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East that were not as developed industrially. He claimed that these countries were regarded by the West as “the Other,” somehow different and varying from a perceived normative culture. Instead, he argued, non-Western cultures were every bit as rich, varied, and evolving as those in the West and should be seen on par with them rather than exoticized. The work of Said and others helped change the way the West viewed and interacted with countries outside its own tradition.