Friday, August 28, 2015
Its a Bird! Its a Plane! Nah it's just Jeff
I enjoyed George Saunders' short story, "Escape from Spiderhead". I thought it posed many interesting philosophical questions such as the ethics surrounding science experimentation, the question of second chances, redemption, and ultimately the question of what happens after death. The themes are posed in an interesting manor. Saunders drops the reader into this new world keeping them on unsure footing for the initial portion of their read. Yet after the reader gets a grasp on this new easily relatable world, the themes discussed are brought to the forefront of Jeff's escape. The one thing that really stood out to me was Saunders' interpretation of what happens to us after death. I thought Saunders' usage of the bird as Jeff's reincarnation was especially interesting. The freedom intrinsic to a bird contrasted well with the prison that was Spiderhead and served as a bittersweet end.
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I like your title and I think you bring up some very interesting points. Although I'm not sure Jeff was actually reborn as a bird, I believe the freedom he acquired at death allowed him to fly with them.
ReplyDeleteI originally thought Jeff was reborn as a bird too, but after reading the death pages again I think his mind kind of left his body and allowed him to see his mother and fly with the birds, rather than him actually becoming a bird. I like your point about freedom, though, and it still stands no matter how you interpret what happened to him after he died.
ReplyDeleteWhen I originally read the scene where Jeff is dying I saw it more as him having the freedom to ¨fly¨ now that he does not live in Spiderhead. But I do really like your points about free will. However, I think the way you interpreted the passage could be true.
ReplyDeleteI thought that Saunders did a fantastic job of posing ethical dilemmas and philosophical questions in this story, and I loved reading it. I think that your analysis of the birds' and Jeff's flight as symbolizing freedom and an escape from Spiderhead was on point. However, I disagree with your opinion that Jeff was born again as a bird. I don't think that Saunders was trying to interpret what happens to us after death. P.S. Great title!
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