Escape from Spiderhead has a ton of commentary on love and relationships but the thing I found most interesting was the classic moral debate of good vs. evil and whether the punishment fits the crime.
During the story I was really struggling with whether or not Abnesti was a "good guy." He doesn't really seem trustworthy but he gives examples of when he bends the rules for the subjects. On the other hand the way he throws it back in Jeff's face seems really condescending and manipulative. I just do not know if it is fair that I write him off as a bad guy especially when he tries to override Jeff's disobedience. Abnesti is a character that we experience from Jeff's point of view which does not give him a fair shot as a character. Abnesti is not alone in this process, he may be the leader of Spiderhead but there is a Committee that is over him. Ultimately I guess the question is who is to blame? Is it fair to Abnesti? He may be manipulative and unethical but he truly believes he is working to help people.
It was also interesting how Spiderhead was an alternative to prison, one that Jeff said his mother paid for. The way these criminals are tested on as subjects with a false sense of freewill strips them of their humanity. When a person commits a crime, such as murder, do they deserved being stripped of their humanity? It may be easy to say yes but hearing Jeff's story of a mistake in the heat of the moment and then losing his humanity for the rest of his life it becomes harder to say yes to that.
I think your thoughts on Abnesti are interesting. I think he would say he was just following orders from his superiors and really is a good guy. That being said, Nazi officers in the concentration camps would likely say the same thing. I personally think that he is neither good nor bad, this is just the situation he is in and its all he knows.
ReplyDeleteTo me it was pretty clear that Abnesti was a horrible person. He used the "good deeds" he had done for Jeff and co. to manipulate them into doing what he wanted. He also kept talking about what the "Committee" wanted even though he was making most of the decisions. And even though he talks about the greater good, he's working for a company here. All of his desires have a root in capitalism and how much money he can make for himself.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to know whether or not Abnesti was drugged along with the prisoners. Surely he's experimented with the drugs (the good ones) but I wonder if there is someone above him who is making sure he stays compliant.
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