Friday, September 4, 2015
What Makes Us Human?
In George Saunder's short story, "Escape from Spiderhead," a man's emotional, moral, and physical limits are put to the test. A theme in this story is the search for humanity. "Escape from Spiderhead" argues that humans are instinctively empathetic and against causing pain and discomfort to an innocent human being. This story compels us to think about chemicals that circulate through our bodies and how we are dependent on them. All the subjects are connected to these "MobiPacks™" which dispense different chemicals on command of Abnesti, the test administrator. Abnesti is toying with their emotions but to the subjects it feels as real as anything else they've ever felt before. Jeff believes it is interesting but then becomes uncomfortable with the fact. Abnesti takes away the traits and emotions that we believe defines who we are and leaves you wondering what else is there to us as humans.
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I noticed this as well, the emotional manipulation seemed heartless. The administrators lacked ethics that must be followed when executing a science experiment. The higher-ups obviously only view these people as inferiors because of their criminal past. This brings into question what kind of long-term or current psychological effects the drugs will have on the subjects, which no one seems to be concerned about. The emotional roller coaster has to take a toll.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your theme. I think the treatment inside Spiderhead is worse than a typical prision because you are not allowed to be yourself. The experiments change you into something that you are not. I agree with you that humans are made up of our emotions and traits, so at least in jail most prisioners can still experience emotions and exemplify their traits. Therefore, Jeff is searches for hummanity in Spiderhead, but is unable to find it (because it is already stripped from him) and ultimately kills himself. Super interesting viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how you related the drugs in the MobiPacks to hormones. It makes me wonder how different being a test subject was for Jeff, because we cannot really control our hormones either. It seems that Abnesti tested the extremes of the drugs. However, if used in small doses with less extreme results, it seems like the tests would be more imaginable for the future.
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