Giovanni Serrapere
Dr. Adam Johns
ENGCMP 0200
5 November 2008
The resisters should just leave their morality at the door. This new life of theirs can best be described as post-human. Morality to me is the doctrine of socially accepted rights and wrongs that one adheres to. It is foolish of them to stick with the old society’s rules, because it is a different world they live in now. Lilith’s world is beyond morality because the human experience has changed, their lives depend on it, and man’s morality should not apply to a different species.
The human race is no longer at the top of the food chain. Throughout humanity’s existence we have lived by our own rules. But when something stronger than humans arrive shouldn’t we try to coexist just so we don’t become extinct. Why do the resisters stick to a rigid sense of morality, when it has failed them thus far? Our old ways led the humans to a nuclear war that nearly wiped them off the planet. The new era they now live in tells them that their old ways should be left behind and instead replaced with a more pragmatic approach. The resisters have chosen to not breed with the Oankali because they believe it to be immoral, they want to stay pure. When you die alone without children or other humans no one will care that you took the “high road” and didn’t mix DNA with Oankali. The resisters even acknowledge this futile existence, “We don’t get old. We don’t have kids, and nothing we do means shit.”(Butler 402) It just does not make sense to stick to morality that isn’t useful.
If they do not become like Lilith and breed with the Oankali, then they will not live out the full extent of their lives. “At least he’s been awake for sixty-five years in all. That’s a decent length of time for a Human being.”(Butler 327) This shows their attitudes towards their life expectancy, if they joined the Oankoli then their expectancy and quality of life would greatly increase. The humans are killing each other and live in a constant state of violence.”Twice, a pair of them rolled in the mud, punching and clutching at one another. Even then they did not fight; they cursed each other and cursed him.”(Butler 334) The Oankali don’t understand the irrational decisions made by the humans, and they can’t stand the reckless waste of life that they see. Their species differ greatly in practices and culture.
To call somebody rude for yelling in your face is permissible unless of course they are a foreign culture, or better yet another species. Humans cannot judge the Oankali by their set of morals, because it means nothing to them. This is May I remind you an alien culture literally and figuratively speaking. The same standards do not apply to them, because there are some things that we can’t begin to understand about them. Throughout the book there are examples of the Oankali not being able to translate words or feelings into something the humans would understand. Their ignorance of the Oankali’s point of view is seen when they try to cut Amma and Shkaht’s tentacles. It would actually be a very serious pain for them, but the humans don’t understand. “What if someone were going to cut your eyes out, and you had a gun?”(Butler 398) Another example is how Tino has trouble at first with mating with Nikanj, even though it is not a male he still sees it as one. This is common with many of the humans, it is another reason the resister will not assimilate.
The brand new Oankali-Human species, the fate of the last resisters, and the culture shock of a new species are all reasons that morality should have no place in the rebuilding of earth. Who is to say what is right and wrong? If the humans become more understanding like the Oankali, then they can move past judgments. Replace the morals with practical rules like the Oankali, don’t waste and seek knowledge. Their new nature will not be as volatile as human nature, and will lead to a prosperous future.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
The intro is somewhat questionable. I don't mean questionable as in you used alot of questions, which you did, but it seems a tad lengthy. I feel like you have way to much fluff up here. Cut it down and you would have a great intro.
"This is May I remind you an alien culture literally and figuratively speaking" Not really sure what you were going with here...
Elaborate more on your point about Tino's issues. He is an outsider that denied his human mortality so he could be used as a prime example in your paper.
Overall I found your viewpoints very interesting. While I may not agree with ditching our mortality, your paper has a lot of good points. Find better ways to explain each point. Some of your explanations were repetitive and was just restating a previous explanation. I feel like this is going to be an A paper. Calling it now.
First i struggle to find a lot of meaning in the intro paragraph, although the thesis statement is pretty clear.
I understand that you are saying that lilith and akins world is beyond morality, and the resisters need to get past this in order to find meaning. You should try to add how they could go about doing this, and how lilith and akin ditched their idea of morality. Is completely throwing away your sense of what is right and wrong an easy thing to do? Your ideas in this paragraph are great, you just need to expand on them and explain them. You need to explain how it is possible to do this and why.
Perhaps the answer to this is that this is just the way humans are. It is part of human nature to fear this change and stick to the morals we know.
You also say in the third paragraph about the Oankali not being able to communicate with humans. This is a good contrast between humans and Oankali, but you need a better example of why humans find it so hard to comprehend the Oankali.
Overall you have some very solid idea. Shaping up your intro paragraph and eleborating on your ideas more will get u an A fo sho.
Giovanni Serrapere
Dr. Adam Johns
ENGCMP 0200
9 November 2008
In their new post-human world the resisters should leave their morality at the door. Morality to me is the doctrine of socially accepted rights and wrongs that one adheres to. Their new society calls for an updated sense of morality, or lack of. Lilith’s world is beyond morality because the human experience has changed, their lives depend on it, and man’s morality should not apply to a different species.
The human race is no longer at the top of the food chain. Throughout humanity’s existence we have lived by our own rules. But when something stronger than humans arrive shouldn’t we try to coexist just so we don’t become extinct. Why do the resisters stick to a rigid sense of morality, when it has failed them thus far? Our old ways led the humans to a nuclear war that nearly wiped them off the planet. The new era they now live in tells them that their old ways should be left behind and instead replaced with a more pragmatic approach. They can start by working for a new society that will not destroy itself. The human contradiction needs to be eradicated, or at least subdued. If they trade with the Oankali, it will help them by making them more logical. It isn’t a guaranteed way to erase the human contradiction, but it is a start. The resisters have chosen to not breed with the Oankali because they believe it to be immoral, they want to stay pure. When you die alone without children or other humans no one will care that you took the “high road” and didn’t mix DNA with Oankali. The resisters even acknowledge this futile existence, “We don’t get old. We don’t have kids, and nothing we do means shit.”(Butler 402) It just does not make sense to stick to morality that isn’t useful. As humans they should strive for greatness and not settle for doomed fates.
If they do not become like Lilith and breed with the Oankali, then they will not live out the full extent of their lives. “At least he’s been awake for sixty-five years in all. That’s a decent length of time for a Human being.”(Butler 327) This shows their attitudes towards their life expectancy, if they joined the Oankoli then their expectancy and quality of life would greatly increase. The humans are killing each other and live in a constant state of violence.”Twice, a pair of them rolled in the mud, punching and clutching at one another. Even then they did not fight; they cursed each other and cursed him.”(Butler 334) The Oankali don’t understand the irrational decisions made by the humans, and they can’t stand the reckless waste of life that they see. Their species differ greatly in practices and culture.
To call somebody rude for yelling in your face is permissible unless of course they are a foreign culture, or better yet another species. Humans cannot judge the Oankali by their set of morals, because it means nothing to them. This is an alien culture that differs from them on many levels. The same standards do not apply to them, because there are some things that we can’t begin to understand about them. Throughout the book there are examples of the Oankali not being able to translate words or feelings into something the humans would understand. Their ignorance of the Oankali’s point of view is seen when they try to cut Amma and Shkaht’s tentacles. It would actually be a very serious pain for them, but the humans don’t understand. “What if someone were going to cut your eyes out, and you had a gun?”(Butler 398) Another example is how Tino has trouble at first with mating with Nikanj, even though it is not a male he still sees it as one. Another example of behavior they can’t understand in Tino is when he feels guilty about “betraying” his species. He punishes himself by not seeking help for his headaches. Tino uses his pain as an act of contrition, “Nikanj says you prefer to endure your pain. It says you need to make yourself suffer so that you can feel that your people are avenged and you’ve paid your debt to them.”(Butler 425) Tino’s morality puts him into a quagmire of guilt and shame, which will only cause him grief.
The brand new Oankali-Human species, the fate of the last resisters, and the culture shock of a new species are all reasons that morality should have no place in the rebuilding of earth. Who is to say what is right and wrong? If the humans become more understanding like the Oankali, then they can move past judgments. Replace the morals with practical rules like the Oankali, don’t waste and seek knowledge. Their new nature will not be as volatile as human nature, and will lead to a prosperous future.
Post a Comment