As a biology student, it was very hard for me to resist saying on Thursday what a human actually ‘is’. We are defined by our genetic code, not our actions. Our status as species Homo Sapiens is confirmed by our ability to produce viable offspring with other Homo Sapiens rather than other creatures. In biology, it is remarkably easy to disregard action and focus on solely DNA. Continue reading
On Tuesday we talked about monsters and sort of inhuman creatures that humanity has conjured up over the years. What I took away from Graham’s writing was that monsters are so terrifying because they represent a sort of breach in what are usually thought of as very specific boundaries between creatures. This carried in to our discussion about the clones in Never Let Me Go, who were seen as kind of monstrosities because they, though appearing human, are somehow just short of it. Their very existence terrifies ‘normals’ because they represent a kind of creature that has crossed that boundary between human and non-human. However, because they are so close to us in appearance and behavior (really exactly like us except they can’t reproduce), the normals of the Never Let Me Go world tried to make themselves feel better by treating the clones well until they were sent off to their death. Continue reading