In
the novel The Water Knife, there is a
conversation that occurs between Lucy and Angel where the two of them discuss
the Stanford prison experiment. In the passage Angel describes the experiment
to Lucy, who discloses its name.
“‘You ever hear about that psychology
experiment, where this guy made people pretend like they were either prisoners
or guards, and everyone started acting just the way prisoners and guards really
act. You see that?’
‘Sure, the Stanford prison experiment.’”
(282)
The
two go on to discuss roles and obedience in regards to human nature, where
Angel explains that people behave the way they do because of their jobs and
their upbringing, essentially blaming behavior on environment and circumstance.
It would appear as though Lucy does not quite agree with this sentiment, but I
went ahead and did some research that may raise an eyebrow or two and open the
door to questioning how much of what Angel is saying is true, especially in a
climate-induced crisis, such as the water shortage faced in this novel.
In
the Stanford prison experiment, as Angel mentioned, normal civilians were designated
the roles of being either a prisoner or a prison guard. The first day, the
prisoners and guards lived fairly harmoniously, which led to a surprising
change in behaviors as the prisoners began to rebel and the guards felt a
responsibility to keep the prisoners under control. This designated
responsibility led the guards to view the prisoners as sort of sub-human, resorting
to abusive tactics in order to maintain order, especially considering there
were not any specific guidelines regarding how to do so.
This
is important to think about because in a world decimated by climate change,
this simple experiment can become a harsh reality. Lucy asks Angel if he is
also the result of his environment and his given role in society, saying:
“‘And if Catherine Case recruits you?’
‘You cut what needs cutting.’” (283)
In
this case, I think there is another layer of necessity added to this psychological
question of human obedience. If Angel was not recruited by Case, then what
would his life be like? In a world ravaged by the effects of climate change,
survival becomes instinct, and humans are more susceptible to take drastic
measures in order to survive. Being a water knife is Angel’s means of survival,
meaning he is more likely to take that role more seriously, because if he doesn’t
the only alternative is likely to be his own demise.
This
sort of psychology is applicable to everyone, as Angel states on page 282,
which includes the real people of our world today, and not just the characters
in a “Cli-Fi” novel. This future is not an impossibility and any one of us is
not immune to ending up like Angel, especially if climate change puts us in a
similar situation, where the only alternative to taking on a role is death. It
is human instinct to survive, and environmental emergencies as a result of
global warming or climate change may exacerbate this, leading us to become “monsters”
in the face of the danger we’ve created.
I remember learning about this experiment in psychology and I couldn't believe the behavior of the participants. However, the more I think about it, the more I wondered how I would behave in similar circumstances. As you said, people will do what they need to survive and take on the necessary roles. With the future becoming as scary as it is, it's frightening to think about what roles I or anyone else may have to pursue in order to live.
ReplyDeleteI agree! That's why I wanted to make my post about this, because it really makes you think about who you would become in the face of danger. Fear is such a powerful emotion and drives a large response from humans and that response becomes so uncontrollable that I imagine, like in the experiment and in the book, we may not even be able to recognize what we're actually doing.
DeleteI hate to think that I'd would be capable of doing anything like what happened in the book or in the experiment, but realistically, survival instincts are the strongest instincts humans have so it makes sense that when faced with a dire situation people respond in cruel ways.
ReplyDeleteWhat's more horrifying about the Stanford experiment is that the participants weren't just civilians, if I recall correctly. They were college students. The experiment was supposed to run for two weeks, but was stopped after six days, at the urging of Zimbardo's girlfriend; Zimbardo himself had fallen into his role as warden, and didn't want to end the experiment. He was so into his role that he couldn't see how the students were being affected. They dehumanized the prisoners--which were actually fellow college students--by giving them numbers, and refusing to use their names.
ReplyDeleteWe all say that we wouldn't do such a thing, but the experiment, along with Millgram's, prove that it's likely that we would. Falling into the roles took 36 hours, and escalated to severe levels in less than a week. And following orders coming from someone who appears to be an authority figure is also something that people say they wouldn't do, if it meant shocking a stranger in another room. But Millgram's experiment proved that most people would.
Psychology is terrifying to me. I leave the study of that to my boyfriend.
It is fascinating how obedient humans actually are, even though we staunchly claim we would never do that. And you're right about them being college students, which is even more frustrating, considering it could very well be any of us who adopt that behavior. Such an interesting study, very eye-opening, I think.
DeleteYou brought up a great point on why Angel would follow orders from Catherine Case. I like how you also raise the question on what would we do if put in that position. It made me think of the Donner Party, and how someone may do inhumane things in order to survive.
ReplyDeleteThe experiment is a very interesting thing and I had no clue what it was actually about, so that was interesting to learn about. I think that it is sad what people will do in order to survive. I like how you looked at Angels conversations about Catherine Case, I think he reveals a lot about what happens when you are put into a life or death situation. It is scary to think what people will do when they are put under these situations and what they will do just to survive.
ReplyDeleteAs Nichole mentioned in an earlier comment, "survival instincts are the strongest instincts humans have," so it is a little spooky to think about how our own survival instincts would function, especially considering most, if not all, of us have not yet experiences a true survival scenario. It's the mystery that terrifies me, personally.
DeleteI love how you decided to study the psychology behind all of this! I enjoyed reading your blog because of the unique perspective.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you move back and forth between the novel and your discussion of the experiment and psychology.
ReplyDelete