Final Paper: The Importance of a 'Moral Compass'
The main theme of this semester has been morals and how a lack of them can be detrimental to society and the way society thinks. We have seen that without one we are lost and harm others, both knowingly and unknowingly. Throughout all the books and films we have analyzed this semester, discrimination is a common theme; it is the underlying cause for many of the morally unjust actions that are taken against a variety of individuals. We find evidence of this in the motion picture Philadelphia, Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor, and in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. By comparing these works we find that the presence of prejudice – no matter the magnitude -- shapes all of these individuals.
Andrew Beckett is one of two main characters in the film Philadelphia. He faces a great deal of issues throughout the entire film; he is suffering with AIDS which results in him getting fired from the law firm he works at. The discrimination that he faces is quite extreme and results in a very controversial court case. He plans to sue the law firm from which he was fired and seeks representation from Joe Miller, played by Denzel Washington. In the scene where Andy first approaches Joe they both seem comfortable with one another, until Andy tells Joe about his illness. This then creates a tension between the two of them and Joe becomes very uncomfortable, we see this through his movements and hesitation to touch what Andy has previously touched. By the end of the scene, Miller makes it clear that he has no interest in helping Beckett make a case and wants nothing to do with him. According to Sontag, we view those who are diseased, particularly those with AIDS, as “members of a certain ‘risk group,’ a community of pariahs.” Once the identity of those who are ill is revealed we no longer view them as people, instead we see them just as a disease and want nothing to do with them. This is a minute example of the day to day discrimination that Andy faces throughout the film. This film shows how society generally views those that are diseased; they are looked down upon and judged severely. This film allows us to get a better understanding of how the world of the sick and that of the healthy are divided. This separation may not be as obvious as that of race or class, but it is present.
In Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor we are taken through the land of the ill and the land of the healthy. Sontag reveals how metaphors are heavily used in describing those that are unwell and how that is so detrimental to how we view those suffering with an illness. By using these metaphors we are almost subconsciously discriminating against these individuals. There is not an obvious societal discrimination against the ill and the healthy but it is there; this prejudice induced by the metaphors ultimately worsens an individual’s illness and their person. These metaphors that Sontag discusses have the same effect on a sick individual as the words Ishiguro uses in Never Let Me Go, such as “donor” and “caregiver”. These words strip away any sense of individuality that these characters may have. These words categorize them and imply that these things are their only purposes in life, to be donors or caregivers. The individuals in this novel that are given these labels are clones, this also poses a problem. The clones are separated and are said to not have souls; society prefers to view clones merely as non-human sources of organs. The lack of humanity that society places on the clones hurts them emotionally, proving they do have souls and are just as human as those discriminating against them.
In all three of these works we observe various degrees of discrimination all, in some way, shaping the lives of those targeted by it. The lack of a moral code in society really plays a role in the way we view those that are different or those affected by an ailment of some sort. Society is so quick to discriminate against without thinking about its harming the other side. Reflecting on this past semester we saw in every one of the works the importance of having a strong moral and ethical code and what not having one can lead to.
Thesis
Throughout all the books and films we have analyzed this semester, discrimination is a common theme; it is the underlying cause for many of the morally unjust actions that are taken against a variety of individuals. We find evidence of this in the motion picture Philadelphia, Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor, and in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. By comparing these works we find that the presence of prejudice – no matter the magnitude -- shapes all of these individuals.
Never Let Me Go Reading Response
While reading Never Let Me Go we see that there is a general confusion among the students at Hailsham about what their purpose is and why they are so ‘special’. We as the readers are also initially confused, so we are somewhat as confused as the students. “We knew a few things about ourselves – about who we were, how we were different from our guardians, from the people outside – but had not yet understood what any of it meant.” (p.36) As I began to read the book I was struck by the scene in which the children plan to ambush Madame. We have been discussing the metaphors associated with illness and the difference between the “kingdom of the well” and the “kingdom of the sick” (Sontag) and in this particular scene there is an obvious metaphor that is recognized by the students. “I can still see it now, the shudder she seemed to be suppressing, the real dread that one of us would accidentally brush against her.” (p. 35) At this moment they realize that they are different but in this case it is not a positive difference, they are “being seen like spiders” (p.35) The harsh reality begins to unravel before their eyes and their purpose becomes more clear throughout the book. I found it interesting that although they are not ‘diseased’ they are still feared.
