“Escape from Spiderhead” is a short story by one of the recognized masters of short fiction, George Saunders. It is also noteworthy that the short story was published in The New Yorker in 2010 (Saunders para. 1). The author created the plot for “Escape from the Spider’s Head” where he describes a managed pharmacological space where researchers have developed the ability to control the desires and feelings of other persons. Accordingly, Sanders’s short story encourages readers to reflect on the themes of freedom of choice and determinism. Therefore, it is essential to conduct a literary analysis of the short story in order to establish the moral dilemma of “Escape from Spiderhead”.
George Saunders explores many topics in “Escape from Spiderhead,” but the most interesting and counterintuitive is the theme of human nature. In a short story, the author tries to respond to the question of what it means to be human. For example, Jeff is witnessing Heather fight a dose of Darkenfloxx. Then, there is a dialogue about how all people are worthy of love, and Verlaine replies, “I believe feelings are common among all people” (Saunders 7). Therefore, the author introduces the concept that in spite of all human vices, people deserve love; accordingly, they are good by nature. Thus, the theme of the story traces the definition of the nature of people and love and suggests that all humans, independent of their circumstances, have a choice in a moral dilemma.
Similarly, this theme is raised again at the end of the short story when Jeff strives to save Rachel by sacrificing himself. With this, the author tries to demonstrate that even a murderer has feelings of love and compassion and can save another person, who is also not perfect, at the cost of that person’s own life (Saunders 110). This once again confirms the idea that people’s shortcomings are insignificant and do not affect their nature and ability to make independent choices. Moreover, characters like Abnesti and Verline are considered good people, but they inject drugs that kill others (Saunders 54). This contrast between the personages further emphasizes the unspecified blurred concept of good and evil.
It is important to note that the story is narrated in the first person, which proves the author’s attempt to express the opinions and desires of the protagonist. The writing style of “Escape from Spiderhead” is distinguished by a large number of images in order to demonstrate the true natural essence of the characters, not just their approved characterization. For example, after Jeff has been injected with a drug, it is possible to understand his true nature; the hero observes the images and comments on them as follows: “Birds were singing. Birds were, it occurred to me to say, enacting a frantic celebration of the day’s end” (Saunders 187). The author’s style of writing aims to demonstrate the true thoughts of the characters and illustrate their essence, which does not always correspond to the established image, which causes a moral dilemma.
Nevertheless, the mood of the story is oppressive because the setting reflects only the control and, therefore, the suppression of their true nature through the drugs they inject. However, it is precisely this insistence and tone of “Escape from Spiderhead” that enables the protagonists to conduct an internal struggle and resolve a moral dilemma. Therefore, the author creates an oppressive atmosphere of lack of choice and control over their own lives in order to help the characters find their essence and change their lives (Saunders 87). This is also expressed in the environment and atmosphere, which has dark tones and conveys the characteristics of the person in real life as opposed to their imagination after drug use. This can be observed when Jeff sees calm scenes about birds after using preparations, while in real life, he is described as a killer. Consequently, it once again emphasizes the variability of the character’s natures and their choices in the moral dilemma of freedom of will and the essence of people.
The author of “Escape from Spider’s Head” deploys two primary methods in the writing of the story. The first is language and wordplay; for example, the author reflects Jeff’s joy when the hero is on the Verbulace wave (Saunders 65). This also applies to specific words that immediately attract attention and interest the audience, such as drug names. The second technique Saunders uses is asking the readers to make the same choice Jeff is forced to make. The author does this by means of a long narrative about the positive and negative sides of the characters, including Jeff (Saunders 133). Thus, the methods chosen by the author demonstrate the non-standard world in which the characters live, manifesting itself in wordplay. Furthermore, the author’s analysis of the different sides of the personages permits the audience to understand their moral dilemmas and their fears of freedom and control.
Hence, the author successfully invented the theme, style, and literary devices in “Escape from Spiderhead” to make readers interested in understanding the essence and moods of the characters. Consequently, they fully understand the choices made by the characters and their thoughts on moral dilemmas. Therefore, “Escape from Spiderhead” demonstrates that people always have the right to choose and are essentially good in their nature, regardless of the characteristics they receive from society.
Work Cited
Saunders, George. “Escape from Spiderhead.” The New Yorker, Web.