Monday, March 9, 2009
The Donner Party
For this week I am going to be talking about the Year's Best "A Thing Forbidden" which if you haven't read yet involves the cannibalism incident of the Donner Party. I decided to read up on the Donner Party, and found out that the historical account does not exactly line up with the short story. In "A Thing Forbidden," the associates of the Donner Party are portrayed as killers, and the showdown at the end definitely capitalizes on this. When I looked up the Donner Party online though, they only resorted to cannibalism as an imperative last resort to living. There is actually Donner Party Memorial Park in California. I thought this was pretty interesting as I have always thought the Donner Family's story was a murder story like "A Thing Forbidden."
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See that's really strange, because I have always heard that they did only eat each other as a last resort. Also, I'm pretty sure that the only people that they ate, were the one that were already dead. I'm pretty sure that there was no killing involved.
ReplyDeleteDitto Sara's comment. I, too, had only ever heard of the Donner Party resorting to cannibalism to survive, not out of savageness. I did think that "A Thing Forbidden" gave nice twist on this true story, however.
ReplyDeleteWhen you used the word "savageness...," Do you know what came to mind? "Kalima....kalima.."
ReplyDeleteBut to be serious, the whole idea of cannibalism and having to resort to it simply out the need for survival...even on that note. Wouldn't certain religious beliefs get in the way? Such as the belief that human beings have souls and/or spirits. What if the act of eating the earth-bound human bodies disturb the eternal rest of that person's soul? Say religious beliefs did come into play, if you had to pick between your own personal survival at the expense of ruining a soul's chance at peace or letting the dead and their souls have a chance at eternal rest, what would you pick? Which sacrifice would you be willing to make? I guess the choice would be easier if the results of those choices will not come back to haunt you down the road.
I also support the idea that I'm pretty sure the Donners only resorted to the acts of cannibalism as a last resort. I certainly hope they only ate the already dead.
ReplyDeleteI suppose religious beliefs may get in the way, but at the same time, you are dying and you have a way to survive. As a non-religious person, I guess it is a lot easier to say that even if I was religious, I would bypass it in order to survive in such a situation.
Although I can't bring myself to eat shrimp. I might die trying to bring myself to eat someone I knew. Horrifying.