Survival
When I read this section, I had to really stop and think. It resonated with me in a way I find it hard to think about - yet I must. What is survival? Is it living through something? Perhaps it is living through a tragic event with your soul intact.
In the preceding readings, Lauren is preparing for an, in her mind, inevitable shift in the safety and security of what she considers home. She is not fully prepared when she is thrust into the world. It is both more violent and abrupt then she could imagine. However, it is the reality that she has to deal with. Her preparations help soften the blow a little, but nothing could have prepared her for the extreme emotional and mental adjustments needed to be made in a short amount of time.
Here is where I believe Lauren is a survivor. She not only is prepared for her physical well being, but she has prepared herself for some of the decisions that she will face. Killing the dog on the way home from target practice is a foreshadowing of the decision needed at the end of this reading.
Lauren's thoughts on God notwithstanding, I believe she will survive not only in body, but in spirit as well. She makes choices that, while they may seem barbaric to some, are only out of necessity and not out of want or desire.
Going through a horrific event tests a person's mettle. It is easy to suspend morality in favor of plain survival. Is plain survival enough? If your soul is warped by the things done to survive, did you survive?
I was in line this morning at Starbucks. I was talking to two transfer students. The conversation turned to homeless people and how crazy they were. How they would eat out of dumpsters, take things, etc. I didn't want the conversation to turn dark, so I held onto my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHaving worked with a lot of homeless veterans, the 'worst of the worst,' that is addicts and alcoholics I have a different perspective. Most of the stories about living on the streets that I have heard were not about stealing, but about survival. Even in the darkest of times, some of these 'crazy, homeless' people were capable of astonishing depths of compassion.
It made me reflect on what I've posted here.
"Is plain survival enough? If your soul is warped by the things done to survive, did you survive?" This is a very interesting question, and similar to our discussion in class this morning. I think that survival is about staying alive, not about your soul. A person with a damaged soul could still manage to survive through the times of 2026. The question if your soul is warped, do you truly survive then applies to the people that believe in having a soul. If you don't have faith and you don't believe in the damaging of your soul, then yes you do survive. It would not matter if you killed to stay alive because your soul is not in mind. If you live to see another day, you have survived.
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