Beady eyes, long bodies, and pinchy fingers are some attributes that make humans unapproachable. Unfortunately, they have also managed to selfishly devour a majority of the living species they come in contact with, including lobsters. David Foster Wallace wrote an essay titled, “Consider the Lobster,” to inform the public about the issues that has been happening between the lobster consumers, lobster defenders, and their feelings towards boiling alive the aquatic crustacean. Wallace is obviously against boiling lobsters alive for consumption, but in his essay he has managed to make it seem as if he is on both sides of the argument. The reason Wallace never seemed to pick a side in his essay is because he wants to give the reader a chance to
…show more content…
Furthermore, Wallace includes a footnote after mentioning the fact that he believes that, “animals are less morally important than human beings,” stating, “... apparently, since the moral comparison here is not the value of one human’s life vs. the value of one animal’s life, but rather the value of one animal’s life vs. the value of one human’s taste for a particular kind of protein. Even the most diehard carniphila will acknowledge that it’s possible to live and eat well without consuming animals”(2004). Wallace confirms the fact that it is possible for a human being to survive without consuming meat as their source of protein. In Wallace’s essay he also mentions the method used to boil the lobster alive stating: “ .... the lobster will sometimes try to cling to the container’s sides or even to hook its claws over the kettle’s rim like a person trying to keep from going over the edge of a roof. And worse is when the lobster’s fully immersed. Even if you cover the kettle and turn away, you can usually hear the cover rattling and clanking as the lobster tries to push it off. Or the creature’s claws scraping the sides of the kettle as it thrashes around. The lobster, in other words, behaves very much as you or I would behave if we were plunged into boiling water (with the obvious exception of
Furthermore, Wallace includes a footnote after mentioning the fact that he believes that, “animals are less morally important than human beings,” stating, “... apparently, since the moral comparison here is not the value of one human’s life vs. the value of one animal’s life, but rather the value of one animal’s life vs. the value of one human’s taste for a particular kind of protein. Even the most diehard carniphila will acknowledge that it’s possible to live and eat well without consuming animals”(2004). Wallace confirms the fact that it is possible for a human being to survive without consuming meat as their source of protein. In Wallace’s essay he also mentions the method used to boil the lobster alive stating: “ .... the lobster will sometimes try to cling to the container’s sides or even to hook its claws over the kettle’s rim like a person trying to keep from going over the edge of a roof. And worse is when the lobster’s fully immersed. Even if you cover the kettle and turn away, you can usually hear the cover rattling and clanking as the lobster tries to push it off. Or the creature’s claws scraping the sides of the kettle as it thrashes around. The lobster, in other words, behaves very much as you or I would behave if we were plunged into boiling water (with the obvious exception of