In the period following World War II, Britain’s position in the world changes drastically as it not only lost its status as a great imperial power, but itt also experienced a number of social and political changes. Fears and anxieties regarding the decline of Britain’s global significance following the end of the war are revealed in literature that examines and critiques the responses to decline. In John Christopher’s The Death of Grass, the destruction of all grasses by a virus removes the literal groundwork of society and problematizes the interference in nature by man as well as the interference in science by the government, while Naomi Mitchison’s Solution Three furthers the dangers of political intervention in the physical and societal
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Natural selection is part of the theory of evolution, which dictates that the individuals of a species best adapted or possessing traits most beneficial for survival in their environment, will survive to produce more offspring than those less adapted. Therefore, more favorable traits should begin to appear more frequently in future generations (“Evolution and Natural Selection”). Here, nature is able to regulate itself for optimal survival without interference. Natural selection also relies on genetic variation between individuals. However, in The Death of Grass and Solution Three, mankind inserts himself into the role of nature and distorts the process of natural selection to remove the uncertainty that comes with genetic variation. By controlling this process, man attempts to construct perfection. As a farmer, John’s brother David in The Death of Grass, claims that the Chung-Li virus devastating the global community is nature’s response to man’s careless exploitation of nature, treating “the land as though it were a piggy-bank to be raided” (Christopher 41). However rather than accepting the virus as a natural response, the government leaders in the text choose to continue abusing nature. Of the two options presented to deal with the virus, the first is to work with nature by producing a virus resistant strain of grass, while allowing the virus to run its course on …show more content…
While complications also arise from the genetically manufactured food sources, it is the Clones who are relied on as symbols of future perfection. In order to prevent dilution of the perfect society represented by the Clones, homosexuality is trained into society to prevent the birth of non-Clone children. Although a number of individuals, called “deviants”, still maintain heterosexual relationships and engage in biological reproduction, a majority of the young people and babies (those who compose the future generation) are genetic copies of “He” and “She”. There is a distinct divide between the new future of the Clones, one of monotonous sameness, and that of the previous generation, who are associated with the geopolitical violence of their upbringing. The difference between the two generations is visually portrayed in the physical contrast between the Clone Mums and their babies. While “the baby boys were all brown, just as the baby girls were all white, or rather, rose-pink” the Clone Mums are “all colours, (and) many nationalities” (Mitchison 30). The Clone Mums physical dissimilarities in both coloring and ethnic origin are seen as lesser, as physically and genetically different bodies are associated with the time of war, overcrowding, and poverty in which heterosexual reproduction was practiced. It is commonly repeated throughout the text that the non-Clones are not “worthy” of
Natural selection is part of the theory of evolution, which dictates that the individuals of a species best adapted or possessing traits most beneficial for survival in their environment, will survive to produce more offspring than those less adapted. Therefore, more favorable traits should begin to appear more frequently in future generations (“Evolution and Natural Selection”). Here, nature is able to regulate itself for optimal survival without interference. Natural selection also relies on genetic variation between individuals. However, in The Death of Grass and Solution Three, mankind inserts himself into the role of nature and distorts the process of natural selection to remove the uncertainty that comes with genetic variation. By controlling this process, man attempts to construct perfection. As a farmer, John’s brother David in The Death of Grass, claims that the Chung-Li virus devastating the global community is nature’s response to man’s careless exploitation of nature, treating “the land as though it were a piggy-bank to be raided” (Christopher 41). However rather than accepting the virus as a natural response, the government leaders in the text choose to continue abusing nature. Of the two options presented to deal with the virus, the first is to work with nature by producing a virus resistant strain of grass, while allowing the virus to run its course on …show more content…
While complications also arise from the genetically manufactured food sources, it is the Clones who are relied on as symbols of future perfection. In order to prevent dilution of the perfect society represented by the Clones, homosexuality is trained into society to prevent the birth of non-Clone children. Although a number of individuals, called “deviants”, still maintain heterosexual relationships and engage in biological reproduction, a majority of the young people and babies (those who compose the future generation) are genetic copies of “He” and “She”. There is a distinct divide between the new future of the Clones, one of monotonous sameness, and that of the previous generation, who are associated with the geopolitical violence of their upbringing. The difference between the two generations is visually portrayed in the physical contrast between the Clone Mums and their babies. While “the baby boys were all brown, just as the baby girls were all white, or rather, rose-pink” the Clone Mums are “all colours, (and) many nationalities” (Mitchison 30). The Clone Mums physical dissimilarities in both coloring and ethnic origin are seen as lesser, as physically and genetically different bodies are associated with the time of war, overcrowding, and poverty in which heterosexual reproduction was practiced. It is commonly repeated throughout the text that the non-Clones are not “worthy” of