Literary Analysis Essay on Pop Squad and Ten With a Flag

Introduction

The dystopian stories provide commentary on our contemporary reality by showing the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The good intentions of individuals have inflicted pain in others, and as a result, people are concerned by the extent at which they are currently engaged in the parading of well-meaning attitudes. It seems that persons are competing to appear as virtuous. The dystopian stories of 'pop squad' by Paolo Bacigalupi and ten with a flag by Joseph Paul Haine are analyzed to justify the statement that the road to hell is replaced with ethical deliberations.

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Analysis of Pop Squad by Paolo Bacigalupi

The story, 'Pop Squad' occurs in a world whereby human life can be elongated thanks to 'rejoo' treatments that reverse the cellular clocks. To hinder overpopulation, rejoo was engineered to trigger infertility. However, there is a subculture of women who sacrifice rejoo to bear children unlawfully. These women are condemned to live as fugitives. The main character is a policeman whose job it is to chase the women and get rid of their children and send the forbidden mothers to labor camps.

The policeman finds a suspect and visits her. When he interrogates the woman on what she selected motherhood, she says that there is finally something new. She loves seeing things through her little eyes and not via the dead eyes like theirs (Bacigalup 139). The policeman views that life is new and that routine deadens individuals. The repetitive deeds get rid of delight from work, and the eyes of individuals glaze over because of the work habitualness. For instance, the eyes of the college students glaze over from continuous learning, particularly by the end of the semester. Everyday studying habits deadens them to society. The repetitive murdering of children makes the children numb to any emotions that he might have regarding murdering them. The notion of habituation is a comparatively relevant warning of a reaction after following the repeated stimulation, which is not followed by reinforcement (Riopelle 99). The key character shoots the children and apprehends the mother to fulfill the roles and obligations of a policeman. However, he is not remorseful after sometimes. Upon shooting the children many times, any remorse that he might have felt the initial day on the job is not existent. At one house, he expresses that he is sorry for the children and shoots them (Riopelle 139). According to him, it is reasonable to shoot children and does not appear inhumane as such deeds are a habit.

During the beginning of the story, the eyes of the protagonist are closed as he is dead to any foreign beliefs. However, in the end, the eyes are open, awakened by a new train of thought that makes him think rather than blindly approving social norms. Goldenson (353) argues that based on the theory of drive reduction, an organism will amass the new responses only when it is driven by necessity and coveted with a reward that satisfies the need (Goldenson 353).

Analysis of ten with a flag

Joseph Haines, the author of the Ten with a Flag, addresses the issues and dilemmas that are encountered by the modern young families in the developed economies. It is divided between the work issues and the interference by the government (Haines 23). Whereas the tale captures the majority of the events occurring presently in the society, some parts are inspired by science fiction and future technological advancement. Hence, the author predicts the future by reporting the impact of technology when determining the sex, potential, physical condition, and contribution of the child to the country (Haines 24).

The author envisions his imagination to forecasts the future in a society where the government regulates the private lives of its citizens. The presence of a centralized and complicated information technology database allows the government to accrue its authority. The database captures the information and development of every person in the state. It can be articulated that the authority treasures the lives of its citizens and their impacts on the development of the country. This leads to conflicts among the parents, such as government officials. The husbands in the future families feel limited and denied a chance to make good decisions on the welfare of their families. In spite of the positive impacts of information technology development and medical progress, such as the prediction of future health, Johnnie gives priority to the past when uncertainties prevailed (Haines, 24). The wife supports the government because she sees the unlimited advantages of surveillance and assistance in child upbringing. It is a fact that road to hell is paved with good intentions because the government feels that it has good intentions when it is using bad methods. The government is overstepping its borders to infringe on the privacy of its citizens and take over the parenting by making the children the assets of the country (Haines 25). Ultimately, the parents become submissive to the government institutions and its oppressive laws.

Conclusion

These stories reflect the errors that are currently in the modern society. It is not late to head to a particular disaster. The stories give evidence that there are people who believe that they have good intentions, yet they are using bad methods. I believe that those recommendations will help improve the society in the future.

Work Cited

Bacigalupi, Paolo. "Pop Squad." Pump Six and Other Stories. San Francisco: Night Shade Books, 2008. 137-161. Print.

Goldenson, Robert M. "Drive Reduction Theory." The Encyclopedia of Human Behavior: Psychology, Psychiatry, and Mental Helath. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Garden City, NY: Robert M. Goldenson, 1970. Print.

Riopelle, A.J. "Habituation." Encyclopedia of Psychology. Ed. Raymond J. Corsini. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1994. Print.

Wiley, Lindsay F., Micah L. Berman, and Doug Blanke. "Who's Your Nanny?: choice, paternalism, and public health in the age of personal responsibility."The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 41.s1 (2013): 88-91. Print.