Debate Evidence

The girl with all the gifts

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The girl with all the gifts

1. Discuss the relationship between the hungries like Melanie and the hungries that attack the army base

According to the movie, humanity in the past years was attacked by a deadly fungus known as Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. The disease is contagious spread through blood and saliva and also open sores caused by the fungus. The fungus made the infected individuals lose their mental capacity to the extent that they fed on the flesh of the human beings. The few humans that were not infected chose to live in heavily herded areas such as the beacon or just wander in packs with scavenging Junkers. The authorities at that time decided to come up with a military base to keep child hungries. Although the child hungries were harmless, they had one thing which was common in them, i.e., they were once human but got infected with the deadly fungus. The fungus infection by the fungus thus makes the basis of the relationship between child hungries like Melanie and the other wild hungries.

2. Identify what makes the hungries like Melanie unique

The hungries like Melanie were so unique in that they behaved. Unlike the hungries not in the army base, the hungries like Melanie had the ability to maintain their mental powers. However, they could lose their mental control once they got closer to the human scent. Due to their uniqueness, the soldiers led by a sergeant would look for such children and take them to the military base where they got an education from the teachers and also got tested by head scientist, Dr. Caroline Caldwell. Furthermore, Melanie who is one of the child hungries cannot be attacked by the wild hungries hence the humans use her to drive away the wild hungries.

3. Consider the hopeful monster theory you learned about in lecture. · Explain why Melanie meets the criteria of a hopeful monster

According to the hopeful monster theory, a reptile laid an egg in which a creature with brown hair was hatched from it. The evolutionist claim that the mammal grew, he found a mate that also had emerged from the egg and this resulted in a new species. Closer analysis of Melanie’s story can make one conclude that it fits the category of the hopeful monster. According to the movie, Melanie is so unique that it helps the humans drive away the other hungries not from the military base. Perhaps one day she can find a mate and come up with a new generation of hungries that will be so helpful to the humans. Hopefully when the generation emerges, at least humans can have a larger force that can be used to get rid of the other hungries.

4. To what extent does Dr. Caroline Caldwell resemble the archetypal scientist?

The archetypal scientist is kind of scientist that be said to be a mad or insane type of scientist due to the ability of the scientist to comfortably solve scary obstinate problems through the use of psychology or other means. An example of an archetypal scientist in human history is Sherlock Holmes who was able to solve many problems in science and acting industry (Utechin, 2012). In the movie, Dr. Caroline Caldwell closely resembles the archetypal scientist. She is depicted in the film as an individual who is really trying to find a cure or vaccine for a blood and saliva fungus that is changing humans into flesh-eating disease carriers. In that time such an attempt is viewed as insane as no one has any idea of how to invent the cure. For Dr. Caldwell cure can be developed from ten-year-old children like Melanie who are infected by the fungus but it has not affected them mentally. She hopes to do the attempt by dissecting the children’s brains and examining them under the microscope. Dr. Caroline Caldwell actions and thinking qualifies her to be so close to an archetypal scientist.

5. Consider the following statement made by Dr. Caroline Caldwell to Dr. Justineau: “Please remember, Doctor, that the subject presents as a child but is actually a fungal colony animating a child’s body. There’s no place for sentiment here.” · Based on your assessment of Melanie’s actions in the film, do you agree or disagree with Dr. Caldwell? Explain your reasoning.

I totally disagree with Dr. Caroline Caldwell sentiments. From the movie, it is no doubt that Melanie was extraordinary. Her actions and behavior can attest that Melanie is not basically a fungal colony animating a child’s body. After Melanie, Caldwell, Justineau, Parks had escaped from the army base after they were attacked by the Junkers, Melanie saves them on several occasions and safely leads them to the Beacon. Melanie has human characters such as intelligence and is able to camouflage herself as human and also as a hungry. Melanie knew that she was carrying the deadly fungus and her body and therefore she could move within the other hungries without them noticing her. Occasionally Melanie would distract hungries from her human friends by so that they could walk away and not feast on them. Melanie also rescues a group of other child hungries from Dr. Caroline Caldwell because she knew Caldwell would use them in the lab for her experiments. In the end, Melanie saves the fungus infected by directing a sergeant to set fire on a mass of dead hungries so that it can release spores of fungus worldwide. From all the actions taken by Melanie, she can prove that she is not just a child’s body full of the fungal colony. Melanie is an extraordinary hungry with a lot of gifts that may eventually end the deadly fungal infection.

References

Top of Form

Carey, M. (2016). The girl with all the gifts.

Bottom of Form

Utechin, N. (2012). Sherlock Holmes. Newton Abbot, UK: D & C.