The Effects of Entrapment

The Effects of Entrapment

 I am saddened and angered by the content demonstrated in this comic book. How can mankind be so cruel and ruthless to another?  Not just to plainly murder but viciously torture them to slow death.  I was wondering what did these people went through in life that triggered this motivating evil force. During the holocaust, the Nazis turned the Jews from humans into the mice that were depicted in the story. On page 91 in volume 2 it clearly exhibit how the mice were treated and starved. That they pugnaciously fought as to who caused the spilled soup, their only meal for the day.  In the camps, the prisoners are required to be lice-free in order to be fed with soup.  I find this heartlessly, almost impossible as lice was ever present in the camp of these unsanitary conditions. The lice were small and needed magnifying glass, as shown on the page. It’s ridiculously hard to get the lice out. To me it’s almost like finding an excuse to deprive them of food and just commission them to die of malnutrition. The prisoners had to endure the unthinkable.  This similar situation is found in the book of Exodus, wherein the Jews were subjected to the same torment by the Egyptians, with diseases, hunger and hard labor.  The prisoners have only one goal in this life, survival.  This survival mentality can affect humans in physical, psychological, emotional form and cause devolution. This reminds me of the Lord of the Flies, and how after a period of time the kids on the island became tribal animals fighting a war. Another example was the Stanford Prison experiment which turned ordinary college students into people who may have mental health issues. The students did not feel the sense of guilt of committing a crime nor did they feel deserving of any prison time.  All three episodes had something in common, Entrapment, all three have only one reason, Survival. When one is trapped in an insurmountable situation, they loose themselves, their values, dignity and they become numb, making them no better than animals. By nature, mankind undoubtedly try to find solutions in all dilemma using all sources like science and advance technology. Regrettably, it is humanly natural to deny the fact that there are situations that has absolutely no way out.  This displays that humanity are capable of evolving into a modern society, as much as devolving into a primitive one, contingent on the cornerstone of current circumstances.