Daniel Richardson

Professor Jesse Miller

ENG 110, H-4

8 November 2017

 

Reconsidering the Lobster

Things Clearer:

·         Industry influence is partially to blame for people celebrating lobster

·         Why did shift occur of Lobster being dreaded meal for prison inmates and poor à Delicacy enjoyed by the rich

o   Cultural?

o   Economical?

o   Regional Reliance

·         What is our impact on lobsters/ their ecosystem? How are we changing their “culture”?

·         Wallace’s comparison of humans, specifically tourists, to lobsters. “Economically significant but existentially loathsome”

Bigger Idea:

o   What happens when somebody starts to unravel a chain? Such as Wallace researching the lobster industry, and learning about the meat packing industry, which he says he knew nothing about before writing this article.

o   Why do we ignore suffering? “Why is a primitive, inarticulate form of suffering less urgent or uncomfortable for the person who’s helping inflict it by paying for the food it results in?

o   Do we try to rationalize suffering? Such as believing that puncturing a hole in the lobster’s head will prevent it from suffering? Or ignore it all together

o   Why do we industrialize death? Meatpacking companies, giant boiling lobster pots and festivals. Connection à Industrialized crematoriums and funeral service industry

o   Germany and France pretended that the Holocaust didn’t happen until 1980’s and 1990’s respectively. Yet there were reports coming out from Europe as early as 1942 and we possess plenty of photographs to prove that this abomination happened.