Lemus 1 Thania Lemus Prof.

Topf English 114B 17 March 2014 The Postmortal In a technology-driven society, the advances that technology encounters can have an impact on the people and it can lead to many social issues. In the novel The Postmortal by Drew Magary, there are several critiques towards society and what can happen if society itself fails to fix these issues. As an illustration, we have terrorism. In the book, the society that people are living in encounters many social problems due to the advances in technology and science. One of these advances is the cure for aging. In it of itself, finding a cure for aging sounds pleasing, but the effects it may have in the long run can affect society as a whole. However, not all the people think that the cure is great. They believe that it is unethical and that the people that have the cure should be eliminated. Most of the individuals that are against the cure are religious, and they believe that it interferes with what God has set up for them; it interferes with destiny. This controversy between the pro-cure and the people against the cure causes many problems, including terrorist attacks. With people living longer lives, there is a shortage of resources that angers the people against the cure and it fuels them to continue attacks. Since many of the events mentioned in the book allude to past events that have happened in actual society, The Postmortal sets out to make a social critique by mentioning terrorism and religion throughout the novel because of its consequences and the relevance it has in society today. Technological advances can have an enormous effect in society, the military and in the daily lives of citizens. It can make lives easier and convenient; it can mean protection of the

Lemus 2 people. However, technology can also have a downside when it comes to weapons. When weapons and bombs are made because technology has advanced so much, it puts a danger in society. It makes a person wonder about the motives and the consequences it may have. For instance, this social problem relates to a particular event that took place a year ago in Boston. Where during a marathon two bombs exploded, killing three and injuring several others. In the novel, The Postmortal there are similar attacks in which innocent people are targeted and therefore these attacks occur. For example, I heard a gigantic BOOM! Then a quarter of an instant later, the corner of the eighth floor blew out (40). This attack targeted a specific group of people, which are the ones that have gotten the cure. This event in the book and the Boston bombing have something in common, which is the attack of innocent people. According to BBC news, there are theories that believe this attack was inspired by an al-Qaeda ideology. Al-Qaeda seem to mostly target non-Muslims, just like in the novel the people against the cure, which are mostly religious, only target people that have the cure and that are pro-cure. The relevance that the attacks in the novel have in society now, concerns many people and makes them wonder how to improve. The consequences that a terrorist attack can affect the way a society thinks. Terrorism has a great impression on people, because they tend to associate the attackers with other individuals that belong to their same religion or that look like them. Consider this, But I thought it was, you know, a terrorist terrorist attack. Someone from Saudi Arabia or something (44). In other words, a person would expect a terrorist attack from someone from the middle east, but when the attack is done by someone that is ultimately one of your own it is surprising. In the book, the attacks were occurring because of the cure and people getting the cure. In real life, terrorist attacks were targeting innocent people that had nothing to do with the attackers beliefs. There

Lemus 3 were consequences after the attacks, like racial profiling. Not only that, but anger towards the attackers grows consistently both in the book and after terrorist attacks. For instance, after the 9/11 attack at the World Trade Center people began to be angered and act against the attackers religion or race as a result of the attacks. Moreover, terrorism has left a scar on the people by making the think that any attack happening anywhere is a result of terrorism. The topic itself is generalized in our society by associating innocent individuals with terrorists. Though terrorism is indeed a bad thing, the amount of dissociation it currently has affects innocent people. Furthermore, in the book terrorism starts to appear after there is an advance in science; the discovery of the aging cure. At one point these attacks become a usual thing. Consequently, another date relevant to 9/11/01 appears in the book. For example, It was the only time during our trip that I was reminded of 7/3/19 (89). The relevance of these two dates, one happening in 2001 and one in 2019 makes you think of the phrase written by Rufus Historie history repeats itself. Terrorism appeared before, and it can appear again at the same level or worse. When we connect the book and real life, there is a huge connection not only because of the attacks but also who is committing these attacks. Religion and beliefs play a big role in terrorism. In the book, the people committing these attacks are usually religious people that are against the cure because it intervenes with Gods will. Likewise, some the attacks that have happened in the U.S. are traced back to al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda is an organization that has been designated as a terrorist organization by various countries. These attacks are being committed because the attackers believe that they are right in what they are doing, that their beliefs are the way to go. Nevertheless, religion also plays a big role in the book and actual society; it goes hand in hand with terrorism. Throughout the book we see the characters develop from getting the cure and partying life away, to being miserable and wanting to die. The effect that religion and

Lemus 4 terrorism has on this situation is that due to terrorism people are living afraid and unhappy. Whereas religion plays another role; people are unhappy and wanting to die that the last thing they have to believe in and trust is religion. After the attacks started to become more frequent, people were naturally afraid. There were people being branded and others severely attacked by people against the cure. Even though the attacks were not against all the people, plenty of them were attacked during bombings, fires, and other vandalism done by people. These events scarred them, and at one point in the book people no longer wanted to live. Several issues were rising, life was becoming impossible, and terrorism was growing. People sought out end specialists to end their lives in order to end their misery. What you see towards the end of the book is a modern world crashing down because of its advances and how those advances were utilized. As a result, the main character John was a guy who never seemed violent or showed any kind of behavior. Ultimately, even he expressed violent behavior after being exposed to plenty of death due to terrorism and misery. For example, I kept my gun under my pillow (321). When John says he keeps his gun under his pillow is a pivotal moment because he had struggled to call the gun his in previous chapters. He has come to terms that the violence around him is not going to cease and therefore he has to take matters into his own hands. The interpretation that comes out of looking from a terrorism and religious viewpoint is that when society advances in technology there will be issues that have not been foreseen. These issues will cause society to crumble down and disintegrate to a few people ruling, because many will give up in the society they are living in. As an illustration we have, You cannot hide from the world. It will find you. It always does (365). After the world has gone through many changes and damages, you cannot however defeat the natural world because it will eventually catch up. The issues that were going

Lemus 5 on in the book since the discovery of the cure, eventually caught up with John and several other people that just could not take the misery that it had created. Nevertheless, the amount of tragedy that has happened in the novel The Postmortal has in a way imitated our society now. Including terrorism and the attacks that resemble the attacks that have happened in past years in the United States. It has also included religion and its part in terrorism, and the violence that goes on around the world. Not only do the attacks and other events in the book resemble the terrorist attacks in the U.S., it also resembles events that have happened in other countries, such as Russia. The book itself criticizes the various social issues in society, and exaggerates them into a futuristic society in which these problems become so large that it ruins the society. To sum up, the social issues discussed in the book are relevant in society now and its consequences may lead for a fix or for the issue to get worse, depending on the approach taken.