Analysis of The Arctic Maruder

In Jacques Tardi’s “The Arctic Marauder” the relationship between science, ethics, and violence are commonplace. During the course of the graphic novel two crazed scientists, Louis-Ferdinand Chapoutier and Carlo Gelati, and Chapoutier’s nephew Jerome Plumier devise a plan to destroy the world, without once thinking of the moral complications of their acts. Much like the characters in the novel, this issue has been present throughout contemporary history, especially that concerning military actions. Examples include the atomic bomb and the use of various types of poison gas during the First World War, in which many of the developers of the weapons did not actually process the ethical implications of their work. It is for this reason that junior officers trained in the fields of arts and science must receive critical analytical training and play an active role in decisions concerning their experiments, in order to preserve the safety of mankind.

The primary example in “The Arctic Marauder” that provides evidence as to why it is important to allow junior officers to attend university to develop their critical thinking skills to ensure the proper and ethical employment of their research is the grandiose delusions that both Carlo Gelati and Louis-Ferdinand Charpoutier share about their work in the field of weaponizing germs and other harmful pathogens. The lack of critical thinking on behalf of both of these men lead them to believe that “Had we succeeded in our research on the world’s destruction, we would have been showered with laurels,” (The Arctic Marauder, Page 43), “At university we were young and naïve and still labouring under the purerile notion of working for the good of humanity,” and that “there are limits to how long ...

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...echnical school.

Ethics, as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “an area of study that deals with ideas about what is good or bad behaviour: a branch of philosophy dealing with what is morally right or wrong.” In Jacques Tardi’s “The Arctic Marauder” the concept of such conduct and critical-thinking is completely disregarded by scientists involved and as a result, the fate of the world is put in danger. From the grandiose delusions of Chapoutier, Gelati, and Plumier the need for the education of critical thinking in today’s leaders is abundantly clear to prevent and ensure the survival of all of humankind. Unless, you believe that “moreover, man caries in his heart the desire always to wield his scientific knowledge in service of the greater good” and that “he would never use it for destructive purposes. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!...” (The Arctic Maruder, Page 63).