The Water Knife, By Phillip Zimbardo: A Psychological Analysis

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Recommended: Examples of social psychology experiments

The Stanford Prison Experiment is an infamous social psychology experiment conducted by Phillip Zimbardo to test what normal civilians do when placed in an environment where some are given power over others. In a make-shift prison built in the school basement, individuals were assigned to be either a prison guard or a prisoner and Zimbardo was the jail superintendent. Chaos ensued as everyone abandoned their former personalities and immersed themselves into their designated roles. Prison guards became authoritative and abused the submissive prisoners while Zimbardo stood by and allowed the abuse to continue. A simple pretend jail cell had convinced the participants that their roles were their true selves (Zimbardo). The Water Knife, a novel …show more content…

For instance, Angel can recognize Lucy’s resemblance to Phoenix due to his encounter with others who have been negatively influenced by their environment. After a careful observation of Lucy’s photograph, he describes her appearance to possess “striated sun-browned skin, wild pale grey eyes” and that “She’d gone native. In some indefinable way, she’d gone pure Phoenix. She was going crazy. Lost in uncharted territory” (Bacigalupi 141). His comment that Lucy is a full-fledge native indicates that through Lucy’s many years in Phoenix, she has adapted with her environment to the extent that she is now immediately identifiable as a part of Phoenix. She has suffered due to her hostile surroundings, but rather than feel disgust for this horrible place, she developed a deep, personal connection with it. Towards the end of the novel, Lucy realizes that the moment she wrote about forbidden topics signifies the point where “she’d become another bit in the maelstrom, paddling just as madly as everyone else to keep her head above the water and to avoid being sucked down for good” (Bacigalupi 290). This reveals that like the helpless Phoenix who does not wish to collapse under the powerful states, Lucy does not wish to fall under the influence of the malevolence that surrounds her. However, it is evident that both Phoenix and Lucy are unsuccessful in the prevention of their downfalls. Phoenix is pushed on the brink of extinction as Las Vegas cuts off its water supply and Lucy is forced to abandon her own will and commit

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