Are the aliens really "wrong"?

Discussion of the novel, The Host

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Silver.Insanity
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Re: Are the aliens really "wrong"?

Post by Silver.Insanity »

At the beginning, when there were only the vultures, they didn't seem wrong to me. After all, they were being terrorized by another species. However, they could have stopped there; they decided to continue taking over worlds. After a while, I think, they didn't seem like they were doing the right thing by taking over so many worlds. After all, some people may not like the peace and stability that came with them.
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Re: Are the aliens really "wrong"?

Post by Granuaile »

When a fox kills an adorable baby bunny for it's meal, is that wrong?? I would say no, since the fox needs it. I mean, it would be nice if the fox decided to starve itself for the sake of baby bunnies worldwide, but it's not gonna happen. I think the souls do have to take other's lives to exist, and that is not wrong. but I believe that while they needed to take some lives for themselves, they took the rest of them, and even brought in more souls so that they had a reason for taking the rest of the human lives on the planet.If they killed people simply because they wanted only souls there, or they brought new souls in so that they could have a reason for getting rid of the remaining humans, THAT is wrong. And I'm not sure if they did that, the book doesn't say. But really, if you think about it, in the book it sounds like there are exactly enough lives for all the souls, no more no less. And we know that can't be true. So what's going on? They obviously don't have thousands of extra humans living in tandem with the souls until they are inserted.
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Re: Are the aliens really "wrong"?

Post by Apple »

i don't think there is a definitive answer to this question, which is part of why this is such an interesting read!!

on one hand, the aliens have this incredibly perfect way of living. they don't kill one another, they trust each other, they are all patient and calm. but on the other hand, they only exercise this way of life by destroying another being's way of life. its one of those "do the ends justify the means" questions. i am inclined to say no because i think regardless of how perfect they are, the souls don't have the right to take anything away from humans.

it reminds me of the book "uglies" by scott westerfield (sp?) for anyone that has read it. there is one scene where the main character is thinking about what the world used to be like before everyone was made pretty, and she recalls that at one point people used to kill people for having a different skin colour, and she can hardly believe that was true. in her world, all forms of prejudice have been eliminated, but it only happened because all traces of individuality and personality have been eliminated. good outcome, bad means of getting there.

there are a lot of parallels between the two. sure, the souls have a "perfect" world, but the way they got there is horrible. i don't think the souls are really wrong, but they aren't good either.
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Re: Are the aliens really "wrong"?

Post by ashleygill03 »

I don't think they are necessarily right or wrong, and I think that's the point of the book... to explore the possibility.

The alien's and the humans both see themselves as being right without trying to understand the other species. I think this is a metaphor for humans already on the planet. People in this world always think there ways are correct without taking other circumstances and perspectives into the equation. I think what SM was exploring in this novel is that people can be different, yet still coexist. That was the point of hope throughout the novel. I think that applies to the world as is too. Though we are all different, we are all the same, and we can all live together in peace with each other.
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Re: Are the aliens really "wrong"?

Post by Trey »

I don't think they're wrong. They think they are doing the whole "body-snatcher thing" for the greater good, they truley believe this. The book reflected apon humanity and someone more then that. Wanda talked about us(humans) like we were monsters. We could deny this, but everything that SM put in this book about humans was true. Truth be told, though, i would be fuming if it were real. :twisted:
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TeamAliceWins
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Re: Are the aliens really "wrong"?

Post by TeamAliceWins »

I dnt think the souls are really the bad guys. They are for the humans of course, taking our bodies and everything. But look at what they've done; there's peace, there's love, there's fairness in the world they've been capable of creating. I believe that if a human were to be born and raised in a world like that, he or she would grow up and become and stay like that. They dont mean any harm. As Wanda said, they came to experience, not to change. They just wanted to know Earth. That obviously doesnt make it any better for us humans... It really depends on how you look at it.
Last edited by TeamAliceWins on Sun Jun 07, 2009 1:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Are the aliens really "wrong"?

Post by alellie »

They did what was good, but only for them. Not for the humans. And yeah, to do what they thought was right, they had to kill almost the entire population of Earth (that's more than 5 billion people).

It's kinda of like using war to get peace, ya know? Anyways, I don't think I'd like it very much if someone started wearing my body like a blouse and throw it away later when it 'goes out of season'.

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Re: Are the aliens really "wrong"?

Post by heifergrl1 »

I don't really know if the aliens are wrong in what they are doing. Yes, they take over different forms, but they do try to help them and themselves. And they are not a savage race. They are not doing it to eliminate all beings. I think that they could have a better way at going about it, but they are doing what they need to do in order to survive.

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Re: Are the aliens really "wrong"?

Post by *Wanderer* »

In some ways, the aliens can be "right." I have to admit, but Earth is a really scary place to be. As humans, we do some really bad things. The souls are peaceful creatures and are making the Earth more "clean." I can understand how they see they deserve Earth more than we do.

But in other ways, I definitely feel that they are "wrong." Is it really right for them to take over our bodies and our planet because they "deserve" it better? If they were in the humans shoes, how would they feel? How would they feel if some more powerful alien took over their home planet, The Origin?


But really, I don't think that the souls have any choice either. Wasn't it somewhere in The Host where it said that they would die without host bodies? I guess it's their way of life and they don't have knowledge of another way that they might survive. As humans, don't you think that we might do anything, no matter how selfish it might be, to keep our species alive?

But really, I think that we should be glad that the souls don't really exist. (And if they do, we should scream and run around in circles.) We should enjoy today and be thankful that we are not invaded by aliens.

Sorry that this post is so long, I really have a problem when it comes to ranting and raving about my ideas. haha

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Last edited by *Wanderer* on Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Are the aliens really "wrong"?

Post by BerAngelVamp »

it's kind of like politics....do we as americans, thinking we are better than some other third world countries, have the right to go in and change their way of life? sure, we think it would be an improvement for them, we can make them more peacable and law-abiding, like we think we are, give them due process, a democracy...but is that right for them? its hard to say. i bet they would say, most of them anyways, no. that they are the way they are and that makes them who they are...

i think from the humans perspective, yes, it's wrong...they stole us! but for the souls, it's not wrong. it's what they do....assimilate and perfect....so for me, it's sort of a rhetorical question...one that isn't really meant to be answered only pondered...
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