Deathwatch - Literary Analysis

Deathwatch--Literary Analysis

In Robb White's novel, Deathwatch, the author develops a theme of survival through the character of Ben. By examining Ben's actions we can learn how people use instinct and creativity to survive in severe situations.

After escaping from Madec in the hot, dry, desert with no clothes, shoes or water, Ben not only finds ways to survive the hunt; he also finds ways to survive the harsh desert elements. Ben does many things while stranded in the desert that contribute to his survival.

One important thing Ben does in the desert to help him survive is when he covers his feet with nests to ease the pain of walking on the stones of the desert. Even though this was a painful process, "once his feet were inside the nests the pain eased and, when he stood up, he know that, with just that much protection from the stones, he could go ahead." (77). Ben collected more nests, knowing they were brittle and would not last long, and carried them with him for future use. This action proves that Ben was planning ahead to guarantee his survival. This action by Ben also demonstrates his creativity and determination to survive.

The author gives his readers a visual of how hard it is to survive in these elements when he explains how individuals can only survive for 48 hours without water and when they do get water, drinking one quart is only equal to one additional hour of survival. Ben's actions illustrate the extreme measures people will go to to survive when he tries to get water. He finds a puddle of dirty water that had bird droppings caked to the floor and drank it. To the reader, this sounds horrid and one may think they would never do that under any circumstances, but to Ben, because of the situation he was in and because he was determined to survive, he drank the water and it tasted delicious. He knew that he needed this water to keep going and he was able to look past how dirty it was and see it more as a tool for survival.

As proven on the TV show Survivor, normal people go to extreme measures in life-threatening situations to survive. Being an outsider and watching others in these situations, one would think to themselves that they would never drink dirty, bird dropping water like Ben, or eat bugs like the people on Survivor, but until one has actually been in a situation like that it is hard to tell what they may do. It is human nature for people to want to survive, to fight for the life, to do whatever it takes to stay alive and Ben proves this when he actually drinks the water.

In Deathwatch, Robb White gives his readers a very detailed illustration of this human instinct of survival. By examining Ben's actions we learn how people go to extreme measures and utilize their individual creativity

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