"Venus and the Ark" Response 1: Disagreement

This is in response to Nellie Wong's post this past Tuesday morning.

Nellie stated that, in the first stanza, "The definite quantities of the supplies... seems to bash the idea that society is so preoccupied with standardized methods that they can't appreciate any real advancement in life." I would disagree. I believe the first stanza actually illustrates mankind's materialistic view of the world. This is shown in the care given to numbers in this passage: "one hundred / carefully counted insects" (5-6), "fourteen white rats, / fourteen black rats" (12-13). However, this preciously counted cargo is then "all stuffed aboard before the thing [blasts] from the desert." (14-15) I believe this to be a commentary on the materialism pervading our modern society. The animals and other items, including the Ph.D.'s, who are also not described in more detail than their gender, are simply objects to be owned, and not cherished or cared for other than for their material value.