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Postcolonial Speculative Fiction

The Real Poison in Henrietta Rose-Innes’s "Poison"

The short story “Poison” features a woman named Lynn who becomes stranded at a petrol station following the explosion of a chemical factory in her town. She then suffers unfortunate side-effects from the toxic chemicals in the air. It seems reasonable to assume that these chemicals are the poison that the title is referring to. However, I would argue that another poison is present in the story. A poison that is possibly worse than toxic chemicals.

So, what is Lynn’s poison?

To put it simply, willful ignorance. Lynn demonstrates willful ignorance multiple times in the short story. The first instance occurs when Lynn makes the decision to stay in Cape Town and get drunk two nights in a row and “left it terribly late, despite all the warnings.” Following this, she neglects a ride out of town in a taxi in favor of waiting for rescue. Even at the very end of the story Lynn continues to believe she will be rescued and does not attempt to escape on the bike at the petrol station. Instead, she chooses to literally turn her back to the problem and wait. She makes a conscious decision ignore her environment, despite it getting progressively worse and posing more harm to her.

Willful Ignorance: The Poison of All People

Lynn isn’t the only person who is willfully ignorant. She’s actually part of a large majority in that sense. Her refusal to acknowledge the problem is very characteristic in modern society. Many people refuse to accept that there is an issue until it is too late. Even worse, many people will acknowledge the problem but will wait for someone else to solve it for them, much like Lynn insisting on being rescued rather than saving herself, despite having several opportunities. Even with significant and substantial evidence of a problem, a large portion of people will still choose to ignore it. It is possible that this occurs due to deflection of responsibility, a phenomenon in which every person involved in a situation will assume someone else will handle it, resulting in the problem being left unresolved. Another contributing factor is the “not my problem” attitude that many people possess.

A prime example of this willful ignorance is demonstrated by the issue of global warming. Although there is significant scientific evidence to support the idea of global warming, many people still choose to deny the problem or simply ignore it entirely. Out of the individuals who do accept global warming as a fact, a majority of them make no effort to prevent it, despite the fact that it is preventable. Aside from scientific proof of global warming, the consequences that the world is already facing are also being ignored or disregarded, such as the melting of polar icecaps. These consequences are visible and well-known, yet there are still people who will not acknowledge the problem or will refuse to do anything about it. This is a clear demonstration of willful ignorance.

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“The Latest Myths and Facts on Global Warming”, by Wang and Oppenhiemer (2005) offer a wide variety held myths about climate change and then provide scientific facts to dispel the myth. One myth people tell themselves is that humans will adapt to climate change. So, the myth that humans will adapt to climate change like cockroaches to bug killer is short sited. Though the human species may survive increases in temperatures, many will be displaced by rising sea water, flooding events, and natural disasters. The climate pressures on humans will spillover in placing more pressures on ecosystems. The additional pressure from humans on ecosystems will threaten those systems to extinction. In return human survival will be threatened with the loss of ecosystems. Sadly, some people do not consider themselves as a part of an ecosystem. Some people think some smart person will have invented pelletized food by then – Jetsons – they are banking on Rosie the robot to save the day!
Contents of this reply:
1. The Real Poison in Henrietta Rose-Innes’s "Poison" The short story “Poison” features a woman named Lynn who becomes stranded at a petrol station following the explosion of a chemical factory in her town. She then suffers unfortunate side-effects from the toxic chemicals in the air. It seems reasonable to assume that these chemicals are the poison that the title is referring to. However, I would argue that another poison is present in the story. A poison that is possibly worse than toxic chemicals.
  So, what is Lynn’s poison?
  To put it simply, willful ignorance. Lynn demonstrates willful ignorance multiple times in the short story. The first instance occurs when Lynn makes the decision to stay in Cape Town and get drunk two nights in a row and “left it terribly late, despite all the warnings.” Following this, she neglects a ride out of town in a taxi in favor of waiting for rescue. Even at the very end of the story Lynn continues to believe she will be rescued and does not attempt to escape on the bike at the petrol station. Instead, she chooses to literally turn her back to the problem and wait. She makes a conscious decision ignore her environment, despite it getting progressively worse and posing more harm to her.
  Willful Ignorance: The Poison of All People
  Lynn isn’t the only person who is willfully ignorant. She’s actually part of a large majority in that sense. Her refusal to acknowledge the problem is very characteristic in modern society. Many people refuse to accept that there is an issue until it is too late. Even worse, many people will acknowledge the problem but will wait for someone else to solve it for them, much like Lynn insisting on being rescued rather than saving herself, despite having several opportunities. Even with significant and substantial evidence of a problem, a large portion of people will still choose to ignore it. It is possible that this occurs due to deflection of responsibility, a phenomenon in which every person involved in a situation will assume someone else will handle it, resulting in the problem being left unresolved. Another contributing factor is the “not my problem” attitude that many people possess.
  
  A prime example of this willful ignorance is demonstrated by the issue of global warming. Although there is significant scientific evidence to support the idea of global warming, many people still choose to deny the problem or simply ignore it entirely. Out of the individuals who do accept global warming as a fact, a majority of them make no effort to prevent it, despite the fact that it is preventable. Aside from scientific proof of global warming, the consequences that the world is already facing are also being ignored or disregarded, such as the melting of polar icecaps. These consequences are visible and well-known, yet there are still people who will not acknowledge the problem or will refuse to do anything about it. This is a clear demonstration of willful ignorance.
This is such an interesting way to look at "Poison." To think about it on a broader scale and compare it to the lack of action with climate change is something that had never occurred to me, but now I'm almost sure that was the author's objective. I think that another example of modern "willful ignorance" is people who choose to stay out of politics because they think that their voice doesn't matter or that things will "figure themselves out." Are there any other connections to willful ignorance that you made note of in your commonplace journal? I think that this is a very interesting topic!
Contents of this reply:
1. The Real Poison in Henrietta Rose-Innes’s "Poison" The short story “Poison” features a woman named Lynn who becomes stranded at a petrol station following the explosion of a chemical factory in her town. She then suffers unfortunate side-effects from the toxic chemicals in the air. It seems reasonable to assume that these chemicals are the poison that the title is referring to. However, I would argue that another poison is present in the story. A poison that is possibly worse than toxic chemicals.
  So, what is Lynn’s poison?
  To put it simply, willful ignorance. Lynn demonstrates willful ignorance multiple times in the short story. The first instance occurs when Lynn makes the decision to stay in Cape Town and get drunk two nights in a row and “left it terribly late, despite all the warnings.” Following this, she neglects a ride out of town in a taxi in favor of waiting for rescue. Even at the very end of the story Lynn continues to believe she will be rescued and does not attempt to escape on the bike at the petrol station. Instead, she chooses to literally turn her back to the problem and wait. She makes a conscious decision ignore her environment, despite it getting progressively worse and posing more harm to her.
  Willful Ignorance: The Poison of All People
  Lynn isn’t the only person who is willfully ignorant. She’s actually part of a large majority in that sense. Her refusal to acknowledge the problem is very characteristic in modern society. Many people refuse to accept that there is an issue until it is too late. Even worse, many people will acknowledge the problem but will wait for someone else to solve it for them, much like Lynn insisting on being rescued rather than saving herself, despite having several opportunities. Even with significant and substantial evidence of a problem, a large portion of people will still choose to ignore it. It is possible that this occurs due to deflection of responsibility, a phenomenon in which every person involved in a situation will assume someone else will handle it, resulting in the problem being left unresolved. Another contributing factor is the “not my problem” attitude that many people possess.
  
  A prime example of this willful ignorance is demonstrated by the issue of global warming. Although there is significant scientific evidence to support the idea of global warming, many people still choose to deny the problem or simply ignore it entirely. Out of the individuals who do accept global warming as a fact, a majority of them make no effort to prevent it, despite the fact that it is preventable. Aside from scientific proof of global warming, the consequences that the world is already facing are also being ignored or disregarded, such as the melting of polar icecaps. These consequences are visible and well-known, yet there are still people who will not acknowledge the problem or will refuse to do anything about it. This is a clear demonstration of willful ignorance.
You hit the nail on the head. People have a tendency to view things as someone else's problem. Lynn sat around waiting for rescue because she transferred the responsibility for her very life to someone else. People in the modern world do the exact same thing. There is a trend of human beings abdicating responsibility for anything in their lives and it will result in living under tyrannical dictators at best, or imminent enslavement or death.
Contents of this reply:
1. The Real Poison in Henrietta Rose-Innes’s "Poison" The short story “Poison” features a woman named Lynn who becomes stranded at a petrol station following the explosion of a chemical factory in her town. She then suffers unfortunate side-effects from the toxic chemicals in the air. It seems reasonable to assume that these chemicals are the poison that the title is referring to. However, I would argue that another poison is present in the story. A poison that is possibly worse than toxic chemicals.
  So, what is Lynn’s poison?
  To put it simply, willful ignorance. Lynn demonstrates willful ignorance multiple times in the short story. The first instance occurs when Lynn makes the decision to stay in Cape Town and get drunk two nights in a row and “left it terribly late, despite all the warnings.” Following this, she neglects a ride out of town in a taxi in favor of waiting for rescue. Even at the very end of the story Lynn continues to believe she will be rescued and does not attempt to escape on the bike at the petrol station. Instead, she chooses to literally turn her back to the problem and wait. She makes a conscious decision ignore her environment, despite it getting progressively worse and posing more harm to her.
  Willful Ignorance: The Poison of All People
  Lynn isn’t the only person who is willfully ignorant. She’s actually part of a large majority in that sense. Her refusal to acknowledge the problem is very characteristic in modern society. Many people refuse to accept that there is an issue until it is too late. Even worse, many people will acknowledge the problem but will wait for someone else to solve it for them, much like Lynn insisting on being rescued rather than saving herself, despite having several opportunities. Even with significant and substantial evidence of a problem, a large portion of people will still choose to ignore it. It is possible that this occurs due to deflection of responsibility, a phenomenon in which every person involved in a situation will assume someone else will handle it, resulting in the problem being left unresolved. Another contributing factor is the “not my problem” attitude that many people possess.
  
  A prime example of this willful ignorance is demonstrated by the issue of global warming. Although there is significant scientific evidence to support the idea of global warming, many people still choose to deny the problem or simply ignore it entirely. Out of the individuals who do accept global warming as a fact, a majority of them make no effort to prevent it, despite the fact that it is preventable. Aside from scientific proof of global warming, the consequences that the world is already facing are also being ignored or disregarded, such as the melting of polar icecaps. These consequences are visible and well-known, yet there are still people who will not acknowledge the problem or will refuse to do anything about it. This is a clear demonstration of willful ignorance.
What I find fascinating is that Lyn’s willful ignorance is a symptom of the privilege that she has. Being a Caucasian woman, she is used to relying on others to helping her. She can trust that emergency services will be there for her, or she doesn’t have to know how to survive like the others. I wonder if Lyn can truly be blamed for her actions or should society share some blame because they have privilege a group so much?
Contents of this reply:
1. The Real Poison in Henrietta Rose-Innes’s "Poison" The short story “Poison” features a woman named Lynn who becomes stranded at a petrol station following the explosion of a chemical factory in her town. She then suffers unfortunate side-effects from the toxic chemicals in the air. It seems reasonable to assume that these chemicals are the poison that the title is referring to. However, I would argue that another poison is present in the story. A poison that is possibly worse than toxic chemicals.
  So, what is Lynn’s poison?
  To put it simply, willful ignorance. Lynn demonstrates willful ignorance multiple times in the short story. The first instance occurs when Lynn makes the decision to stay in Cape Town and get drunk two nights in a row and “left it terribly late, despite all the warnings.” Following this, she neglects a ride out of town in a taxi in favor of waiting for rescue. Even at the very end of the story Lynn continues to believe she will be rescued and does not attempt to escape on the bike at the petrol station. Instead, she chooses to literally turn her back to the problem and wait. She makes a conscious decision ignore her environment, despite it getting progressively worse and posing more harm to her.
  Willful Ignorance: The Poison of All People
  Lynn isn’t the only person who is willfully ignorant. She’s actually part of a large majority in that sense. Her refusal to acknowledge the problem is very characteristic in modern society. Many people refuse to accept that there is an issue until it is too late. Even worse, many people will acknowledge the problem but will wait for someone else to solve it for them, much like Lynn insisting on being rescued rather than saving herself, despite having several opportunities. Even with significant and substantial evidence of a problem, a large portion of people will still choose to ignore it. It is possible that this occurs due to deflection of responsibility, a phenomenon in which every person involved in a situation will assume someone else will handle it, resulting in the problem being left unresolved. Another contributing factor is the “not my problem” attitude that many people possess.
  
  A prime example of this willful ignorance is demonstrated by the issue of global warming. Although there is significant scientific evidence to support the idea of global warming, many people still choose to deny the problem or simply ignore it entirely. Out of the individuals who do accept global warming as a fact, a majority of them make no effort to prevent it, despite the fact that it is preventable. Aside from scientific proof of global warming, the consequences that the world is already facing are also being ignored or disregarded, such as the melting of polar icecaps. These consequences are visible and well-known, yet there are still people who will not acknowledge the problem or will refuse to do anything about it. This is a clear demonstration of willful ignorance.
What I find fascinating is that Lyn’s willful ignorance is a symptom of the privilege that she has. Being a Caucasian woman, she is used to relying on others to helping her. She can trust that emergency services will be there for her, or she doesn’t have to know how to survive like the others. I wonder if Lyn can truly be blamed for her actions or should society share some blame because they have privilege a group so much?
Contents of this reply:
1. The Real Poison in Henrietta Rose-Innes’s "Poison" The short story “Poison” features a woman named Lynn who becomes stranded at a petrol station following the explosion of a chemical factory in her town. She then suffers unfortunate side-effects from the toxic chemicals in the air. It seems reasonable to assume that these chemicals are the poison that the title is referring to. However, I would argue that another poison is present in the story. A poison that is possibly worse than toxic chemicals.
  So, what is Lynn’s poison?
  To put it simply, willful ignorance. Lynn demonstrates willful ignorance multiple times in the short story. The first instance occurs when Lynn makes the decision to stay in Cape Town and get drunk two nights in a row and “left it terribly late, despite all the warnings.” Following this, she neglects a ride out of town in a taxi in favor of waiting for rescue. Even at the very end of the story Lynn continues to believe she will be rescued and does not attempt to escape on the bike at the petrol station. Instead, she chooses to literally turn her back to the problem and wait. She makes a conscious decision ignore her environment, despite it getting progressively worse and posing more harm to her.
  Willful Ignorance: The Poison of All People
  Lynn isn’t the only person who is willfully ignorant. She’s actually part of a large majority in that sense. Her refusal to acknowledge the problem is very characteristic in modern society. Many people refuse to accept that there is an issue until it is too late. Even worse, many people will acknowledge the problem but will wait for someone else to solve it for them, much like Lynn insisting on being rescued rather than saving herself, despite having several opportunities. Even with significant and substantial evidence of a problem, a large portion of people will still choose to ignore it. It is possible that this occurs due to deflection of responsibility, a phenomenon in which every person involved in a situation will assume someone else will handle it, resulting in the problem being left unresolved. Another contributing factor is the “not my problem” attitude that many people possess.
  
  A prime example of this willful ignorance is demonstrated by the issue of global warming. Although there is significant scientific evidence to support the idea of global warming, many people still choose to deny the problem or simply ignore it entirely. Out of the individuals who do accept global warming as a fact, a majority of them make no effort to prevent it, despite the fact that it is preventable. Aside from scientific proof of global warming, the consequences that the world is already facing are also being ignored or disregarded, such as the melting of polar icecaps. These consequences are visible and well-known, yet there are still people who will not acknowledge the problem or will refuse to do anything about it. This is a clear demonstration of willful ignorance.

So, what is Lynn’s poison?

Willful Ignorance: The Poison of All People

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