While
reading The compound I often found
myself caught off guard by the reveals in almost every chapter. Every new
element introduced provided a problem in their “perfect” underground bunker.
Some were more gruesome and downright creepier than others. The first moment
where I felt truly uncomfortable is when it is revealed that they are
reproducing to satisfy their hunger when the food supply gets low. In a book as
calm as it had been until that moment, it was very shocking to suddenly read
that cannibalism was a possibility in their future. It is only on page 122 that
with the quote, ‘Dad shifted his gaze to Mom…”We need to bolster our
supplemental food supply.” She stared at him. “Unless you’ve come up with
something to guarantee multiple births, I’m already working at my quota,”’
(Bodeen 122) you fully understand the severity of the situation. Up until then the
“supplements” were not explained.
The supplement example doesn’t
even begin to describe the distasteful choices that the characters are making.
The clones and the confession were undoubtedly horrendous twists to any reader.
At first you are meant to believe that this family is simply trying to prevent
an almost unavoidable fate, this is, until the confession. Slowly throughout
the book, Bodeen, reveals small details that hint Rex’s plan all along, but
only when he openly confesses that you experience the disgust. Rex, even after
being discovered, tries to spin things around to convince the rest of the
family of the good in his actions. Soon Rex finds that manipulating is futile,
Eli had figured out too much. Here you finally confirm your suspicions from
previous chapters. Rex, the father, had set up the whole ordeal. He had
convinced the others that there was a nuclear war, purposely sabotaged the food
supply, and just waited to see how far they would go to keep living. “I wanted
to see if we could do it, if our family really had what it takes to survive.”
Immediately, the thought to me became revolting. He was nothing but a parasite
living off of the satisfaction of his experiment.
At the end of this book I really
started thinking about this situation, about how this family felt the need to
become cannibals to survive. I always hear people saying how they would do the
politically correct thing in hypotheticals. They say they would save that man
from being crushed by a train, or confront a burglar when he tried to steal
from a woman in an ally way. Everything is in terms of what if’s, but I wonder
if they would stay true to their words when actually in such a situation.
Obviously I want to say that I wouldn’t eat the children I helped raise, but
honestly, I don’t know that I wouldn’t. The fear of death could loom over my
head and convince my mind that it was the right thing to do. After all isn’t
that what they were originally bred for? All I know is that those situations
are unpredictable and no one will ever know how exactly they will react until
it happens.
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