Humans are meant to die

Anne Rice in her novel, “Interview with the Vampire”, raises many questions about a wide range of topics that truly made me wonder whether or not the traits that define our human race are more preferable to those of a vampire. The whole concept of immortality was what I gave the most thought to out of all the characteristics Rice gave the vampires in her piece. It happens to be a topic I have discussed in great depth last semester in my “Future of Technology” Course with President Duncan leading the discussions. Today, a lot of the world’s scientific efforts are aimed towards extending our life span. Cynthia Kenyon, a biologist at UC San Francisco and “one of the world’s leading researchers on aging” believes that “the reason we age is because the processes that prevent things from breaking down stop working. In principle, if you understood the mechanisms of keeping things repaired, you could keep things going indefinitely”. The mechanisms Kenyon speaks of have been located and studied in depth. Our leading scientists have made the technology to live longer a reality. The question is whether we really want that. Dying is part of the life cycle and is a big part of what makes us human. Technology can only advance, so when will our lives be considered long enough? Mortality is key to our existence. Without it problems such as overpopulation would pose serious threats to the global community. Not to mention the divide it would create between those with longer lives and those who do not have access to the technology or cannot afford it. Immortality is just not natural and will not make you live any more of a happier life. This realization hits the characters in “Interview with the Vampire” across the face. Louis and Claudia have a very hard time dealing with it. Personally I felt more sympathy towards Claudia. She is just a child and to live eternally without ever evolving into an adult will always continue to torture her. I think it is very interesting how Rice made Claudia such a young character. I was instantly reminded while reading her piece of how I perceived the world when I was little. If someone would have asked me to make a list of wishes, I would have definitely included living forever. It is easy to be naïve when you are young. Now I am mature enough to know that is not what I want at all. Claudia eventually realizes it too and it ends up tearing her up inside. Ultimately in the novel, Claudia and Louis become lonely to the point where they would do anything to become human once again. Having super abilities is great and all, but I will stick to being human because I believe we are the way we are for a reason.