REPRESENTATIONS OF SOCIAL DARWINISM IN STEPHEN CRANE’S THE OPEN BOAT AND GUY DE MAUPASSANT’S BALL OF FAT
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Social Darwinism is a term promoted by the 19th century British philosopher, Herbert Spenser, who simply claims to apply biological concepts of natural selection and ‘survival of the fittest’ theory to sociology and politics. In his article, The Social Organism (1860), Spencer compares society to a living organism and argues that just as biological organisms evolve through natural selection, society evolves and increases in complexity through analogous processes. In fact, Spencer's major work, Progress: Its Law and Cause (1857), was released two years before the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species. However, the term ‘Social Darwinism’ is still attributed to Charles Darwin in today’s scientific world since Spenser’s theories in sociology bear many similarities to those of Darwin’s in biological science. Therefore, Spenser is criticized by most Darwinists for misusing Darwin’s scientific theory and for applying his ideas in a way that Darwin would certainly object to.
Social Darwinism is a concept coined by British philosopher Herbert Spencer, who apply biological concepts such as natural selection and the theory of "survival of the fittest" to politics and sociology. In his essay, The Social Organism (1860), Spencer likens society to a living organism and suggests that as biological organisms develop via natural selection, society also develops and increases in complexity through similar processes. However, since Spencer's theories in sociology bear many similarities to Darwin's theories in biological science, the term 'Social Darwinism' is still referred to Charles Darwin in today's scientific world. For this reason, Spencer has been acknowledged by most Darwinists for preceding Darwin's scientific theory and applying his ideas in ways that Darwin would have strongly agreed on.
In this context, this study aims to examine representations of Social Darwinism in selected short stories to highlight the victimizing nature of its practices in modern society. For this, first, Stephen Crane's The Open Boat (1897) will be analyzed to show the struggle for survival in a wild natural environment and its symbolic similarity with the competitiveness of man in the capitalist social order. Then, Guy De Maupassant's Ball of Fat (1880) will be examined to show the greedy nature of human beings and the theme of hypocrisy in 20th century French society. In both examples, the main purpose of this study will be to highlight depictions of how the consequences of Social Darwinism lead to tragic ends and victimize those deemed least fit for modernizing society.
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