Survivor Type

The theme of justification and revelation through self-narration runs through the story as Richard Pine confronts his life choices in complete isolation. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions and admitting his wrongdoings, Pine uses his diary to defend his choices to himself. In presenting the story as a diary written without the expectation of a reader, King creates a layer of moral judgment and dramatic irony to the story. Because Pine reveals his immoral choices to the reader in the act of justifying them to himself, his inability to admit culpability increases the distance between the reader and character. Pine’s urge to write is a necessary plot point as it allows for the conceit of the diary narrative. King makes this conceit an integral part of the story’s psychological interest, especially as it relates to Pine’s lack of self-awareness.

Pine writes, “This is my diary. If I’m found (when), I can destroy this easily enough” (399). Thus, from the beginning, the journal is set up to be a vehicle for Pine’s secret narrative. He repeats many times that he will write, although it is “funny,” to “keep his mind off his stomach,” and “only to pass the time,” revealing himself to be self-conscious about it (399). Pine needs to justify the act of writing to himself, writing “I’ll write my goddam life story if I want to” (403). He seeks to self-justify by dismissing the process as unimportant and being aggressively assertive, characteristics that he continually reveals in his dealings with others as the story progresses.

The story’s emphasis on Pine’s evident discomfort about writing his “life story” reveals him to be someone unused to self-reflection or confession. Indeed, the story suggests that Pine’s creation of a self-conscious narrative is a distraction from thinking deeply or being quietly in his own company. As a man who leads a double life, he is used to deceiving himself and others. His stated justification that writing is a distraction from hunger reveals his need to suppress the inner self. In foreshadowing his autocannibalism, this statement creates dark humor but also connects Pine’s need for narrative directly to his acts of self-mutilation. The violent physical division of self-mutilation reflects Pine’s psychological incoherence and discomfort with himself.

The setting of the desert island sets up the expectation that the diary will be like other isolation or end-of-life narratives, and will contain self-reflection, confessions, and messages that deeply reflect on the meaning of life and the individual’s purpose. Instead, the narrative is shaped by Pine’s self-justification and his performatively unapologetic revelation of immoral behavior including racism, lying, fraud, illegal drug dealing, exploiting a position of trust, bullying and violence, and lack of empathy. This subversion of expectations is part of King’s dark psychological purpose, creating shock and discomfort in the reader.

One type of self-narration that the story subverts is the therapeutic process. Pine blames his modest background for his bad choices, especially dealing illegal drugs. He claims: “[he] had no rich daddy or established patron, as so many of my “colleagues” did (403). In looking to his childhood, Pine begins the process of seeking to understand the potential origins of his behavior, but he stops far short of taking responsibility for his choices. The figures of his parents exist as scapegoats only, as his hatred for them shows: He was “glad” when his father died of cancer. By hating his parents, Pine can blame them for his own actions. He casts aspersions at his mother: She is “heartless” for seeking to marry again as soon as his “old man was in the ground” (400). This criticism reveals Pine’s hypocrisy as these are his own attitudes. He has been desperate to shake off his family and improve his status. Throughout the story, Pine’s self-justification reveals his culpability.

Similarly, Pine attempts to redeem himself in his own eyes by setting himself apart from his corrupt colleagues. He claims to have never operated without the patient’s approval, seeking to portray himself as a medical professional for whom consent was of the utmost concern. Additionally, when pondering the accessibility of the substances he provided to his clients, he concludes: “Ha! Yes! If they hadn’t gotten it from me, they would have gotten it from someone else” (403). His exclamation of triumph shows relief at finding a way to avoid taking responsibility for his actions. This need to avoid responsibility reveals Pine’s repressed knowledge of his own guilt.