Duplicate Jonas 7
Duplik Jonas 7 is a novel on genetic engineering by the German writer Birgit Rabisch , which was published in 1992 by Georg Bitter Verlag and in 1996 by Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag (dtv). The novel was awarded the Environmental Literature Prize of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1994. A revised and updated version of the novel was recently published by duotincta (2017) as an e-book.
In Duplik Jonas 7 , Rabisch describes a future world in which clones are produced and kept as spare parts stores for humans. In addition to the main theme of cloning, the novel deals with many other ethical issues, such as: B. surrogacy, organ transplants, prenatal selection, gene check-ups, standardized euthanasia.
content
The duplicates live in an indefinite future in an undefined place in Europe. They are kept in "hoards" and are geared towards taking care of their health by eating right, exercising, and having regular check-ups. Nevertheless, duplicates are repeatedly attacked by a disease, the "food". Their lives can only be saved by removing the affected body parts. At least that's what the duplicates are told by their "hoarders". In reality, the duplicates are clones; H. Gen-identical twins that serve as a spare parts store for their twin living in the normal world. One day the duplicate Jonas 7 is allegedly attacked by "food" because "his human" Jonas Helcken had a car accident in which his eyes were destroyed. Jonas Helcken has his duplicate's eyes transplanted. Jonas Helcken's sister Ilka is committed as a “life protector” against the seemingly inhuman system of “medical duplication”. She convinces her brother to kidnap "his" duplicate from the hoard in order to present it to the public. They should be convinced that even a duplicate is a person with all rights and must not be misused as a spare parts store. Jonas Helcken agrees to have an eye transplanted back to his duplicate in order to help him escape across the European border. The ID cards in which the genome is stored are checked there, but since Jonas Helcken and Jonas 7 are genetically identical and Jonas Helcken is identified in the system as a one-eyed person, the escape could succeed. At the last moment, however, Jonas 7 refuses the escape plan and appears on TV together with Ilka to campaign for the rights of the duplicates. As a result, he risks being killed and taken to the free organ donation market. The end remains open.
literature
The novel follows the tradition of dystopian novels such as Aldous Huxley's “ Brave New World ” and George Orwell's “ 1984 ”. In contrast to Huxley and Orwell, what is happening does not take place in a dictatorship, but in a democracy dominated by the media. After a controversial debate, Parliament opted for the “medical duplicate stance”. Keeping people healthy is considered the highest good, to which not only the human dignity of the duplicates, but also their lives are sacrificed. In the motto that preceded the novel, Rabisch quotes from Günther Anders ' work Hiroshima is everywhere . Clear references are also visible to his idea of the antiquated man who can produce much more than he can imagine, i.e. H. than he can control in its effects in an ethically responsible manner.
reception
After the book was published in 1992 by the small Georg Bitter Verlag, there were consistently positive reviews, but the book was only really known after the paperback edition by dtv Verlag in 1996, i.e. in the same year in which the clone sheep Dolly was born. It was only then that a broader public became aware of the explosive nature of cloning . The book was published again and again. The 20th edition was published in 2017.
Reviews
Three typical examples of the reviews after the first publication in 1992 (excerpts):
Duplik Jonas 7 is an oppressively realistic science fiction ... With each new page of the book the reader - like the heroes of the novel - increasingly begins to think. ... He doesn't provide easy answers. It makes people sensitive to the socio-political consequences of a technology area that is all too often viewed from a purely scientific point of view. Birgit Rabisch manages without a raised index finger and without black and white painting. It is precisely this balance that makes the novel so worth reading.
Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung May 7, 1992
Birgit Rabisch developed a terrible and at the same time exciting vision for the future. ... So the touching story of suffering from the duplicate Jonas 7 has become a generally understandable information book - about the risks and the ethical problems that are associated with when people want to draw and change the blueprints of nature.
Book tip on 90.3, NDR June 12, 1992
With her complex pro and con story, Birgit Rabisch enters the midst of highly topical issues. She argues relentlessly, multi-layered and does not shirk the ethical and moral aspects of the topic. A demanding, open book that raises questions that everyone has to face at some point in life.
Youth literature in Switzerland 3/1992
A detailed review from 2011:
On March 8, 2011, Duplik Jonas 7 was treated in an article in FAZ.NET as the central book on the topic.
Translations
- 1998 into French, title: Jonas 7: clone , published by Hachette, Paris
- 1999 into Spanish, title: Jonas 7, replicant , at Editorial Cruilla, Barcelona
- 1999 into Greek, at Kedros, Athens
- 2006 into Italian, title: Il mio clone Jonas , at Archimede
Dramatizations
- June 27, 1997 Premiere in Bleidenstadt as a school play under the title Maria's eyes
- July 17, 1998 premiere in Stuhr-Brinkum as a school play (original title)
- July 16, 2004 Premiere at the Kammerspiele Heilbronn (original title)
Teaching material
Duplik Jonas 7 is widely used as school reading, both in German lessons and in the subjects of philosophy, ethics and biology.
Numerous excerpts from school books have been published:
Wortstark 10, 1997, Textinterpretation 9, 2002, Der Neue Columbus 9, 2003, Sonne, Klon und Sterne 2006, Duo Deutsch B 7 2006, German Kombi 5, 2007, Abenteuer Mensch Sein 3, 2007/2009, Auer Deutschbuch 9, 2008 , Realschule Bayern grade test 8, 2009, Forum Ethik 11, 2012
In 1998, Wolfgang Biesterfeld dealt extensively with the book and its use in school lessons in his article Science fiction for young people in Praxis Schule 5-10 .
Numerous scientific papers have dealt with Duplik Jonas 7 , e.g. B. Renate Grubert in her thesis in 1998 Science-Fiction in Children's and Youth Literature at the University of Vienna and Timo Saß in his state examination thesis 2002: The topic of cloning in modern youth literature, A comparison between Rabisch's duplicate Jonas 7 and Eschbach's Perfect Copy at the University of Kiel.
swell
- ↑ Birgit Rabisch: Duplik Jonas 7 , Roman, dtv pocket, Munich 1996, ISBN 978-3-423-78081-0
- ↑ Homepage. Birgit Rabisch, accessed on May 29, 2013 .
- ^ Tilman Spreckelsen: Bioethics in the literature. Uprising in the human spare parts store
- ↑ Wolfgang Biesterfeld: Science Fiction for Young People in Practice School 5-10 , Westermann Schulbuchverlag, Braunschweig, February 1998
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from May 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Saß, Timo April 2002: The topic of 'cloning' in modern youth literature, Hamburg: Diplomica Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8324-6941-2 (e-book), ISBN 978-3-8324-6941-2 (paperback ), ISBN 978-3-8324-6941-2 (CD).
