The Water Knife, By Phillip Zimbardo: A Psychological Analysis

The Stanford Prison Experiment is an infamous social psychology experiment conducted by Phillip Zimbardo to test what normal civilians do when placed in an environment where some are given power over others. In a make-shift prison built in the school basement, individuals were assigned to be either a prison guard or a prisoner and Zimbardo was the jail superintendent. Chaos ensued as everyone abandoned their former personalities and immersed themselves into their designated roles. Prison guards became authoritative and abused the submissive prisoners while Zimbardo stood by and allowed the abuse to continue. A simple pretend jail cell had convinced the participants that their roles were their true selves (Zimbardo). The Water Knife, a novel

written by Paolo Bacigalupi, attempts to explore the significance of the environment on human nature. For the duration of the novel, Lucy Monroe, a daring journalist, is overwhelmed by Phoenix and its plethora of problems, including water scarcity, betrayal, and gang violence. She refuses to abandon it at the expense of her safety. However, Lucy finds that the longer she stays in Phoenix, the harder it is for her to maintain the sense of who she truly is. Through the portrayal of Lucy’s self-destructive tendencies and struggle to maintain her morality, Bacigalupi shapes the character into an embodiment of the deteriorating Phoenix. This symbolism reveals that regardless of willpower and personal desires, human nature will ultimately be controlled by the surrounding environment.
Throughout The Water Knife, readers clearly see that Lucy is an earnest journalist who passionately pursues the truth behind her stories. Despite her portrayal as an intelligent and resourceful woman, she often makes questionable decisions that puts her into life-threatening situations. In Phoenix, the inhabitants value their survival above all else and to ensure their safety, they must follow the rules of the narcos (drug dealers) and avoid unnecessary attention. However, Lucy grows tired of these restrictions and decides to instead pursue the forbidden topic of James Sanderson’s death and the mystery behind ancient water rights. Through her pursuit, she finds herself stuck in the middle of a power struggle between California and Nevada over water. Although she realizes the involved risks, she submerges herself deeper into the conflict. She is even offered an escape from the hell of Phoenix by her sister, Anna, but refuses to leave. Her obsession with the reveal of the truth, regardless of the peril, exposes her self-destructive nature. Only people who are suicidal would continuously endanger themselves for a meaningless story that, in the end, will not change their society’s workings. Lucy’s chase after the story may appear as a valiant endeavor of righteousness, but it is truly an act to ensure her own demise.
Aside from her self-destructive tendencies, Lucy appears to also struggle with maintaining her morality. She debates the extent at which she is willing to use immoral means to accomplish what she wants. Angel’s first meeting with Lucy clearly reveals this struggle. During the encounter, Lucy arms herself with a gun and threatens to shoot Angel, but Angel comments that she does not appear capable of murder. However, to his surprise, Lucy replies, “I don’t have any idea what kind of a person I am anymore” (Bacigalupi 158). This statement reveals that in the past, Lucy’s righteousness may have prevented her from harming others, but the mentality that no one, besides herself, can be trusted has caused her to lose the desire to behave in a moral manner. Instead, she has become more willing to take drastic measures to ensure her well-being. In an environment where dishonesty and sabotage is common, it is impossible for a person to maintain a firm grasp on his/her morality. Eventually, like Lucy, people find that the difference between ethical and unethical deeds is unclear as their surroundings encourage immoral acts above righteous ones. An action that previously was deemed unethical is now considered normal.
As the readers observe Lucy’s path towards self-destruction, there is a clear similarity between her character development and the deterioration of her home, Phoenix.

For instance, Angel can recognize Lucy’s resemblance to Phoenix due to his encounter with others who have been negatively influenced by their environment. After a careful observation of Lucy’s photograph, he describes her appearance to possess “striated sun-browned skin, wild pale grey eyes” and that “She’d gone native. In some indefinable way, she’d gone pure Phoenix. She was going crazy. Lost in uncharted territory” (Bacigalupi 141). His comment that Lucy is a full-fledge native indicates that through Lucy’s many years in Phoenix, she has adapted with her environment to the extent that she is now immediately identifiable as a part of Phoenix. She has suffered due to her hostile surroundings, but rather than feel disgust for this horrible place, she developed a deep, personal connection with it. Towards the end of the novel, Lucy realizes that the moment she wrote about forbidden topics signifies the point where “she’d become another bit in the maelstrom, paddling just as madly as everyone else to keep her head above the water and to avoid being sucked down for good” (Bacigalupi 290). This reveals that like the helpless Phoenix who does not wish to collapse under the powerful states, Lucy does not wish to fall under the influence of the malevolence that surrounds her. However, it is evident that both Phoenix and Lucy are unsuccessful in the prevention of their downfalls. Phoenix is pushed on the brink of extinction as Las Vegas cuts off its water supply and Lucy is forced to abandon her own will and commit

betrayal.
Lucy’s journey also represents the decline of Phoenix. In the beginning of the novel, Lucy is a high-profile journalist who has snagged a Pulitzer award, owns her own home, and has generated many articles that provide her with a stable income. One can assume that she is doing well in a world where the majority live in poverty. However, at the end of the novel, due to her foolish desire to pursue her story, she finds herself living in hiding amongst the Texans in the slums of the city. She was forced to abandon her home and dog and she finds that all her money has been used to pay for leads in her story. She is unsure whether her next day will be her last. The downward spiral of Lucy’s life and career mirrors the collapse of Phoenix. Phoenix had once thought highly of itself as an untouchable place with its vast amount of expandable water. However, in its present condition, people acknowledge Phoenix as a hopeless case and as a region that is no better than the barren desert. It is viewed upon with contempt by stronger states. Lucy and Phoenix had glorified beginnings, but in the end, both have eventually deteriorated to insignificant existences on the brink of survival. Furthermore, Lucy’s gradual change to an immoral person directly resembles how Phoenix has turned into a depraved place filled with corruption, violence, and narcos. Lucy can no longer be described as a person who has a strong moral code while Phoenix is no longer a place that can nurture people to become honest and ethical. Through Lucy’s stay in Phoenix, she has let the culture and happenings of the place influence her to the point where she is now an embodiment of Phoenix physically and internally. The fate of Phoenix has become the fate of Lucy Monroe.
Lucy’s character development due to the influence of Phoenix reveals a critical theme of The Water Knife, which is human nature is ultimately controlled by the environment that one lives in rather than by his/her own will. At first, readers witness Lucy’s refusal to admit that she been influenced by the malevolent environment of Phoenix. She attempts to justify that her morality is still intact through her pursuit of the truth. However, as she continues in her endeavor, she comprehends that it is impossible to remain a neutral spectator as she personally witnesses Phoenix’s hellish nature. Lucy’s betrayal to Angel allows her to realize that “she’d lie to herself all along, pretending she could wade among the refugees and swimmers and dealers and narcos and not have any of it rub on her” (Bacigalupi 290). Lucy foolishly believed that if she desired to remain ethical, the surroundings could never cause her to waver from her morality. Unfortunately, the environment has always been “pressing to make her another of its creatures. Another agent of its horror, creating one more swimmer in a city full of them” and eventually, it succeeds (Bacigalupi 308). Like many other inhabitants, Phoenix corrupts Lucy’s moral nature and she is forced to turn to deception and crime for her own personal interests. Even her attempt to salvage herself from the maelstrom ends in failure as Maria selfishly puts an end to Lucy’s retrieval of Phoenix’s water rights. It is evident that even if people wish to diverge from the normalcy of their environment, they will fail due to the inability to remain indifferent to change.
The Water Knife provides a pessimistic portrayal of a strong, independent woman’s inability to resist the negative influence of her surroundings. This ultimately leads her to face the same demise as her home. Strong will and determination is useless when there is pressure to conform to what the surroundings deems as the most ideal way to behave and survive. Along with Lucy, readers come to the realization that human nature is ultimately shaped by the environment. If the environment promotes kindness and honesty, there will be moralistic people. However, if the environment encourages treachery and selfishness, there is no hope for success with righteousness. “Maybe people got choices. But mostly they just do what they’re pushed to do” (Bacigalupi 283).