Survivor Type

Content Warning: This section of the guide makes reference to shipwreck, accidental injury and death, violence, childhood bullying, self-amputation, self-harm, autocannibalism, illegal drug use, hunting, the visualization of torture, psychological distress, hallucination, and racist attitudes including racial slurs.

“Survivor Type” takes place on a small barren island composed of only rock and lacking vegetation or animals, besides the occasional seagull or crab. As the main character remains marooned there with heroin, matches, and water as his only supplies, the story uses isolation and the will to survive as the focal point and the driving force of the narrative. The opening setting and premise recall traditional survivor narratives that the story increasingly subverts to create dread and horror. The Instinct to Survive is one of the most important themes of the story, around which the plot is constructed, closely connected to Justification and Revelation Through Self-Narration. The diary, where Pine is recording his memories of the past, becomes a companion and an instrument of confession, as he reveals details about his life before the crash of the cruise ship Callas. Pine’s disclosures involve