The Red Queen Character Analysis

The Red Queen, a scientific book written by British journalist Matt Ridley, is a 405-page marathon leaving the reader struggling to press onward that breaks down why sex is of the utmost importance to humanity. Throughout the book, Ridley explores from a zoologist’s eye just what “human nature” truly means to the world in which humans have thrived in for the previous two hundred thousand years. Ridley creates the Red Queen theory based upon the famous character in Lewis Carroll’s novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. This theory pursues to explain how one organism or species seeks to gain the upper hand through sexual reproduction. Taking the reader on a journey through the intricate dance that is asexual reproduction through the importance

Van Valen was attempting to discover a theory that would assist in explaining what he had discovered in regards to the marine fossils which he was studying. From his studies, he had come to understand that the probability of a family of animals to become extinct was not based on a number of years during which the family has survived (Ridley 1993). The Red Queen theory is based upon the character in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland due to the fact that although she runs, she stays in the same place. This was related to the biological studies in what Ridley states as, “Sex, according to the Red Queen theory, has nothing to do with adapting to the inanimate world—becoming bigger or better camouflaged or more tolerant of cold or better at flying—but is all about combating the enemy that fights back” (Ridley 1993). The Red Queen theory asserts itself throughout the history of animal evolution in numerous ways. This theory comes into play when two animals or organisms strive to beat the other one out of existence through the use of adaptations and counter-adaptations. An example of how the Red Queen theory works is through the sexually transmitted disease, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV has been infecting humans for over one

First, men genetically want to have more wives because it allows for more reproductive possibilities. The male species is designed to procreate as much as they possibly can because then their genes will carry onto future families and they will not become extinct. Ridley (1993) further drives this point into theory when he states, “To summarize the argument so far, evolution is more about reproduction of the fittest than survival of the fittest; every creature on earth is the product of a series of historical battles between parasites and hosts, between genes and other genes, between members of the same species, between members of one gender in competition for members of the other gender”. It is a fact that most modern societies oppose polygamy, but some do still practice it today. Crooks & Baur state, “Collectivist cultures are likely to practice polygamy—a marriage between one man and several women. Although it is unfamiliar to much of the Western world, polygamy has been the most common form of marriage across the ages, and it remains prevalent today in the Middle East and other parts of Africa”. Most modern societies oppose polygamy due to the fact that they believe it is a ploy to allow the man to have affairs in his marriage or it is simply degrading to women’s rights. I think that if a group of people would like to be polygamous they should be able to but in a safe