Characters
If a cannibal used a knife and fork, would you call that progress?
— Sen. Lillian DeHaven · G.I. Jane
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The speaker uses a rhetorical question to argue that polished manners do not change the nature of an act. A cannibal with cutlery is still a cannibal, so refinement in method is not real moral progress. The dark humour lies in treating table etiquette as an absurd measure of civilisation.
Context reviewed