Question

Read the excerpt from "The Flood” by James Baldwin.

After that, it was only a short time until the whole country was laid bare, and the trees shook their leafy branches in the wind, and the fields were carpeted with grass and flowers more beautiful than in the days before the flood.

But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad, for they knew that they were the only persons who were left alive in all the land. At last they started to walk down the mountain side towards the plain, wondering what would become of them now, all alone as they were in the wide world. . . .

"We should like, above all things,” said Deucalion [to Mercury], "to see this land full of people once more; for without neighbors and friends, the world is a very lonely place indeed.”

What does Baldwin suggest about community in his adaptation?

Living in small groups brings about good changes.
Humans are happiest living with others.
Living with loss is better than living alone.
Humans will learn to depend on those living with them.

Answer 1

Humans are happiest living with others.

Baldwin shows Deucalion and Pyrrha’s sadness at being the only survivors and has Deucalion say “without neighbors and friends, the world is a very lonely place indeed,” emphasizing that people need community for happiness.