Brave New World- Second Reading

The first question that came up during my reading were about Bernard's feelings for Lenina. In what way is he attracted to her? What are their plans for the future and how does he, honestly, feel about her?
      - Bernard's feelings with Lenina have seemed to go back and forth. They started off as seemingly true feelings, when he is angered as he overhears people talking about her "as though she were a bit of meat" (Huxley 43). I think Huxley used this to show that Bernard liked Lenina before she knew him that well, and it came over as kind of a boyish crush to persuade the audience to be on Bernard's side. However, it seems that Lenina gets shoved to the side as the book progresses. Bernard's fascination with John and the reservation seemingly overtakes his relationship with Lenina, and we hear less and less about her as the book goes on, leaving us in doubt as to what his true feelings are. Possibly this turn of events was brought in to show that maybe we forget what is important in life, and that Bernard will later go back to Lenina as he realizes what their relationship actually means.

The next question I had was how long will the one-state actually last? How durable is it and how long will the people continue to live like this?
    - We haven't had much of an introduction as to how the one-state existed, except the tid bits about ford and the start of this empire and how the people came to accept it. It does seem very durable, and is demonstrated through the government's control into the people's minds. Huxley writes, “’Old men in the past used to renounce, retire, take to religion, spend their time reading, thinking­—thinking! Now-- such is progress—the old men work, the old men copulate, the old men have no time, no leisure from pleasure, not a moment to sit down and think…” (68). This shows that through the use of soma and other government control, the one-state has intruded upon the minds of the citizens and made them, as they believe, happier. The durability, with the continued use of soma, could last for a long while if they keep perfecting and adding to their mental and social control.

The last question during this reading was why was John brought into this book? What is his purpose and what does he represent in Brave New World?
    - We met John on the reservation, and the first glimpse we get of him is that of a savage. Huxley writes when he first sees Lenina, a true woman, that "at once he was breathing Lenina's perfume, filling his lungs with her essential being" (143). John was born in a mix between the reservation's culture who did not accept him and reading about this wonderful civilization, the one-state, and fantasizing about it. He doesn't see how people can cope with all the rules that are set though, and maybe this is what Huxley is using him for. John might show our perspective. Us Americans with so much freedom, unable to stand that much of control. Perhaps Huxley will continue to use John in a way that shocks us from our perspective.

"Don't You Want Me?"- The Human League

1. The girl and the guy dated for five years, and now the guy wants to see her again after the breakup. The girl doesn't want to see him again. The subject is the breakup and the conflicts that come with it.
2. The man claims that he gave her the new life that she lives today when he says, "Now five years later you've got the world at your feet." He feels cheated that he helped her get on her feet and then she left him. The girl feels that she "knew I'd find a much better place either with or without you." This shows that the five years were good, but it wasn't all because of him that she got back on her feet. She had fun, but now its time to move on.
3. I side with the girl because even though the guy helped her to find her way to the top a little bit, she still feels that she needs to move on and do what's best for her. I agree with that because the guy sounds controlling, and the girl has to do what's best for the rest of her life.

Brave New World- First Reading

Equality or conformity is created through the use of SOCIAL equality. Even before birth, some children are created to look identical and each one is conditioned to have one specific role in society that he or she will grow up to fulfill. Huxley writes, "'And that,' put in the Director sententiously, 'that is the secret of happiness and virtue-liking what you've got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their inescapable social destiny'" (16). This explains that the goal of conditioning is to make people perfect for a certain job, and no other job, thus controlling the equality and social destiny of each child.
Individual rights, religion, and relationships have been controlled extensively through the use of the caste system. The Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon are the five castes, and everyone must stay with their own caste. Relationships are confined to your caste, thus defining who you talk to and who you can be with. Conflict has been severely reduced as the World State has eliminated religion, and it has also taken away many individual rights, such as independent thought. Fanny says, "'And then he spends most of his time by himself-alone’” (24), showing that independent thought is frowned upon and even punishable.
The society in Brave New World is clearly a dystopia because of the use of Soma. Although the people are happy and have many leisure activities, the quality of life isn't valued very highly. People take a drug called Soma, which produces a sense of relaxation and contentment within the brain. The use of this drug ultimately highlights the fact that the World State is a dystopia. Everyone takes this to feel relaxed, the fact that they have to take it shows that there are flaws in the World State. The society created seems unpleasant and possibly even problematic. In chapter 3 the controller says this about soma: "All of the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects"  (54). This talk of soma as a substitute for religion makes it seem as if problems could occur later, and while a utopian society seems apparent now, a dystopia is sure to form as the plot unfolds.

Ethnography

1. One benefit of insider perspective is that the ethnographer is able to gain a perspective of how the people view the rest of the world. Also, he or she can appreciate how other people live. In outsider perspective, the ethnographer can easily compare to other cultures, which is the main point of the perspective.
2. These rules are important. Objectivity will never be achieved, and acknowledging your biases allows you to get them out there and move on without them being an issue. An informant allows you to not distort the image, and informing your subjects will make them less scared and afraid of you, so they will act naturally. This is why the rules are in place, and important when doing any type of ethnography.

Postcolonial Criticism

1. The West views the East as a realm of exotic, the mystical and seductive. Also, they are viewed as projections of the aspects of themselves which they choose not to acknowledge, such as laziness.
2. It means that people are not individuals, but viewed as a mass of people.
3. Their actions are determined by the racial considerations rather than their individual views on a subject. Their emotions are determined by instinctive emotions rather than taking the time to think it through. In other words, their decisions are not a factor, but whatever they feel is right is what they do.
4. The view of the east makes the west look a lot better, and makes them look almost "saint-like".
5. I think this view is still around today. In western societies, we look at ourselves as having the quintessential lives, and the view of others remains the same. It is commonly thought that eastern cultures, like Africa, are a mass of people and there are no individuals.

1984- Part Three

In the end, Big Brother and the Party failed. They didn't do their job as they had planned. The succeeded in keeping Winston's thoughts 'right', in the end, but his actions were still there. Orwell writes, “Will you understand, Winston, that no one whom we bring to this place ever leaves our hands uncured? We are not interested in those stupid crimes that you have committed,” (146). This shows that although they can understand and manipulate thought pretty well, the citizens of the Party can still act out in ways that might be too large for the party to handle. Also, it says in Book One that, "In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy." I think this shows not only the raw power of the party, but also the weakness that they were unable to use it in a way that was totally effective. The party's greatest weakness is that they didn't control the political ACTIONS that were committed against the Party, which is why I believe they ultimately failed.

As for poor Winston Smith, he has been brainwashed. Psychologically tortured so much by the Party and O'Brien that he is totally brainwashed into eating what the Party is cooking. He is just a citizen, a person who exists and nothing more, and although Big Brother finally controlled him, one day there will be someone who acts out in a way that Big Brother can't control, and will be the downfall and demise of the Party. Winston Smith represents hope in this book to the future citizens who will finally overturn the Party and take down Big Brother.

Asian Love

1. I assumed that the girl was deaf or she didn't understand what the guy was saying because she didn't speak his language. I assumed that she like him and he liked her back.
2. I don't think this is a cultural conflict because they are of the same culture in the same place. The conflict is that they can't communicate with each other, but it doesn't necessarily make it a cultural conflict.
3. The external conflict is that they can't communicate in the traditional manner.
4. One internal conflict is that the guy didn't have to confidence to talk to her and ask to listen to her headphones.
5. The conflicts were resolved when the guy found out that she was deaf, and he still wanted to be with her. Also, they found a way to communicate through sticky notes and then sign language.