Brave New World- Final Reading

1.  How do you think that John's love for Shakespeare, his incredible lust for Lenina, and his tragic death all relate to one another?
2. How does Huxley truly feel about utopias? 
3. Orwell uses fear and Huxley happiness to create their dystopia/utopia. Neither of them work, so what is the perfect combination to make a utopia?

1. I believe that John's role as an outcast truly defines who he is. Not really belonging to anyone combined with the fact that his mother slept around with many different men made him who he is. Shakespeare was all he had, and John hangs on to that and the TRUE love within the plays. It is because of this that he seeks more than a sexual relationship with Lenina. He wants monogamy, a true and deep relationship that he can cherish forever. Sadly, in the world they live in, this cannot happen, and John becomes the outcast who is marveled and goggled at for his unnatural ways. These two things, John's love for Shakespeare and his mixed feelings about Lenina combine to push him over the edge and end his life in a hanging.
2. I do not think Huxley likes Utopias. In the beginning of the book, we get the sense that Huxley is trying to create a happy place with no worries, but the method behind it is not the best course of action. There are a few things wrong, and this is where Bernard comes in. Huxley uses Bernard to show that everything isn't perfect, and to show some unrest within the World State. This, coupled with John's situation at the end of the book makes the reader think that Huxley is using them to show that while Utopias might be wanted in some areas, there will never be a perfect society. This is how Huxley truly feels about Utopias.
3. I think what both Orwell and Huxley are trying to get at is that the perfect society can never be created. Orwell does this with a clear and blatant showing of what goes wrong with too much control, letting the audience know that a government like this, led by fear, will never work. However with Huxley, we see many positive things within the World State, but must understand what Bernard and John represent (see answer 2) before we can get Huxley's point. Both of these authors are trying to say that a perfect society, a Utopia, will never be created, but they do it two very different yet important ways.

"Communist Utopia"- Thomas Hornung

1. Communism is evident through the artist's use of dark colors, most noticeably. The gray skies and buildings show depression and similarity, which is what communism is all about. Also, the eyes give a sense that someone is watching you wherever you are, whatever you're doing.
2. The artist views communism as a dark, lonely, and sad place, as shown through the bleakness of the painting. He feels as if communism oppresses, which is evident through the wall. The gray surface shows that communism is attempting to make everyone the same, but the red bricks breaking through are the people that are fighting communism.
3. I think the title is sarcastic and satirical. The title is meant to show that communism is bad, and the darkness and horrible nature of the city is the best communism is going to get. Its as if the title is saying, "If this is the best communism gets, why is it here?"

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.