Brave New World Second Reading Entry

-What is the significance of bringing Shakespeare into the plot?
-Why is it that the One State is fascinated with John when they are so repulsed by anything else that is different?
-What impact does letting the higher people see the Indian Reservation have on the One State? Is it good or bad and could it be potentially dangerous?


It is said that when Popé brings the works of Shakespeare to Linda's house, John reads it until he has it memorized. This is significant because within the works of Shakespeare, the plays were able to give voice to all of John's repressed emotions. With John's cultural gaps, being part of the World State culture from his mother, yet also part of the Reservation by living there, it almost appears as if he is internally conflicted. This cultural gap also causes him to be isolated. In these hard times, he turns to Shakespeare to absorb almost a third cultural value system. Shakespeare to John is like his outlet. Whenever he is frustrated, he reads through the "magic" words. "The strange words rolled through his mind; rumbled, like the drums at the summer dances, if the drums could have spoken; like the men singing the Corn Song, beautiful, beautiful, so that you cried...but better than Mitsima's magic, because it meant more, because it talked to him..." (Huxley 140). He loves reading the Shakespeare and it was his way to feel free from his isolation.

The people are fascinated with the idea of a “savage” from a different place. Bernard tries to show him off, in a way, and writes about him when publicized. The people learn about how John reads Shakespeare, likes spending time alone, etc. They are always excited to hear about him and are extremely disappointed when he did not show up to the party. “The men were furious at having been tricked into behaving politely to this insignificant fellow with the unsavoury reputation and the heretical opinions. The higher their position in the hierarchy, the deeper their resentment” (Huxley 179). This shows how disappointed the people are that they do not get to see the Savage, but also proves that it is good to remain true to their own ways and that life in the World State is perfect, unlike the Savage who is not dependable. It is a let down to the higher people because they were trying to show off the ways of the Savage, but failed.

Allowing the higher-class people to see the Indian Reservation creates a comparison between their utopian world and the un-colonized, filthy reservation. When seeing how disorganized everything is and all of the responsibilities the people at the Reservation have, they are more likely to be content with their lifestyle and be pleased to live a simple life. Huxley explains this comparison when he uses two quotes. “Old men in the bad old days used to renounce, retire, take to religion, spend their time reading, thinking—thinking!” (68). This represents the Reservation and how they have more responsibilities and have to do more work whereas the utopia is perfect. “…the old men work, the old men copulate, the old men have no time, no leisure form pleasure, not a moment to sit down and think—or if ever by some unlucky chance such a crevice of time should yawn in the solid substance of their distractions, there is always soma” (Huxley 68). The comparison between the two allows the readers to see that the people would prefer not having to think as compared to a society where freedom of thinking and making decisions exists.

"Don't You Want Me?" by the Human League

This is about how a boy has lost a girl even though he's done so much for her and he knows he could change how good her life is. He wants her back, but she says she needs time off and to be independent even though they have had good times together. The difference in the two sides of the story are that he sees is that she couldn't have become so successful without him and he turned her life around, while she sees it that she would have gotten better with or without him and she needs to live her own life. I side with the guy because they had such good times together, so I see no point in trying to throw that away. If he helped her and they had a good relationship, then why end it?

Dress

I dress casually and comfortably. It allows me to be more focused on other things rather than what I am wearing. I usually don't copy other people's styles and I like to be independent with my dressing. Most days I either dress in jeans and a shirt or sweatshirt, or sweats and a jacket. I don't care what I look like because that shouldn't be what school is about anyway. As long as I'm comfortable and able to do my work, I am fine. The  only time I dress up is for special events like concerts or ceremonies.
It's an important aspect of my life because it represents who I am. It shows that I have individuality and people should like me for who I am, not the way I dress.
My culture is reflected in my dressing because a lot of people I hang out with are relaxed as well. My personality is reflected in my clothing because it shows I'm laid back and am not a "looks" type of person.

Emic/Etic perspective

Benefits from the emic perspective allows you to have insight on the concepts of their beliefs. They have more familiarity with the subject and already know many things about it.
Benefits of the eitc perspective is good for people who want to learn and grow more. It's a good way for one to expand their horizons and views. They'll then have more insight about other cultures, rather than just their own.
I don't think one perspective is better than the other because they both have benefits to them and there really isn't a clear cut "better" perspective.

These rules are applied because you must be open to new ideas, you need someone informing you so you know what is okay and what isn't in that culture to prevent slip-ups, and you have to be very interactive with the culture you're studying.

"Rain on the Scarecrow" by John Mellencamp

This song is about a farmer who has lost his land to the bank because the farmer couldn't pay the loans, even though it has been in his family for generations and generations. Now the farmer's son can't have the joy from the farm that he had, nor will he have the heritage from the family farm. Some conflicts are that the farmer can't pay his loans, but he wants his son to have the land. However, this causes a family situation since the farm has been in the family for generations. Now because the payments can't be paid, the farm is being taken away from the family. The imagery and symbolism used is death for the family's farm. Blood usually symbolizes death or pain, which represents the loss of the farm to the family. The word choices are strong and all have to do with the past of the family on the farm. This shows how much the farm meant to the family. The narrator clearly favors the family because it has been in the family for so long, it's almost not fair for the bank to take it away because the loans can't be paid. He presents the family sympathetically, using himself as the protagonist. He creates the situation to pity his son, who will never get the "legacy" he had.

Brave New World First Reading Entry

In Brave New World, equality and conformity is created by the social structure that the World State creates. This system works to place people in certain castes, either Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, or Epsilon, that will exclude them from all other castes. Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon undergo the Bokanovsky Process according to their class and develops 96 identical human beings. This cloning process facilitates social stability in the way that the clones produced are predestined to perform identical tasks at identical machines. The guiding motto of the World State is "Community, Identity, Stability." The point in the social castes are to exclude them from all other castes and to have them thinking all uniformly about who they are, what they do, and how they live. Conflict is completely eliminated because people are put in a social status that they are accustomed to being content with. There is no reason for any conflict because their independence has been taken away without them being aware of it. Happiness is created by putting things into the peoples minds and using a drug called Soma. "Till at last the child's mind is these suggestions, and the sum of these suggestions is the child's mind. And not the child's mind only. The adult's mind too-all his life long" (41). The morals of the society are put into the minds of the children as they sleep and it makes them think they are right. Soma is a drug that creates the feeling of  relaxation and allows the people to be content with their way of life. This creates the society to maintain conformity and the people within it to be happy. I would see this government as a utopia for the majority of the people. Because everything is right and things run smoothly, it seems as if the government has created a perfect world. The people are "happy" and content, everything is under control, and there is no conflict. However, I see that the flaws within the government will lead to a dystopian society as the book continues on.

Claims about George Orwell

George Orwell is strongly against a government-controlling society and believes we all need to stay independent.
George Orwell believes the only way to show our society how bad things could be with the government ruling is to take real situations and take them to extremes.

Western Society

The narrator has a dark and mysterious tone. Some examples are barbarous and growled from the first document, grotesque and intense from the second, and toiling and iron collar from the third. The other has a very matter-of-fact tone. A western country would manufacture another enemy because it's all about superiority and making the others look bad. It makes the country unified to stand against someone else.

Third 1984 Reading Journal

As we read the final part of 1984, we come to realize that Big Brother has both succeeded and failed. His overall intention was a failure, but the outcome of his ideas and processes was a success. Big Brother and the Party are trying to gain and access complete control people's minds. However, they do not succeed in this with the fact that Winston and Julia (as well as others, I would assume) had thoughts to rebel and go against the Party's wishes. This shows acts of defiance, thus proving that the government was not able to control the thoughts going through their minds. Even with thoughtcrimes, the telescreens, the 2 minute hate, etc., the government was unable to completely corrupt the minds of the people. However, at the end of the book, the government succeeds to break Julia and Winston through the torture they are put through. The government gains access to all of Julia and Winston's secrets and actions and proceeds to corrupt their minds to the point that they will not rebel or act against the government in any way. The way a One State could be brought down is displayed by Orwell when it is said, "If there was hope, it must lie in the proles, because only there in those swarming disregarded masses, 85 percent of the population of Oceania, could the force to destroy the Party ever be generated" (40). This is the only way One State could be brought down because it is explained throughout the book that all hope lies with the proles. I believe that Winston Smith has truly been brainwashed. This was a surprising twist because the first two parts of the book set the plot up so that we think Winston will beat Big Brother, but in fact he is eventually corrupted by the Party. Reading Part 3 showed us the torturous events Winston was put through, and his final test in Room 101 was the one that finally broke him. When Winston says, "Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don't care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me!" (Orwell 242), we see that he finally betrayed the one thing he loved and cared about. The last four words of the book end with "He loved Big Brother" (Orwell 265). This proves that Winston has been broken, he has been brainwashed, and he finally believes what he is being told by the government.

Love Language

At first, I was able to make the assumption that the boy liked the girl and that he wouldn't give up on her. I also assumed that she would end up falling for him and they would get together, despite their differences. I also made the assumption that she was deaf because normally, someone would have taken their earpiece out instead of just motioning they couldn't hear. She is deaf and he isn't; therefore, he probably doesn't know sign language, which would cause a barrier between the two. At first, there's a problem with communication. However, you can tell he wants to be with her, even though it seems as if she's ignoring him. But he keeps talking to her and doesn't give up.