Brave New World Blog 4

I find a utopia to be bad, disruptive, and disturbing. Even though all the citizens are happy and do not have to worry about war, they do not have freedom or the chance to be an individual. Everyone is a twin and they are not allowed to think for fear it would mess up their society. People would not be able to exercise their minds. The citizens are not allowed to think philosophically or about science because they are afraid their system would fall apart. Also, they are encouraged to sleep with many people and to not have a steady relationship with anyone. This is so they do not get attached to a person (or start feeling emotions) and so it keeps their mind from thinking about the society.

They do not realize their situation because they do not know any better or of any other ways of living. They are always being told their lives are good and that they are happy. In addition, they are all the same with no diversity. Because their society is not diverse, it cannot improve and there will not be any new innovations. There aren’t any chances to be different. If they are different, they are looked down upon and are sent to an outside island to make sure they do not disrupt the society. Also, they do not realize how unfair their situation is. Once they are born, they are stuck into a class, whether it is the upper-class (alpha) or the lower-class (epsilon). They cannot work hard and chance their social status. They do not realize they don’t have any freedom and that the leaders are the ones who determine their destiny.

Brave New World Blog 3

Mond and John discuss how the leaders in the society control people’s minds and emotions. Mond thinks the society is fine the way it is, but John thinks there should be a change. Mond tells John that science and religion need to be restricted from the people so the citizens won’t start thinking. People who philosophize could cause rebellions and could disrupt society. The leaders do not want people to read, learn, or be independent and think on their own. In addition, they do not want the citizens to be isolated or alone because this causes them to think. Also, Mond tries to explain to John that people turn to God and religion when they get old and realize they are mortal. In Huxely’s society, people do not fear death, which means there is no need for a God. On the other hand, John tells Mond that people should be able to be individuals and make their own choices whether it causes happiness or discontent. They should learn how to deal with problems and fix them and not to take “soma” whenever anything gets difficult. He doesn’t think people should take the easy way out.

Brave New World Blog 2

The purpose of sex and games is to keep the people’s minds occupied so they cannot think about emotions, question the society, or come up with revolutionary ideas that could ruin the society. The men and women are encouraged to sleep with the opposite sex with no commitment. Also, they are not supposed to have one partner for too long for fear they might start getting attached and having feelings for the other. After sex, there is just calmness and they only think about the opposite sex. They do not get caught up with thinking about religion or philosophy. The only philosophy that they do know about is Ford, who is somewhat of a god in this society. They say “Ford” instead of “God” since they do not even know about God. The quote “ending is better than mending” means that it is better to die or to throw something away than to try to fix it. In this society, people do not fear death and this saying helps them feel better about bad situations. Once they get old and their organs start to fail, they just give up and take a lot of soma instead of trying to get better. It is like history and the past are thrown away to make room for the future. All of these things control society’s mind and help make sure they do not try to think outside of what they know. They do not want people to start being rebellious.

Brave New World Blog 1

There are several aspects of Brave New World’s society that seem relevant today. First off, Huxely separates the citizens into a five class system with the alphas and betas on top, gammas in the middle, and deltas and epsilons at the bottom. This is like today except today’s society is divided into three classes based on wealth, which are the upper-class, middle-class, and lower-class. Next, Huxely makes all the characters look young, beautiful, and healthy. Today, the population is putting an emphasis on looking young and beautiful as well as staying healthy. In some cases this means getting plastic surgery, being on strict diets, or wearing certain clothes. Third, Huxely shows how his society avoids problems and stress by taking “soma”. By doing this, they never had to worry about anything. This is like today’s society except people take drugs or use alcohol to forget about their problems. Fourth, Huxely has all the people’s DNA altered for desired results. This is sort of like today except people are genetically modifying crops, not humans. They do this to have a better result to give the greatest crop yield.

I think Huxely’s vision of there being a utopia is the most far fetched aspect of the book. I don’t think there will ever be a state of total happiness even though people want it. The only way to do it is by not letting people be knowledgeable (which is the case in the book). In addition, I think the class system is far fetched. In today’s society, people would always want to get ahead and become part of the high society. They would not be satisfied in being in the lowest class.

Poetry Reponse #7

In the poem “Unveiling” by Linda Pastan, the narrator is walking through a cemetery where all of her family is buried. Their graves are in rows, which reminds the narrator of how “they used to sit around the long planked table at family dinners”. In addition, the narrator feels left out instead of feeling sad. It seems that most of her family is dead and she is the only one left. She feels like they are keeping a “grown-up secret” from her, as she is not old enough, or not ready to understand it. I believe the secret is death and it is something she cannot grasp yet since it is not her time.

I think this poem could be interpreted in two ways. One way is that the narrator is very lonely and misses her family. She feels left out. The other interpretation is that she believes that people should live their lives to the fullest. She walks through the cemetery and remembers about the past and her family. She remembered the good times that made her happy.

Compared to the other poems I have read and commented on this semester, this poem seems the most simply written. There are not that many metaphors or other literary devices. It is only made up of two straightforward sentences. It is very easy to understand and to extract the meaning of it. The meaning behind it is simple: live life to the fullest.

Poetry Response #6

The beauty of the poem “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost lies in its simple poetic form yet it relies on metaphors such as night, rain, and a luminary clock for impact. These devices allow many interpretations as to the meaning of the poem.

One interpretation is that this poem is about a person who is lonely and depressed. It seems that he is distant from society and possibly he has been rejected. He has experienced much sadness in his life as he has “looked down the saddest city lane” and has walked in and out of rain. It appears he is sad and has left home as he has “outwalked the furthest city light”. He might even feel guilty about something he did as he “dropped his eyes” when he passed the watchman and was unwilling to explain why. Perhaps, this person has even contemplated suicide or is running from the law as he “stood still and stopped the sound the sound of feet.” In addition, it begins the Then a cry brings him back to reality and he has hope as he sees a “luminary clock against the sky.”

I liked this poem because I how it had a certain rhythm and flowed. It seems like it could relate to many people as everyone deals with some sort of sadness, loneliness, or depression. It could show them that they are not alone and that someone is also going through isolation. In addition, I really like the style Frost writes in and always love to read his poems such as “The Road Not Taken” or “Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening”. I really enjoyed this poem.

Awakening Ch. 35-39 (THE END)

In the last chapters of the novel, I think Edna is as confused as ever. She really wants Robert to show her some sort of affection, but he does not. This causes her to question him and she makes the move on him by kissing him. Robert reacts to this and tells her his feelings towards her. He tells her how he loves her and how he was thinking about her the whole time while he was in Mexico. When Edna has to leave to go help deliver a baby, she asks him to stay until she returned. However, Robert does not do this. Instead, he leaves the house leaving behind a note saying “I love you. Good-by—because I love you.” This is implying that he realizes he can never have her as his wife and that he needs to leave before anything bad happens. Edna is devastated.

The next summer Edna is back at Grand Isle, but she is there by herself. Probably before she arrived, Edna thinks about how she would never giver herself to anyone and would never sacrifice herself for her children. It seems she comes to an epiphany that there is not one thing in the world she wants besides Robert, whom she cannot have (it took her long enough to realize/come to a conclusion about something). She could have her husband, Arobin, her children, or someone else and it would not matter. As soon as Edna gets to the island, she wants to go for a swim. When she arrives at the beach, she takes off all of her clothes and is nude. This is the first time she has ever done it. It is like she has nothing to hide and she felt like a newborn baby that was opening its eyes for the first time. She goes out far into the ocean and starts to get tired. As she is drowning, she once again thinks about how she could not be a possession to her husband or her children. She ends up drowning with the idea that there was no purpose or meaningful role in life for her (outcast).

In the last part of the book, once again there is a reference to a bird. This time is a bird with a broken wing that can no longer fly and it falls to the ocean. This is an image of Edna. She no longer has the strength to fly and is falling just like the bird.