"'Oh, my God, my God!' He covered his eyes with his hand."
-Page 259
This blog is going to be more like a reflection on the book as a whole. The quote I chose is the point when John realizes that he can no longer live in this society. The people of the Other Place, knew nothing of God, but the Savage had known God, and he knew that God and religion were better than being happy.
Everyone strives to be happy. People might sometimes lose track of what makes them happy, but actually achieving what they desire is not what makes them happy. The pleasure comes from the work it takes to attain what they enjoy and from loved ones that get to experience this feeling with them. In Brave New World, people are told to be happy, but do not truly experience a full life. They only know what they are told, and what they feel when they have taken soma.
Overall, I enjoyed this story and have taken a valuable lesson from it. I think Huxley is trying to get the reader to realize that even though we endure hardships, it is better than being permanently happy. Having loved ones and God is better than being controlled to live in a "perfect" society. He warns us to not let technology and our search of a utopian society, impair our vision of the beauty in the imperfections of life.
Thank Ford I finished my blogs in time! =)
Friday, July 8, 2011
Suicide (Brave New World: 19)
"Just under the crown of the arch dangled a pair of feet."
-Page 259
John could not take this civilized world anymore. The Savage could not live in a world when everyone was forced to be happy, and the last thing he wanted was to be like them. He was mocked and followed and had no where to hide from the people. This world, this civilization, these people had driven him to take his own life. John's suicide is the resolution of the plot/novel. The denouement concluded the story, after all of the other conflicts have been settled. The fate of the last character remaining is discovered in the final page of the book. The author does not bother telling us what happened to Bernard and Helmholtz on the island they were sent to. The important part of the resolution is that the happy and perfect society led to the death of a savage who knew what life was like before. The Savage knew God, and Shakespeare, and love, and he was killed by the Other Place, which he found to be insanity.
-Page 259
John could not take this civilized world anymore. The Savage could not live in a world when everyone was forced to be happy, and the last thing he wanted was to be like them. He was mocked and followed and had no where to hide from the people. This world, this civilization, these people had driven him to take his own life. John's suicide is the resolution of the plot/novel. The denouement concluded the story, after all of the other conflicts have been settled. The fate of the last character remaining is discovered in the final page of the book. The author does not bother telling us what happened to Bernard and Helmholtz on the island they were sent to. The important part of the resolution is that the happy and perfect society led to the death of a savage who knew what life was like before. The Savage knew God, and Shakespeare, and love, and he was killed by the Other Place, which he found to be insanity.
Crazy Concept (Brave New World: 18)
"... they're plagued with no mothers of fathers, they've got no wives, or children, or lovers to feel strongly about..."
-Page 220
This quote is the words of Mustapha Mond, the Resident World Controller for Western Europe. He is explaining to John, Helmholtz, and Bernard why the laws they have exist, and why the world they have created is correct. He knows the writings of Shakespeare, and knows what life in the past was like, yet he thinks this stability of life is a better solution. He believes that if people don't ever have feelings or emotions, but are happy, than that is how it should be. I am obviously biased, but I completely disagree with his line of thinking. I think of the quote, "It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all." I feel that the happiness someone brings to the life of a loved one outweighs the sadness or grief that is felt when they are gone. Even though the people in this society pretend that they are always happy, they will never experience the feeling of being loved. Is it fair that Mr. Mond and the other Controllers decide how everyone will live? In this society, people may be happy, but they are hardly even given the gift of free will. They are practically robots.
-Page 220
This quote is the words of Mustapha Mond, the Resident World Controller for Western Europe. He is explaining to John, Helmholtz, and Bernard why the laws they have exist, and why the world they have created is correct. He knows the writings of Shakespeare, and knows what life in the past was like, yet he thinks this stability of life is a better solution. He believes that if people don't ever have feelings or emotions, but are happy, than that is how it should be. I am obviously biased, but I completely disagree with his line of thinking. I think of the quote, "It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all." I feel that the happiness someone brings to the life of a loved one outweighs the sadness or grief that is felt when they are gone. Even though the people in this society pretend that they are always happy, they will never experience the feeling of being loved. Is it fair that Mr. Mond and the other Controllers decide how everyone will live? In this society, people may be happy, but they are hardly even given the gift of free will. They are practically robots.
"It's Like Ten Thousand Spoons When All You Need is a Knife" (Brave New World: 17)
"... that beautiful, beautiful Other Place, whose memory, as of a heaven, a paradise of goodness and loveliness, he still kept whole and intact, undefiled by contact with the reality of this real London, these actual civilized men and women."
-Page 201
I find this quote to be extremely ironic. John is sitting over his mother on her death bed, and he is recalling all of the happy times they had together. One of these happens to be when she would tell him stories of the Other Place, where people were civilized, unlike on the Reservation. He thought so highly of this Other Place, and wanted nothing more than to get to experience it for himself. HOWEVER, he does get to experience the Other Place, and he finds it to be a nightmare. He finds these people to be living a fake life controlled by a drug. Still yet, he won't let his findings tarnish the image he had of the Old Place from the stories his mother had told him. In his mind a heavenly place like he imagined still does exist somewhere. And this London, this outside world, was not the Old Place she had spoken of before. It is somewhat sad, but very ironic.
P.S. The title are lyrics from the song Ironic by Alanis Morissette.
P.P.S. She is kind of crazy, and this video is weird, but enjoy!
-Page 201
I find this quote to be extremely ironic. John is sitting over his mother on her death bed, and he is recalling all of the happy times they had together. One of these happens to be when she would tell him stories of the Other Place, where people were civilized, unlike on the Reservation. He thought so highly of this Other Place, and wanted nothing more than to get to experience it for himself. HOWEVER, he does get to experience the Other Place, and he finds it to be a nightmare. He finds these people to be living a fake life controlled by a drug. Still yet, he won't let his findings tarnish the image he had of the Old Place from the stories his mother had told him. In his mind a heavenly place like he imagined still does exist somewhere. And this London, this outside world, was not the Old Place she had spoken of before. It is somewhat sad, but very ironic.
P.S. The title are lyrics from the song Ironic by Alanis Morissette.
P.P.S. She is kind of crazy, and this video is weird, but enjoy!
The Jim-Jams (Brave New World: 16)
"'A doctor a day keeps the jim-jams away,' he added heartily, driving home his hypnopaedic adage with a clap on the shoulder."
-Page 186
This quote is using an aphorism, also known as a maxim or epigram. This novel is chalk-full of aphorisms from the hypnopaedic messages that are permanently instilled into every persons mind. Another one that is repeated over and over throughout the story is, "every one belongs to every one else." These maxims are instinctly memorized by all the civilized people, and are taken to be true, yet a few individuals question them. I chose this particular epigram because it can only make sense in this futuristic world, and would not be said in our time period. Also, I can only imagine what Henry Foster's vision of "jim-jams" would be! It clearly relates to our saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Henry is only concerned for Lenina and wants to cheer her up, but she is clearly not in the mood. I find this aphorism to be humorous, and I had to make a blog about aphorisms since they are said in almost every chapter.
-Page 186
This quote is using an aphorism, also known as a maxim or epigram. This novel is chalk-full of aphorisms from the hypnopaedic messages that are permanently instilled into every persons mind. Another one that is repeated over and over throughout the story is, "every one belongs to every one else." These maxims are instinctly memorized by all the civilized people, and are taken to be true, yet a few individuals question them. I chose this particular epigram because it can only make sense in this futuristic world, and would not be said in our time period. Also, I can only imagine what Henry Foster's vision of "jim-jams" would be! It clearly relates to our saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Henry is only concerned for Lenina and wants to cheer her up, but she is clearly not in the mood. I find this aphorism to be humorous, and I had to make a blog about aphorisms since they are said in almost every chapter.
Say What?! (Brave New World: 15)
"'Ai yaa tákwa!' It was only in Zuni that the Savage could adequately express what he felt about the Arch-Community-Songster. 'Hani!' he added as an afterthought; and then (with what derisive ferocity!): 'Sons eso tse-na.' And he spat on the ground, as Popé might have done."
-Page 173
This quote is John yelling out of anger in his native language. The quote uses the vernacular language of John's old community. The author uses John's vernacular language here to show how completely angry John is at this moment. I'm sure these native words are some sort of cuss words that he had learned while living on the Reservation. Zuni is the language of the hateful words being screamed out by John. Bernard wants him John to come to his party and meet some important people, becuase they wanted to see the Savage. However, John was tired of being used as a way for Bernard to become popular and did not want to meet any more people interested in seeing him. Using John's vernacular language showed that the Savage was barbaric and had not come aquainted with this "civil" way-of-life yet.
-Page 173
This quote is John yelling out of anger in his native language. The quote uses the vernacular language of John's old community. The author uses John's vernacular language here to show how completely angry John is at this moment. I'm sure these native words are some sort of cuss words that he had learned while living on the Reservation. Zuni is the language of the hateful words being screamed out by John. Bernard wants him John to come to his party and meet some important people, becuase they wanted to see the Savage. However, John was tired of being used as a way for Bernard to become popular and did not want to meet any more people interested in seeing him. Using John's vernacular language showed that the Savage was barbaric and had not come aquainted with this "civil" way-of-life yet.
The Director's Embarrassment (Brave New World: 14)
"...or rather the ex-Director, for the poor man had resigned immediately afterwards and never set foot inside the Centre again..."
-Page 153
In this quote we find out the result of Bernard's plan that he had been devising since he had visited the Reservation. The Director openly fired and degraded Bernard in front of a whole floor of workers. Bernard got his revenge though by introducing Linda and John to him, who revealed all of the Director's secrets, in front of everyone. The other workers were astonished and laughed uncontrollably at the scene. The Director was so embarrassed that he immediately resigned. The Director, or as Linda would say, Tomakin, was a static character in this novel. He did not change throughout the course of the story. He was a heartless, prideful man, who thought very highly of himself and his work. He was in control the entire story, but once he lost his power and was humiliated, he vanished. This static character was put in the story to be the problem that Bernard had to resolve.
-Page 153
In this quote we find out the result of Bernard's plan that he had been devising since he had visited the Reservation. The Director openly fired and degraded Bernard in front of a whole floor of workers. Bernard got his revenge though by introducing Linda and John to him, who revealed all of the Director's secrets, in front of everyone. The other workers were astonished and laughed uncontrollably at the scene. The Director was so embarrassed that he immediately resigned. The Director, or as Linda would say, Tomakin, was a static character in this novel. He did not change throughout the course of the story. He was a heartless, prideful man, who thought very highly of himself and his work. He was in control the entire story, but once he lost his power and was humiliated, he vanished. This static character was put in the story to be the problem that Bernard had to resolve.
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