Responses to Course Material

September 26, 2011
Class has been heavy on emphasizing the need to "learn how to learn". I'm glad we're starting with this because great basic skills help make the much more challenging aspects of class less formidable.
Annotating works is one of my favorite skills, I really stay engaged through underlining and making notes. In my eyes a pristine page equals laziness. Essay prompts are probably the most helpful things to annotate, it's easy to forget a key part of the response. I view the thesis as the most important, but most challenging part of an essay. Sometimes it's hard to keep it concise while hitting all the aspects of the essay.

Open Prompts

1970. Choose a character from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards. In your essay do not merely summarize the plot. 

In some works, authors create a society we know; an often nostalgic reflection of our life. One feels they can live in Avonlea or Cold Sassy, converse with the characters, and understand their values. Other works instead  provide glaring contrast to comment on our society and dangers the author perceives. Huxley belongs in this second camp with his challenging novel Brave New World. Through the numbed and materialistic standards of his dystopia and its destructive effect on John, Huxley comments on human nature and his fears for the goals we may pursue. 

The standards of the dystopia in Brave New World revolve around creating comfort and peace; facilitated ultimately through detachment. The lack of live births and families seek to eliminate the entangling and often painful bonds of kinship; severing one of the deepest attachments, that between mother and child, as shown through Lenina's constant consumption of birth-control pills and undergoing hormonal pregnancies. The words "mother", "father", and  "birth" become taboo and shameful. A communistic approach to relationships is taken to further avoid the heartache and jealousies of love and monogamy; exclusivity is frowned upon and Lenina is chided for a continuous relationship. Work, another stress, is mechanized or performed by the genetically altered and brainwashed Epsilons, leaving the Alphas and Betas to secure jobs they are brainwashed to enjoy. The conflict of religion is done away with and the hole is replaced with "orgy-porgies", drug laced community orgies to create unity and provide an imitation spiritual experience. They now worship materialism, counting date by the "year of our Ford". Drug use as an escape from discomfort and grief is encouraged through the mantra of "I take a gramme and only am". 

The effect of this society on John, and on humanity, is soul-destroying. Originally viewing the society as a haven from his pariah condition on The Reservation, John delights in the wonders the city can offer, exclaiming rapterously "Oh Brave New World, that hath such people in it!", quoting Shakespeare and reflecting the innocence of Miranda in his utterance. John has been raised on Shakespeare, taught a life of passion and strife from his words. His speech therefore contrasts with the city's unpoetic mantras and represents the falseness of his expectations. At first smitten with Lenina, John imagines her to be something of a virginal and floral Juliet, despite her lack of comprehension of his words of commitment and undying love. In an image of the gulf between what he believes a life should be and his new society, John rejects Lenina's sexual advances and decries her, and the entire society, an "impudent scrumpet". John is eaten away by the materialistic values of the World State, enraged by the mere curiosity shown by children at his mother's death. Realizing that he cannot live a life without pain, that humanity is not satisfied without struggle, John hangs himself in an act of penance and violent rebellion. 
The World State's values result in the destruction of John, comfort and fear of ostracism killing passion and individualism. This dystopian vision serves as Huxley's commentary on what we feel may fill the void and how material pleasures will never satisfy a spiritual need. Shakespeare is our voice of civilization, anguish and elation both, but it can be drowned out by the murmurings of numbing ease. 

1982. In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.

        

         Violence is sometimes a plot device in novels, a source of conflict or a way to reveal characterization. In other works violence serves to advance the author’s thematic message, A Clock-Work Orange being a prime example. Through use of pervasive violence in his dystopian novel, Burgess advances his statements on brain-washing, societal values, and maturation.

         Just as he uses his slang language of Nadsat to give the reader a feeling of Alex’s brainwashing, Burgess desensitizes the reader with his barrage of violence. Working against the revulsion-triggering Luvodico’s Technique Alex undergoes, the reader is no longer repulsed by the brutality of the actions. Further working against the automatic distaste disturbing violence creates, he makes sociopath Alex a compelling narrator. Despite his delight in rape and “ultra violence”, Alex’s wit, distinguished tastes, and alienation make him appealing, mudding the reader’s moral sensibilities. Burgess conditions the reader through the use of violence to add complexity to his defense of free will.

         Violence allows Burgess to comment on the society and government he has created. Although the government decides to forcibly reform Alex’s violent behavior, the officials are shown to be just as brutal as he is, notably when the doctors administering the Luvodico Technique enjoy Alex’s anguish. Alex, and the acts of violence he commits, are then seen in a more sympathetic light. He becomes a rebel against their hypocrisy, willing to do what they don’t but would like to. Violence comes to symbolize a government not bent on keeping people safe, but keeping people in control.

         At the end of A Clockwork Orange Alex finds that violence is no longer satisfying. Destruction no longer gives him the same enjoyment; he becomes bored in of ultra-violence. Alex matures. Burgess uses violence to make the destructive impulses all humans have into an adolescent phase on the way to mental adulthood. By having Alex grow out of violence Burgess chooses to characterize human nature as not one inherently evil, the developed mind leans towards compassion.

         More than a shock-tool, the violence in A Clockwork Orange gives it thematic value. Without this brutal imagery Burgess could not create a revolting and complex idea for the reader to grapple with. Violence becomes more disturbing as one is no longer disgusted.

           

Close Reading September 9

 

Palestine Statehood

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/opinion/palestinian-statehood.html?ref=opinion

 The conflict between Israel and Palestine continues, creating strong opinions on the best course of action. The author of this article is no exception. Through use of diction the author seems to almost be begging you to view his or her view as informed and knowledgeable. The words “ruinous”, “acute”, and “pursue” replace more common, and certainly less scholarly, words. Oddly, the author slips into more common phrases and idioms as the article continues, making the previous diction choices seem forced and stilted. Having an extensive vocabulary and naturally using obscure words would be more convincing if seen throughout the entire piece. By the inconsistency the author then appears to be faking intellectualism. Throughout the article the author calls to mind images of a lazy, almost apathetic U.S. America’s role in peacekeeping is described as a “listless effort”. Contrasting images of American stupor, the author creates images of a restless and volatile situation in the Middle East. The hostility between Turkey and Egypt is phrased as “alarming tensions flared”, calling up images of destructive and untamable wildfire. As the article winds down, there is a tangible shift in the language of the author’s phrases. Originally accusatory (“used any excuse to thwart peace negotiations”), they mellow into a plan of action, such as the suggestion to return to the 1967 Israel-Palestine borders. This makes the author seem more credible, instead of just a rant the author attempts to inspire a course of action.