You're ugly, too

In this story, Zoe is going on many dates. These dates are not going well, either. One date even ended with a man picking up a spider. Also, another one telling inappropriate, sexual jokes. The irony in this story is that normally it is the girl falling head over heels for the man and not vice versa. When she was asked if she was seeing anyone, she said she is seeing her house. This is a sure sign that her dates are not going very well when she resorts to saying no guy is working out so I'm keeping myself busy.

The Ironic Drunkard

The Drunkard is a very ironic story. THe boy sets out with a mission that he is not going to let his father get drunk again and save him from drinking. However, the biggest irony is that he ends up getting drunk himself. He is most likely going to end up drinking like his father now in the future.  He didnt want to end up like his father but the reality and iroiny is that he did. A humorous part is that the mom says to him, "It was God did it, you were his guardian angel." She was happy that the dad wasn't drunk, and didn't care that the son was.

Foreshadowing

Now I know this story, The Lottery, is focusing more on point of view, but there is a lot of foreshadowing going on early in the story. The story starts with the children all gathering rocks. We later find out that these rocks will be used to stone someone. Also, the person who was stoned arrived late to the tradition. Normally when people are late to things, something bad happens. A word that was used in this story a lot was the word nervous. The story was overall nonchalant and impartial. But most of the characters seemed nervous, and now we know why.

The Lottery

Every year, this town lines up and draws pieces of paper to see who wins the lottery. In this town, however, the lottery is not a good thing to win. The winner of it gets to be stoned. Not a good prize, at all. Everyone in the story seems so nonchalant about this terrible tradition. This story is seen through the point of view of the unlucky winner of the lottery that year. This puts sort of a tense view on the story as the grim ending starts to come into view. This particular story reminded me of a movie called The Island. When the people on this island won the lottery, they got to leave and go to a dream vacation island. However, the reality is that they were clones and winning the lottery meant that the originial version of them needed their organs for their own health. These stories are starting to make winning the lottery not sound so awesome anymore.

Blind as a Bat

During small group discussion, one of my groupmates brought up a point that interested me and stuck in my mind. She had brought the point up that she thought Phoenix in A Worn Path was blind. This is an interesting point because it is never mentioned directly in the story but I can see how it is alluded to. The main character, Phoenix, is a very old lady. She has a bad memory and is getting on in years. Also, at the beginning she is using a walking stick. She is afraid of the dog and this might be because she can't see it. The journey takes a long time, but she knows the way because she has taken it so many times. This is how she can still find her way even if she is blind. I'm not sure if she is in fact blind but it was an interesting point nevertheless.

Once Upon a Time

This was one of the most ironic stories that I have read in an english book. This family lives in a country and area that is notorious for violence. Alarms and security crises are a normal for their area. They spend their lives putting up so much protection around their house I was afraid that they were going to worry themselves to death. The irony in this story comes when the boy is killed trying to climb the wall over the security. He was imitating something he read out of a children's book. The family spent their time protecting themselves, and this protection caused more danger and violence than the vandals and murderers in their country.

A Worn Path

One of the questions in the book addressed if the boy was really alive still or not. The question provided a response from the author, she said that Phoenix was alive still. This can be taken more than one way. One way, is that the boy is still alive and Phoenix is taking care of him. Another way, is that Phoenix is old and can't remember much, and her memory is going in and out. This means that she believes he is still alive and doesn't want to accept the fact that he isn't. These trips are a regular occurrence for her and that is what she is used to doing. Her memory is getting so bad that she forgets where she is at the doctor's office and why she came. I believe that the boy is alive still through her spirit and memory.

Eveline

Eveline was a story about the struggles of a girl. She had a father who had a history of violence and she was afraid of this past. She has a hard life and realizes that its a struggle for herself. However, there is something holding her back from leaving her life. She is used to this and is accustomed to it. Many people don't like change and like to keep going even through bad times. This is apparent at the end of the story when she has a ticket to a new life and she just can't let go of her own.

Negligence or on Purpose?

In Hunters in the Snow, was the wrong turn at the end negligent or was it done with a purpose? Tub and Frank had  new sense of bonding. I think it was a conspiracy ending to this story. Frank had seen this new sense of brotherhood and didn't want to share Tub's friendship with Kenny. Tub was also enjoying not being made fun of so he too liked it. The two "forgot" about Kenny in the back, and in my opinion, purposely took a different turn than the one needed for the hospital. My final point, when Tub told Frank that he had left the directions at the table, Frank didn't seem concerned at all. Now I have revealed the Hunters in the Snow conspiracy and found out that Kenny's sure death was no accident.

Name Changes and Fires

The reader finds the most relatability and likeablity with Maggie in this story. Dee, however, was obsessed with nicer things. She wanted to look good and be the best.She is lighter than Maggie and has a nicer figure, according to the story. This is not a picture book, however, so we can not see if she really does or not. Maggie was burned in a fire, and this is mentioned several times throughout the story. One time it was mentioned is, "She stood there with her scarred hands hidden in the folds of her skirt."

The Three Stooges

The Three Hunters really reminded me of the three stooges. Unintelligent characters, and a funny/grave situation. The character Tub is treated differently throughout the story. At the beginning, he is ridiculed and made fun of. However, towards the end when there really is only two characters, he bonds with his friend and they find a new friendship. This story is the characterization of three friends and their not so smart decisions. They all three have their own family/personal life problems, but two find friendship in the end. Unfortunately, the third finds a cold ending to the story.

Bartleby and the Frustrated Reader

Bartleby is a story of a boss who has hired the perfect people. One person works fine in the morning, and one works fine in the afternoon. However, there is also Bartleby. He is a person who would just rather not do anything. His characterization really shows the traits of the boss also. The boss doesn't want to fire Bartleby and wants to keep his office the same as always. The boss is also the narrator. He tells the story through his eyes, and his own frustration with Bartleby.

Importance of Structure

All three of these stories revolve around structure. Structure is the thing that determines how a reader will read the story. If facts are given straightforward and consecutively, we try to guess the ending. However, in How I Met my Husband, there was a twist ending. We also saw this sort of irregular ending in the story Interpreter of Maladies. Surprise endings are normally not expected by a reader, hence the name. These flip the rules of structure and leave the reader thinking, "I didn't see that coming." It was very effective in these two stories and compeltely changed my outlook towards them.

A Rose for Emily

This story includes just another town wrought with gossip. EVeryone has their own opinions and stories about Emily. However, no one really knows the truth. We also never get to hear the story from her point of view, so we too take part in believing the gossip. This story structure is very confusing. It takes twists and turns throughout decades of her life. We also find out that she has a VERY hard time with letting people go. This is revealed through the two bodies that she has kept after they died. One was seized from her home, and the other was a skeleton on the bed that they discovered at her own death. With the talk of the town and feelings towards her, it's safe to say that no one kept her body in their house.

Interpreter of Maladies

In this story, an Indian family is taking a tour of India. While there, the not so loving wife falls in love with the tour guide. This isn't the first time this has happened. She also had an affair with a man and her husband thinks it is his kid. This story too has a sad and disappointing ending. Throughout details and the way the story is told, a feeling of these two people should be together is brought up in the reader's mind. However, the paper that is holding his message and number flies out of her pocket and she never realizes it. I guess short story writers are really negative towards true love.

How I met my Disappointing Ending

In the short story How I Met My Husband, the structure is a straightforward story. This story builds up the suspense of Edie waiting for her boy to write a letter back after he left town. She waits and waits by the mailbox, but he never writes. Now everyone is expecting a romantic, Hollywood ending. However, this is not one of those. She ends up with the mailman and all the romantic thoughts and attachment towards the man who left are now just as gone as he is. This drifter made the story take a twist ending and definitely was not expected, or wanted.

To his coy mistress

In the poem, To His Coy Mistress, by Andrew Marvell, it talks of a man trying to win over a girl. The classic story of man falls in love with girl, and the girl doesn't feel the same back. He tries to swoon and flirt with her by saying corny things like, "I would love you ten years before the flood" and A hundred years would go to praise you. He is chasing this woman and she is not giving him the time of day in my interpretation of this poem. Maybe if he uses more of these corny phrases, she will either tell him to get lost or will finally recognize him.

Finally, a simile

Finally!  A good simile that i enjoyed is in the poem, Getting out, by Cleopatra Mathis. The simile is: "That year we hardly slept, waking like inmates who beat the walls." We can all relate to this because we have all laid in bed for hours trying to fall asleep, but to no avail. This poem is talking abpout a couple breaking up and where to place blame. THe radio is playing songs of you are going to miss me when I am gone. This is good imagery because we all have songs to express every emotion, especially heartbreak and loss.

Elegy of Dover

In the poem, Dover Beach by John Donne, the author is making observations.  It is an elegy because it is somber and addresses the dead. I think it is more of a figurative death. I wouild think elegys would describe literal death, but this could work. Or maybe, it could address the lives of the waves hitting the cliffs over and over again. Towards the end of the poem, it is talking about innocence. This innocence happens in love and he is pleading to remain innocent and have nothing ruin that thought or feeling.

The Apparition

This poem confused me. I think that he is talking about a former lover. This lover left him with feelings and he blames her for many things. "And since my love is spent, I'd rather thou shouldst painfully repent". He is wanting to move on, but again, she left him with feelings for her. An idea that I read in other peoples' blogs is that this is a sort of ghost visiting a former lover. This idea sounds much more on point than mine does, but then again, it is poetry and there can be many different meanings.

Crossing the Bar

In crossing the bar, by Alfred Tennyson, the speaker is talking about accepting death. And my there be no sadness when I embark. He is not wanting to leave behind feelings of sadness after he embarks on his journey of death. I feel like the mention of the Pilot is Jesus. He guides us through life, like a pilot guides a plane. After he dies, he wants to meet the person that has guided him throughout his life.

APO 96225

In this poem it talks about a controversial topic, if you may. Many people want to know the truth but when faced with it, they don't want to really understand it. The man is sending home letters to his folks to mask the horrors of war. However, like most moms do, she wants to know what really is wrong with the  man. The man finally sends her the real letters and the dad yells at him for bumming the mom out. This happens alot with our society, and we need to learn to face the truth and not turn our backs to it.

Sorting Laundry

This poem is home to my favorite simile in any poem that we have read so far. The author is comparing pairs of clothes to "Paired like creatures in the Ark." Also, by using first person point of view, she is letting us sympathize and relate to her because we have all been stuck doing laundry by ourselves. We shouldn't be stuck doing everyone's laundry but unfortunately, this girl is and she gets a poem written about her. Another good simile made is "like tablecloths for the banquets of giants". She must have a big bed for king size sheets...

Much Madness

To quote Alice in Wonderland, Alice tells the Mad Hatter, "You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are." This poem is talking about the edge of insanity. Is insanity a good thing or bad thing? "Assent and you are sane, demur and you're straightaway dangerous." We all have a little bit of madness inside of all of us, that's what makes us unique. The poem is saying we shouldn't cross over that line of reason though. The poem makes it seem like insanity can be a good thing, however.

Barbie Doll

This Third person point of view makes it look like we are looking into this girl's life. The author makes us feel bad for the girl as she is being judged later in life. SHe is the same as everyone when she is born, just like a Barbie doll is the same as every other Barbie doll when it is made. This poem talks about conforming to the norm. Becuase she was different, people made fun of her. She was told to change to make others happy. This girl takes a turn for the worse when it mentions her laying in the casket. She couldn't take everyone else's opinon so she killed herself rather than turn into one of them.

Batter My Heart

This poem is directly addressing God. Therefore, it is an apostrophe. A cpuple times it references verbs in groups of three. These verbs ciuld be used to be describing the trinity. They "knock, breathe, shine" and "break, blow, burn". The speaker in this poem is addressing himself as an usurped town. He is asking God to save him from evil and make him a follower. In order for him to be saved, he needs to pray to God and hope for forgiveness.

Emily Confusing Dickinson

Ok, normally I don't understand the poems we read until we have gone over them, but seriously, what is "I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed" about? I mean, I normally get a crude idea of a poem (as seen in my other blog posts), but I honestly have no clue what this poem could mean. Is it actually for once a poem that literally means what she is saying? "I taste a liquor never brewed, from Tankards scooped in Pearl". Is tankards and pearl capitalized for a specific reason? Or, is it just there to make us overthink this poem? And this poem also goes as far to mentioning angels. "Till Seraphs swing their snowy Hats, and Saints, to windows run". This poem has gone from scooping alcohol with pearl, to inebriation off of air, to angels. I need help with this poem more than any we have read so far.

Metaphor

In the poem, Toads, a toad is used as a metaphor to describe work. Now everyone one of us that work have reasons to not like it, but would you compare it to a toad? Why would you go as far to comparing a job to an amphibious animal? A good comparison that I liked is : "Six days of the week it soils, with its sickening poison, just for paying a few bills!" Many times we go to work just for the money. And the toad(work) is poisining our lives. This poem is definitely full of comparisons, and I probably have missed a lot of them while reading it.

Apostrophe Stars

This poem is really confusing to me. It says he is talking straight to the stars, hence the apostrophe literary term, but is it really stars? If not stars, then what could it be even? Could it be talking about an idea or dream? This is stated when it says: "Yet still steadfast, still unchangeable". Many of our thoughts and feelings don't change in life. Or, it could just be referring to the stars up in the sky that show up during night.

Dream Deferred

Throughout our lives, we all have many dream that etiher get achieved, or tossed to the side. I really enjoyed this poem because it is talking about things that we all go through. We have an idea in our head, and it turns into a dream. We sometimes get to fulfill that dream, but mostly the dream just fades away eventually. Or, like this poem suggests, they "dry up like a raisin in the sun." There are many good comparisons such as this one, also: "fester like a sore, and then run." This previous simile talks about how a dream gets washed up. Our dreams that don't work out for us usually leave us as fast as they came into our mind.

First Simile of the Poems

In the poem: "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning", there is talk of either going on a journey or a man about to die. Phrases such as: "Whisper to their souls to go, and the breath goes now" make it seem like it is about death. Phrases such as: "Though I must go, endure not yet. and Like th' other foot, obliquely run" make it seem as just a journey. But here is my proposition, the author is trying to say death is another journey on its own. We leave our body and our souls go on a journey unlike any we have ever taken so far. The simile example in this poem is "Like gold to airy thinnes beat."

First Person Point of View

Wow, I must really have had a mind blank of all the literary terms to have to resort to the use of first person point of view. Nevertheless, it counts. In the poem, " I felt a Funeral, in my Brain", the character is telling the story herself. My thoughts on this poem is that she is in her coffin. She, unfortunately, is seeing her own funeral. There are clues that reveal this in the poem. These clues include: "And then a Plank in Reason, broke, And I dropped down, and down." She refers to the boots of lead as people walking past her casket at a wake before the funeral. She is witnessing people walk by at her own funeral, and can do nothing about it. Kind of a scary thought, huh?

Sad, Sad, London

I was never one to think that Europe was such a depressing place. That was of course before I read the poem "London", written by William Blake. This talks of people giving up, giving into darkness and depression. People such as: "the hapless Soldier's sigh" and "the Chimney-sweeper's cry". I feel like this poem also talks about the ending of an innocent time. Something must have happened in London's history to completely change the thoughts and lifestyles of these London locals. Hopefully the town will cheer up in the future and there will be happy poems about London. Spoiler alert: London does indeed cheer up, and there is no more "blood running down Palace walls" (literally or figuratively).

The Allegorical Poem

In the poem, "Spring", we find an allegory. Not just one sentence, however; a whole poem."Nothing is so beautiful as spring." "A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning." This poem, in my opinion, is referencing the Garden of Eden. It talks about the innocence in the beginning. Now this poem is only talkikng about the Garden of Eden in its early days, the innocent, non-controversy days of Eden. The ending of the poem also talks about the ending of the Garden of Eden and ending of innocence. The line that references this is: "Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning".

Allusions Galore

I feel like the poem "Convergence of Twain" was a big allusion itself. It told the story of The Titanic hitting that fateful iceberg. But was this iceberg collison just a stroke of bad luck or a plan conjured by God? In the poem, there are many references to God. Some of these include: Pride of Life, Immanent Will, and Spinner of the Years. The way the poem worded it, it came across as almost a wedding of the ship and iceberg. A line that helps reach this conclusion is: "The intimate welding of their later history", and "And consummation comes, and jars two hemispheres." From what I've heard, most weddings are planned. So with the question I posed earlier in this blog post, I think the author is telling us that the collision was planned. Sorry Leonardo DiCaprio, your character's fate was sealed before he even boarded the ship.

Longshot

OK, so with most poems come outlandish interpretations. None of these are more correct than others, but we all seem to side with that one that sounds the most right. In the poem "Those Winter Sundays", I created a longshot of an interpretation. My interpretation comes in the form of a courthouse. I thought the poem talked about a person deciding whether or not to send another person, more than likely his father, to jail. The "austere and lonely offices" mentioned in the poem came across to me as jail cells. Another person in my group found that to them, the poem meant a middle aged man that no one appreciated enough. Neither of these two interpretations are more right, just one is more of a longshot than the other.

Number Twenty- Anecdotes

"Once upon a time, while our Ford was still on the Earth, there was a little boy named Reuben..." -pg.23


The last literary term that I found that Huxley uses is Anecdotes. Anytime one person is talking about the past, there is an anecdote involved. They tell these little stories and accounts of what life was like in the past. This helps the reader relate to the story because we recognize the things in the past that they are talking about. This also helps us to recognize what is actually going on in this society because we don't understand the concept of not having a mother, family, and being able to express ourselves sexually freely like they are in this novel. The anecdotes also serve as comparisons to our world and the futuristic world described by Huxley.

Number Nineteen- Foreshadowing

Once again, this literary term was not directly stated in the text. I found this whole book to be a foreshadowing, however. Alduous Huxley describes the future in a Utopian kind of way. He describes the "perfect", working together, and ideal society. Nothing goes wrong, people get what they want, and people aren't afraid of death. ("They're well off; they're safe; they're never ill; they're not afraid of death; they're blissfully ignorant..." pg.220) This is a foreshadowing of what might come in the future. Many people today pose the thought of the future being a working together, perfect society. This book shows the flaws in that. If we take heed of this warning of what might become, maybe the future won't turn out like this.

Number Eighteen- Metaphor

"The world's stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can't get." pg. 220

The biggest metaphor in this book that I found, although never directly quoted, was the metaphor involving society. The society is always compared to a single person, one body. Everything needs to run smoothly and work together for the body to survive. If there are parts that don't work, the body shuts down. This shows the need for the Utopian society in the novel. People need to do what they are predestined to for the society to keep working and the utopia to stay functional.

Number Seventeen- Simile

"Like chickens drinking, the students lifted their eyes towards the distant ceiling." -pg. 11

Huxley also implements the use of similes in his writing. Similes are used to compare things. He compares the students writing in their notebooks to chickens drinking. Without knowing what they are doing, they do anything the director tells them to. This contributes to the idea that the government has complete control over the population. With complete control, you can make people do anything, and therefore make them do what you want to do.

Number Sixteen- Irony

"And if anything goes wrong, then there's soma!" -pg.220

Huxley uses irony in the novel in the form of soma. I found this way the most ironic. People use soma to get away from their troubles, to achieve a feeling of ecstasy. They create a barrier from the real world troubles and their mind with it. It is perhaps the "wonder drug". However in reality, soma is used to control people. If anything goes wrong, they  are doused with it and subdued. People are given the illusion of happiness so they won't ever complain about something being wrong and try to fix it.

Number Fifteen- Imagery

 "Three days later, like turkey buzzards settling on a corpse, the reporters came." -pg.248
"Like locusts they came.." -pg.255
"And from out of the bellies of these giant grasshoppers..." -pg. 255

Huxley employs the use of imagery throughout his novel. One example of imagery, is using animals. He describes these people and machines as locusts, turkey buzzards, and giant grasshoppers. Driving further into this, they treat the savage like he is an animal. He is doing things to himself that normal people don't usually do. They have never seen this and thus flock to him like he is an exhibit on show for all to see.

Number Fourteen- Utopian literature

This literary term describes the style of writing that Huxley used for the entire book. In Brave New World, Huxley describes a futuristic society that supposedly runs perfectly. It is ideal and people there are secure. Utopian Literature means prose fiction which aims at a richly detailed and generally realistic depiction of an ideal society or alternative world. The society is ran by higher-ups. People are told what to do and when, and even are bred for certain tasks. In most Utopian books, things tend to go wrong. Just like in George Orwell's novel: 1984.

Number Thirteen- Allusion

How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world.”
-pg. 210


This passage is one of the passages in the story that I found most helpful. The Title of this book, Brave New World, is an allusion itself to this line. This line comes from Shakespeare's The Tempest. Yet another mentioning of Shakespeare. In this story, John says this when he leaves for the new place, the place of society. He adores Shakespeare and his writings. Alduous Huxley reveres Shakespeare too and refers to him many times in this novel.

Number Twelve- Climax

“How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world.”
-pg. 210

These words were the words muttered by  John when he first arrived. Now, they are the words when he sees people at the hospital just mindlessly taking their soma rations. He has come to hate this place and its ideals. Fueled by the rage of his mother's death, he attacks the people because he wants them to realize what he realizes about this place. This is the climax of the novel. Finally John does something about his feelings and finally stands up for what he believes is right. Even though it is against the rules, he is enraged that the people don't see what he sees. He is like Bernard Marx in a way, he also has different ideas and that is why people view him as different.

Number Eleven- Alduous Shakespeare?

Numerous times in this book Alduous Huxley refers to William Shakespeare. Shakespeare had the same ideas as Alduous, writing about things that couldn't be, or ideas that were viewed as futuristic such as the perfect society, or the "Romeo and Juliet relationship". A device that Alduous uses is he makes his writing like Shakespeare. He doesn't straight copy him either. He presents the relationship of John and Lenina and allows the reader to make the connection of Romeo and Shakespeare. Shakespeare also included stanzas in his writings. Alduous actually has direct quotations in this story from Shakespeare when John is reciting them.




      = ?

Number Ten- Romeo and Juliet?

"The savage was reading Romeo and Juliet outloud- reading (for all the time he was seeing himself as Romeo and Lenina as Juliet) with an intense and quivering passion." -pg. 184


Romeo and Juliet came from different families, different scenes. The savage came from a completely different scene and way of life than Lenina. He realizes he loves Lenina but at the same time he realizes that they wouldn't work out. In my opinion, the reason they would never work out is because of how much their views on subjects contrast each other. When Lenina throws herself at him, he blatantly calls her a whore. Lenina was just doing what in her culture was acceptable, and he was doing what he was used to from his culture.  This view of Romeo and Juliet contributes to the fact that if you don't live in this main society, you get left behind. When they visit the reservation, they are amazed at how "savagely" the people live. The ironic thing about the whole situation is that John views Lenina and the others as savage for how they act sexually, but they view him as the savage.

Number Nine- Parallels

"Almost nobody, I'm one of the very few. It's prohibited, you see. But as I make the laws here, I can also break them." -pg. 219


A very big parallel in this novel is the use of the stanzas. The citizens use the stanzas to explain things, release emotion, and also calm down. The savage, however, recites stanzas from Shakespeare's writings. These writings are banned though in the society. There are so many memorized lines and phrases that people just recite them instead of explaining themselves. This parallel is used by Huxley to show that even though these people don't live on plantations, they have more in common with the savage than they think. The main one, even though they forget it, is that they are all human. Even though they are bred to be different, everyone is the same and that is being human.

Number Eight- Ford

"Oh Ford, I've gone and woken the children!" -pg. 29


Throughout the book, there are many references to Ford. My thoughts on this is that they use this word interchangeably with how we use the word "Lord". Many times it is out of frustration, as seen in the quote. There are also uses of reverence though. In their society, everyone reveres technology.  A great technological mind of our time was Henry Ford. This shows their love for technology. Also, how with their lack of religion, they revere technology like we do religion.

Number Seven- Stanzas

"Ford, we are twelve; oh, make us one,
Like drops within the social river;
Oh make us now together run
as swiftly as thy shining Flivver."    -pg. 81


Huxley implements many literary strategies in this book. One of them, is the use of stanzas. To me, these are used everytime a character wants to calm down or release their emotions. It makes the reader aware of when the characters are going to release emotion or calm down from stress. One example of stress being let go is when the savage recites Shakespeare to calm his nerves after his experience with Lenina. Also, when everyone is about to release emotion after all the soma they took, there is another stanza in the reading. Also, the solidarity hymns mentioned in the book are all presented in stanzas. An example is the third solidarity hymn on page 82.

Number Six- All for One

"I suppose Epsilons don't really mind being Epsilons." "Of course they don't. How can they? They don;t know what it's like being anything else. We'd mind, of course. But then we've been differently conditioned. Besides, we start with a different heredity." -pg. 74


In this world, people are bred for certain tasks. Some are bred solely for the tasks that people don't want to do. But, they don't know this, they are bred solely for this task alone and not for desiring a better task. In their pre-life processes they are put through series of experiments and processes to make them enjoy what they do. This strikes me as just adding on to the already built illusion of the perfect society. If they are taught to like this, and not realize that there are better experiences to be had, why should they want to do anything else? They have the lowest jobs in their society but don't treat it as that.

Number Five- More Differences

"Orgy-porgy, Ford and fun, kiss the girls and make them One. Boys at one with girls at peace;
Orgy-porgy gives release."                                    -pg.84


Once again, the taboos around sexuality in our culture no longer exist in this culture. In a soma-filled reality for these people, they experiment and push the limits of their society. For them this is normal and what we do in our culture is the strange and out of place ideas. My reaction to this is that people need to release their feelings and emotions in this world too, not just work for the government or their jobs and that right there is the feeling of being human. Bernard Marx has human feelings and thoughts and maybe he isn't the only one after all. It also seems that these people spend more time intoxicated on soma, the wonder drug of their time, than they do actually in reality. This helps add to the illusion of the perfect society, and helps the reader to realize it is just that, an illusion of a "perfect" society.

Number Four- Bernard Marx

"They say somebody made a mistake when he was still in the bottle- thought he was a Gamma and put alcohol into his blood-surrogate. That's why he's so stunted."
                                                                                                        -pg. 46

In my own opinion this is the most "human" person in the beginning of the novel. He wants things he can't have, and has his own opinions regarding soma and sexuality. He doesn't take part in drugs that everyone else takes and he also acts more traditionally to our society in regards to sex and things of that matter. The author included this character, in my opinion, to hint at the first thing wrong with the society: not everyone being the same. People are bred to have certain tasks, feelings, and thoughts. However, not everyone ends up the same just like Bernard. Because he is even the tiniest bit different, people refer to him as being different, not normal, and something went wrong when he was born. You can't fully achieve a perfect society with people like Bernard. Everyone would have to be the same and the truth is, not everyone is.

Number Three- Ideals Reconsidered

"He let out the amazing truth. For a very long period before the time of Our Ford, and even for some generations afterwards, erotic play between children had been regarded as abnormal; and not only abnormal, actually immoral: and had therefore been rigorously suppressed."
                                                                                                                                -pg. 32

In this futuristic society, taboos about sexuality have dramatically changed compared to the ones set in our own world. Children are actually encouraged to explore and take part in sexual games in the novel's society. This just goes to show that over time and across cultures, sexuality is represented and carried out in various ways. Over time more and more is accepted. In this culture, having sexual relations with numerous and different people seems to be the normal thing to do, but in ours is looked down upon by many. On a lesser note, clothing that people wear changes over time to show more skin. In previous years in the past, people bundled up and showed absolutely no skin. However, in our society, skin being shown is the norm. A connection I can make in this clothing issue is drawn from a show called Lost. Many people that were on the island had shoulders exposed and swam in swimsuits and bikinis. However, one Japanese couple was different because the husband wouldn't allow the wife to expose her shoulders or swim in a revealing swimsuit. This goes to show that people, although living in the same time period, that come from different civilizations have different views on clothing and sexuality.


The couple in the TV show, Lost.

AP Lit Blog Number Two- Psychological Factors

"The experiments were abandoned. No further attempt was made to teach the children the length of the Nile inn their sleep. Quite rightly. You can't learn a science unless you know what it's all about."
                                                                                                     -pg. 26


We have all heard that listening to an audio tape while we are sleeping will help us memorize the facts and things needed for us to pass the test the next day with flying colors. In this chapter, the child that learned about the length of the nile could only recite it when started off with the first half of the fact. This furthers my idea of not being able to have a perfect society because only memorizing the sentences over and over isn't enough to actually learn, understand, or analyze a topic. If children are told the same thing over and over they are going to do something without thinking. This takes away the analyzing aspect of situations and thoughts become like robots.

AP Lit Blog Number One

"We also predestine and condition. We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers or future..." 
                                                                                              Mr. Foster, pg. 13


 This quote in the first chapter of the book really outlines the whole idea of the society. Instead of natural birth and natural development of the child, children are predestined to perform a certain line of work before they are even born. This is setting up the idea of the "perfect society", the one that has been mentioned and hinted at so many times before in our world. In my own opinion, a perfect society could never exist. There is always problems and unpredictable occurrences and humans. In this world, people can't be unhappy with their line of work because they are "programmed" to enjoy it. This reminds me of a movie called "iRobot". In it, robots are made and programmed to do specific tasks, and behave certain ways. Of course, the robots eventually turn on the humans and something goes wrong in the "Fool-proof" plan. It is my belief that something will go wrong in every fool-proof plan.