See the Cat? See the Cradle?

Okay so Cat's Cradle does indeed relate to the ideas of Post Modernism, simply by the statement  from Powell’s Postmodernism For Beginninners: "We live in a world interconnected with differences, differences amplified and multiplied at the speed of electricity"(Powell 3). Today's world is all about differences in every aspect of life. Everyone's goal is to be original, and stay away from the norm.

Simiarly, in Cat's Cradle the Bokononist religion advocates this same idea. In Bokononism, you have the power to believe anything you wish as long you were able to understand it. Bokononism was merely whatever you please, and Bokonon himself reveals this when he states, “All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies” (Vonnegut 5).

 In addition, Powell discusses how Post Modernism has resulted in cyberspace developing vast “new universes and realities” (Powell 2), in which who’s to say that these realities have any meaning to them? With realities constantly being created, there is no means of information of whether they are true or false. In Cat’s Cradle Newt shows Jonah his painting and asks him if he “see[s] the Cat’s Cradle” (165). There was indeed no cat or cradle in the painting, however that is exactly right. Cat’s Cradle is merely a never ending meaningless game, as was Newt’s painting. Nothing ever really meant anything to Newt; it was just something he did to pass the time.  The same idea is present with Postmodernism. Because everything is constantly changing and revamping itself to become better, nothing really means and thing to anyone, at least not like things used to. We are so consumed in daily activities to solve our boredom, rather than  looking at the big picture, and that itself is Post Modernism.

Brave New World Essay Topic

For the essay on Brave New World   I want to illustrate the points of too much government control and the effects it has on society.  I want to bring forth the ideas that people depend too much on the influences of others to solve their problems, such as the use of soma to make someone happy. This is all do to the government and how their actions affect its society. These ideas can definitely be tied in with our world today and how we operate. My essay will be able to discuss the defective human race in Brave New World and make connections to our world today.

            One source of information I will reference to is the YouTube video that was posted on the last blog topic. I believe it was called RSA Animate: Changing Education Paradigms. This video made a lot of good points about the defects of humanity nowadays, which would now make good points in relation to the novel.     I want to reveal through the use of this video that we today are not that far off from Huxley’s imagined world which is a scary thought!

            Another source I want to use points from is Neil Postman’s Technopoly. From this source I can relate his theories of technology taking over to Brave New World, as well as, tie it in with today’s world. This will allow me to discuss how technology will ultimately lead to the destruction of mankind by looking at the effects technology has thrust upon the human race through the years, in comparison to that of the novel.

             I may use other sources as well, but these are perfect for now! J

This Video was pretty interesting!

So I found the video to be pretty interesting in the sense that we as students are all exactly as the communitiy around us. If you think about that it is true. We all dress about the same, well within the same cliques or styles. We talk the same. We take the same educational classes. In a sense, we are the same. However, unlike Brave New World, we all are able to think for ourselves. Our sole purpose may be to contribute to the economy and live our lives out that way, however we have choices. We are not genetically programmed to fufill a certain machine's needs.
We do work, but we have the choce of when and where we work.

Other than this working as being somewhat of a parallel, the one parallel that was a "red flag" to my attention was the point in the video where he addressed the condition of ADHD and the fact that most people nowadays seem to have it. We as a society are constantly bored looking for the next thing to  occupy our attention, whether it be technology, food, sports, or even on the harsh terms of drugs and alcohol. Likewise, in Brave New World, the people turn to Soma to relieve them from any boredom: "What you need is a gamme of Soma." Soma is the fix, the excitement in their manipulative world.

On another note, we are taught throughout school what is right and wrong through the eyes of the teacher. Isn't this too a parallel to Brave New World. They are taught what they can and canot do to fufill their life purpose. But who is really in charge of the right and wrong?

This video was indeed an eye opener of how society is slowly starting to resemble that of Bravc New World by our lack of concentration and our ability to easily be consumed by what is around us.

At least this isn't dealing with the Tempest anymore.

While reading chapter 3 i realized how easy it was for the government to shelter society from treasuring experiences and replace those experiences with synthetic pleasures.
Infants are tempted with books and flowers and then shocked when they go to grasp them they are electrically shocked. This is a way of showing harm to what was once a pleasure. In a way it is like the idea of a child burning his hand on a hot stove to realize that he should not touch a hot stove again. If the children are caused pain for what they desire then soon enough they will no longer find pleasure in it.

On a different note, women are able to feel all of the symptoms of a pregnancy artificially. With thoughts like “my baby… the little hands, the hunger, and that unspeakable agonizing pleasure!”  Women are no longer able to experience the feelings of carrying and birthing a baby due to the new manufacturing technique, so those who desire such feelings are able to consume a “pregnancy substitute.”

Also, people are encouraged to be promiscuous and change partners regularly to keep happy. “Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.” If one is able to have whatever he wants, what is keeping him from being unhappy? Nothing.

To me the quote refers to Henry Ford’s assembly line, but by the means of the people and their lives. In Brave New World, people are birthed to do their jobs and nothing else. There sole purpose is to fulfill the job that they were embedded to do. The must be “obedient men,” men who enjoy fulfilling their duties rather than acting against them. This quote justifies Ford’s thoughts on how life should be. Life should be manufactured and synthetic, not real.

Let's give this topic a shot...

Well okay, this my view of  what the blog promp is asking of me.  There are too many controversial and varying interpretations of "The Tempest" to compare; however, I will compare a few of them.

In discussions of "The Tempest", one controversial issue has been that Shakepeare leaned more towards imperialism when writing this play. Aime Cesaire, supports this idea through her verion of the play called "A Tempest,"
which shows Caliban and Ariel as being enslaved against their will. This is  one way of looking at it, however it may not have been what Shakespeare intended.

On the other hand, others such as Meredith Skura, view that those critics viewing "The Tempest" as a postcolonialist piece "flattens the text into the postcolonialist discourse and eliminates  what is characteristically 'Shakesparean'." Shakespeare often wrote according to his time period so who is to say which he meant since both were occuring at the point in time.

How I read it I mostly believe it to be more imperialism. caliban and Ariel, like Cesaire had stated are indeed held against their will and forced to learn Prospero's ways, as is Ferdinand; therefore the views of this paly to me are very imperialistic.

Yet Another Blog Dealing with the Tempest!

Now instead of talking directly about "The Tempest" we are to blog about our thoughts on two opinions of literary text. One opinion, as stated by George Will, explains his thoughts of literature being completely pollitical. He believes that "The Tempest" for example, "reflects the imperialist rape of the Third World." He also believes that sex roles determine  a lead role in literature. When talking about Shakespeare's pieces, I do agree with this piece, however not entirely. Shakespeare is very biased of the sexes, and he does indeed use politics in his writing. The man is always the most powerful. That is Shakespeare's style though.

Greenblatt (intersting last name right?!) on the other hand, believes that literary text should be analayzed for its deeper meaning rather than jus thte surface text. This idea is more of what we need to do with Shakespeare's literary works. His plays may be politically biased, however they have a much more deeper meaning behind them. " "The Tempest" has to teach us about forgiveness, wisdom, and social atonment," says Greenblatt. If we were to just notice the continual insults and belittling of humans in The Tempest, we would not be able to grasp this deeper meaning.

Though  I agree with both Will and Greenblatt, my opinion sways more towards Greenblatt, simply for the fact that Shakespeare is more intellectually deep that political. His plays are meant to be analyzed and celebrated.

The Tempest is getting more odd than I thought it would be..

    Caliban is indeed a representation of the native people. He is not like anyone who as washed up on the island because he was born and grew up on that island. In addition, he was never really treated as a person, but merely as a slave. Even when he met Stephano and Trinculo, he was never referred to as more than a "monster," never a human being. Caliban, being a native was able to "show thee the best springs...pluck the berries..." which are all characteristics of a native.

     In correspondence to the Postcolonism article, Shakespeare seems to have connected his characters to this time period. Caliban is indeed a native because he knows exactly of where he comes from and of what is around him. As disscussed by Said, "the basic thought behind colonization: ["] They're not like us, and for that reason deserved to be ruled.["]." Caliban was immediately taken over after his mother was killed. He was different from Prospero and Miranda, therefore making him automatically their slave in Prospero's eyes. Isn't this the case for most natives in one way or another? Natives generally get their land taken striahgt from their fingertips by a more powerful force that sweeps the land. Claiban in a way can also illustrate the term Orientalism- this term explains how Orientals were looked at as being "indolent, thoughtless, unreliable. and demented." Caliban could also fit this stereotype in the eyes of those who meet him. Stephano,at first sight refers to him as "some monster of the isle ith four legs... Where the devil should he learn our language." Stephano had no idea that there were others on the idland and instantly assumes that Caliban knows of nothing, he is merely a souless native.

     

The Tempest. Act I

     As I was reading through Act I, I realized that Prosepero was no where near the man he described himself to be. He conjured up stories in ways to make he himselfdo no wrong, and that he was the one who helped everyone's misfortunes on the island. This idea is twisted from actual reality.
      The first example prensenting this manipulation is when Prospero is telling the story to his daughter Miranda of how they came to the island. His story makes out his brother Antonio to be a wretched man who took everything pertaining to Prospero's country right from his fingertips; Antonio was " the ivy which had hid my princley trunk, and had sucked my verdure out on't." The reader is not sure of whether or not Antonio is at  fault for taking over Prospero's country, or if the country ran to his help to escape Prospero's evil ways. There are always 3 sides to every story, but in most cases the person at fault still creates a nontruthful story to make himself look innocent. Relating this statment to "The Tempest", Prosepero had no intentions of making himself look like the one at fault for losing his country, so he placed the blame on his own blood brother.
      Another example of Prospero's manipulative ways is with Ariel, his servant. Although Ariel has done everything asked of him, Prospero refuses to release him to freedom, twisting all of Ariel's pleas around to make him seem ungrateful. "Though best know'st what torment  I did find in thee.Thy groans of ever angry bears." Ariel was never givin the option of being free; he went from being imprisoned to being enslaved. Though he was Prospero's slaved, he was always promised to be let free every time he was ordered to do something. This is a way of manipulation to get Ariel to do any and all work to help Prospero. He is slowly realizing of what is happening behind the scenes, yet he still is forced to cooperate. Prospero has Ariel rapped around his fingers through threats and promises.
     Caliban too is a manipulative tool of Prospero. He was born to be taken over by Prospero, and soon after being born he too was enslaved. Caliban stated the lines " When thou camest first, thou  stok'st me and made much of me." Prospero did at one time love and take care of Caliban as if he was a son, but soon enough he took advantage of him and made him serve to his every whim. Caliban had no one else to help him out, other than Prospero's own daughter, but she too was under her father's control. This quote does show that Prosero hs love deep down inside, though his thirst for power trembles over his love.

Resolving The "Textbook Issue"

       In 3rd period last Thursday, we as a class debated upon whether or not Texas should take Thomas Jefferson out of the history books because his idea of the separation of church and state. I however do not believe that this should even be an option because he is one of America's Founding Fathers. I honestly do not think we should have the right to delete people out of history just because some of us do not believe in his ideas. Very few people are fans of Hitler, yet we still keep him in our textbooks because his actions made an impact on history. If we were to erase hum out of our textbooks, then what is stopping us from deleting other people out as well, or even changing how we view these people.
       The history books are biased in ways because we are telling history from our point of view. There really is no way to make the textbooks completely unbiased because even with the facts, there are slight opinions.
       This idea of changing the texbooks parallels with 1984 with the quote "The past controls the future." If we were to alter the past, we would never know about the changed events in the future. We might never know of Thomas Jefferson as a Founding Father; he never existed. How are we given the power to change events. It shouldn't be as easy enough to alter facts and replace them with new information!
     History is a priviledge to learn about and to look after. We should cherish all of it no matter its harshness.

Yours Truly,
Deana

Senior Year

My first week of senior year was very eventful. From the leadership kids running around the hallways pumping up the freshman, to planning the contents of the yearbook, my week had it all. Although it was very eventful, I loved the fact that I had virtually no homework. This I know won't last much longer. Senior year will go by in a blink of an eye and then it will be time for us seniors to be the new freshmen anxiously awaiting our colleges experiences. Each rally, each sports game, each experience we have together as Seniors, are ones we've had throughout high school but will mean more since we won't ever have one like them again! Here's to the 2010-2011 school! Let's make it the best!