Two Thousand Thirteen

We live in a very different society to the one portrayed by Orwell through the character of Winston in Nineteen Eighty-Four as the United States prides itself as a country on promoting the idea of freedom. To me, this means the freedom to express our humanity through how we choose to live out our lives. However, these freedoms should never be taken for granted and need to be carefully guarded. We need to be aware of groups that demand conformity, be aware of attempts by groups to control language, and be aware of grabs for power as these are the key weapons in the arsenal of the Party.

The character of Winston loses his humanity to the Party in the novel. Throughout the first two sections of the novel, he tries to hide his humanity by attempting to conceal his personal relationship with Julia and writing his private thoughts in a diary. He even tries to join a secret Brotherhood that works against the party in a clandestine manner. However, in the end, the inexorable, all-powerful Party owns him and he is no longer free to even think about defining himself through relationships, preferences, and passions (Orwell). This matters in our society because many believe we should be free to define ourselves through our relationships, preferences, and passions, as long as we are not hurting anyone else.

Although our society is not at all similar to the one portrayed by Orwell, we are not always free to define ourselves through our relationships. A group that has made this difficult is, in this case, the federal government. The Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman for the purposes of federal benefits (Liptak). This act rewards heterosexual marriage but disadvantages those who do not share that orientation, devalues their relationships, and provides an example of one group attempting to have another group conform to an arbitrary norm.

In our society, we also need to be aware of how groups attempt to control language. A current example is the debate on gun rights. The language used by the NRA includes words and phrases such as “Ring of Freedom,” “freedom fight,” “right,” “firearm,” and “King Pinocchio” (referring to the President) (NRA). The NRA appears to avoid words used on the other side of the debate by the White House, such as “gun violence,” “wrong hands,” “background check,” and “mental health” (The White House). As Orwell makes clear in his ideas on newspeak in Nineteen Eighty-Four, if a group can control the language used, it can control the message and ideas about an issue, as each of these groups are trying to.

We also need to be aware of grabs for power. In recent history, one of the most incredible grabs for power in the United States must be the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), of which an extension was signed in 2004. This post 9/11 legislation broadened the discretion of law enforcement in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts indefinitely, significantly reduces restriction in law enforcement agencies gathering of data, regulation of financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals, and expanded the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism. The extension in 2004 includes roving wiretaps, searches of business records (including library records), and conducting surveillance of “lone wolves” (107th Congress; “Patriot Act”). The USA PATRIOT Act gives the federal law enforcement powers to observe citizens and immigrants alike without permission from the courts in many instances.

Orwell’s novel contains these warnings for humanity but I go to bed every night safe in the knowledge that members of U.S. society would never put up with any serious imposition on their freedoms. They would never let apathy and taking freedoms for granted to allow any one group to hoodwink them into the kind of slavish devotion to it that Winston experienced. Right?

Works cited:

107th Congress Public Law 56. Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools                Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT Act) Act of 2001. Washington: GPO,      2001. Web. 12 April, 2013.

Liptak, Adam. “A Look at Issues in the Defense of Marriage Act Case.” New York Times, 27 March 2013.Web. 12 April, 2013.

NRA Digital Network. National Rifle Association of America, 2013. Web. 12 April, 2013.

Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel. Orlando: Harcourt Brace, 1949. Print.

“Patriot Act.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 8 April 2013. Web. 12 April, 2013.

The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 12 April, 2013. 

Picture credits:

qeisecurity.com

fixthispcnow.webs.com

DoublePlusLike Thy Enemy

I have just finished reading 1984 for the second time and I am so glad I revisited this novel. In the final book, I had an eerie recollection of a part in Night by Elie Wiesel. In MiniLuv, or the Ministry of Love, when Winston was told to strip down to his birthday suit and stand in front of a three-way mirror, all I could picture in my head was Elie Wiesel's experience of seeing his reflection for the first time since he entered the Nazi concentration camps. 

Winston had been so diminished, physically and mentally, and almost nothing remained of his former self. He did not look like Old Winston and, although he called himself a man, he had the bodily dimensions of a pre-teen. 

Being at such a deprived state, Winston was empty, just as O'Brien wanted. That way, Winston could be filled up and satiated with Big Brother. Once he surrendered the last thing that mattered to him, Julia, he Big Brother was able to take care of him as he should: feeding him three meals a day, letting him smoke decent cigarettes and allowing him personal hygiene. Winston could only come to love Big Brother.

What we have here, my friends, is a classic case of Stockholm Syndrome. It just disgusts me the mental torture and manipulation that humans are capable of. How scary the thought is that someday, the government may in fact have a way to find out our deepest, darkest fears and use them against us? I cannot even draw to mind what my biggest fear is, and I get creeped out just wondering what it might be and knowing my fear would be greater when it was presented to me. 

I really hate cotton balls, but I hardly doubt they'd be a torture tactic. 

A curious thought just popped into my head: Winston hates rats, and Julia turned him in, or ratted him out, so it's interesting that he claimed to have loved her. Is one of the morals that Big Brother is trying to get across that what you love the most will be your downfall? Hmm....

Also, Julia confessed to having betrayed Winston, I get that much. But how did she end up betraying him? What did she scream and beg for them to torture Winston with and not her? 

Damn you, George Orwell for leaving me with all these questions! 

The Future is Here...

There’s no question that every detail of George Orwell’s work has some significance. We can attest to his intelligence and social commentary in his other famous work, Animal Farm. This especially holds true for the time that Nineteen Eighty-Four takes place. I believe we briefly touched upon this in class, but I would like to analyze why he chose this specific date.

All of our other utopian works that involved the future (which excludes Thomas More’s Utopia, Unveiling a Parallel by Alice Ilgenfritz Jones and Ella Merchant, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland) have placed them far into the future, at least a century. The main narrative in Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward and William Morris’s News from Nowhere both took place over a century after they were written (1887 and 1890, respectively). Brave New World by Aldous Huxley takes place over six hundred years in the future (in the year 2540 AD; corresponding to 632 years after first Model T Ford). They all take place after the current generation was long dead.  

Nineteen Eighty-Four, on the other hand, takes place a mere 35 years after it was published. He could have easily placed the novel in the year 2000, or 2500, or even 3000, and it would still make sense. The idea of totalitarianism and complete oppression can fit in any period of humanity.

http://whsmassmedia.com

However, Orwell purposely decided to place his work less than forty years in the future. Those who read his work would be alive during the titular time period. To me, that places a sense of urgency and a sense of imminence.

Whether or not Orwell was talking about the Soviet Union, he obviously saw an impending fear in totalitarianism. The horrors of Nazi Germany were unveiling constantly by this point, since it was only four years after the end of the Second World War. He had experienced the rise of fascism in the Spanish Civil War. The political and military rise of the Soviet Union after World War II, matching in strength of the United States, may have well been a factor in his dating.

So, why did Orwell place his novel so near in the future? He had experienced the rise of totalitarianism – is this a reaction, a what-if scenario, if the fascists and Nazis won the War? Or is it a warning for the present (assuming that his intent was such) about the future? If so, did this

I would also like to hear your thoughts on this as well! Of course, there is not a single right answer here. It’s impossible to truly judge an author’s intent. But let’s see where this discussion heads…

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

This post is a little after the fact, but after reading through some of the past blogs, I came upon one that really struck a chord with me.  It was about Brave New World and the effect that technology had on their society.  They had made some pretty drastic advances in technology, but was it worth it? Did it really create a society that was worth living in?

In Brave New World, technology had taken over the society and was driving the human population.  The most notable technological advance was their ultimate control over the humans being brought into the word.  Growing the people in test tubes and then brainwashing them from the second they are “born” to be submissive to the government is the greatest feat of science that I’ve ever heard of.  Having the capability to control that many people is remarkably scary.

I honestly can’t think of one instance in which science and technology have been used for good in this book.  Sure, everyone is happy and healthy, but that is by Mustapha Mond’s terms.  They are humans who are living nonhuman lives, and both Bernard and John make that known to us.  Technology has ruined their lives, whether they truly know it or not.

So has technology ruined the world we live in?

There are obviously two sides to this answer.  I think everyone can agree that our technological advances have helped our society a lot.  We can connect with people from all over the world with just a click of a button and travel with ease to almost anywhere.

But the negative, at least in everyday life, seem to outweigh the positive.  Cell phones, iPods, and computers have completely engulfed our society, especially our generation.  These devices are great, but to an extent.  I see people walking down the street and running into things because they are so concentrated on their phone.  Suddenly, Facebook statuses have become more important than homework and Snapchatting a picture of your lunch is more important than talking to the friend sitting across from you.

I’m a server at a restaurant, and one of my biggest pet peeves is cell phones.  I will walk up to a table, and instead of my customers enjoying each other’s company with lively conversation, they are ALL staring at their cell phones. COME ON, PEOPLE!  You made a point to go to a restaurant with your family or friends; you could at least talk to them.  Is that so hard?

When technology starts to become an impediment to our interactions with others, then you know you’ve got a problem.

It’s gotten to the point where technology has begun to make us somewhat inhuman in our lack of social skills.  We could very well be on the fast track to becoming just like Huxley’s fictional society.  Technology is slowly making us humans who live nonhuman lives. 

Now that’s something to tweet about.

Finally a book I don't hate.... Surprisingly.

Okay, I'm going to say it. I'm actually enjoying 1984 both as a work of fiction and as a very real portrait of concerns for the future.

I didn't like the other dystopia we read primarily because I did not care for the premise fear. The fear of technology is rather repugnant to me, but i have already waxed on about that more than enough.


1984 presents a legitimate fear of mine and I believe of many people with regards to the future.It recognizes   that people.... Well, we kind of suck, don't we? We hate each other and start wars over petty things. You cant turn on the news without hearing  about a shooting, murder, kidnapping or military tragedy. Utopia doesn't exist because we aren't good enough to make it, not even close.

This novel describes a possible scenario, in which an incredibly evil, or at best a terribly misguided but deeply charismatic group of people convince others to submit to unspeakable things in the name of creating a better world. Now this is something that could actually happen and a real fear.

We've seen horror stories about cult leaders like this, haven't we? Passionate and charming,  they convince their followers of horrendous things and tell them they are happy, and they believe it. What if this happens on a massive scale? Couldn't it.... Hasn't it already dozens if not hundreds of times....Hitler of course comes to mind but haven't we been doing this as far back as recorded history can remember?  People who slaughtered others in the name of ending suffering and bringing about a new world.



This is the phrase that chills me to the bone:


A war to end all wars.

2+2=5

Wow. Mind boggling. Terrifying.

Those are the three main thoughts running through my head after finishing Book I of 1984. We had a discussion about similar things once in AP U.S. History in high school. We discussed how many people just accept what they hear without questioning what is being said, and how this makes us as a society rather gullible. This gullibility can be seen in the citizens of Oceania.

During that class period we also discussed how easy it could be for people to alter history and how history is written by the “winners”. (Such as with WWII and the camps in Europe AND the US) In Oceania there is the Ministry of Truth, which alters history to match the Party’s version or vision of past events. A Ministry of Peace, which wages war because fighting comes before peace – or so we are told. The Ministry of Plenty, which plans economic shortages but tells everyone that we are doing great. And finally there is the Ministry of Love, which I assume is where all the corrupt ideas and actions of the government are kept hidden. All of these ministries are frightening and can be seen in society today. Oceania's slogan: “WAR IS PEACE; FREEDOM IS SLAVERY; IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” kind matches along what happens in the U.S. We go to war to “make” peace. We “free” countries by enslaving them. And the people that are ignorant of corruption, as the proles supposedly are, are relatively happy. ← Ignorance is bliss, right? 

The people of this society are so controlled, so brainwashed that they cannot even have private thoughts. I should rephrase that, private thought that are anti-government. If I feared being caught and imprisoned every time I had a thought that was against the current political leaders, I would live in constant fear of being caught. They can't even have their own, individual private thoughts. They will be told on by their young spies. The kids are raised to tell on people that are doing “wrong”. I remember being raised to not be a tattle-tale (which is what these spies are). It was looked down upon.

I don't know, this is by far the worst “utopia” we have read. I could have lived and been satisfied in the World State, but Oceania is too corrupt for me. I think our own politics are corrupt to the point that I think we should just do away with political parties or political associations. And Oceania seem twenty-thousand times worst. 

Image 1: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/754538/Why-Britain-is-Great-Pub-Landlord-Al-Murray-Ignore-lecturers.html

Image 2: http://kairisoosaar.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/pr-and-propaganda/

Image 3: http://tigersoftware.com/TigerBlogs/June-13-2008/index.html 

How Noble They Are

So I jumped ahead a bit and dove into 1984 over the weekend. It has been four years since I was assigned this book back in 11th grade and it is quite interesting seeing it through a new perspective. I have always loved this book so getting to read it is quite the treat. I am going to discuss something that happens in Book 2 so if you have not read past book 1, stop reading this post now!!!!!!

When I was laying in bed last night I was thinking about what I had read earlier that day. I kept going back to the point in the book when Winston and Julia meet at O'Brien's apartment. When they are confessing to all their anti-party actions and agree to so many terrible things that being in The Brotherhood would entail, I just gained so much respect for them. You may ask how I could have respect for someone who agreed, if the time and need came, to throw sulfuric acid in a child's face.

Yes, some of the deeds that Winston and Julia said they would be willing to do are absolutely terrible and rotten to the core, but the fact that they are standing up for what they believe for is very great indeed. Adding to my respect is the fact that they will not see the payoff of all their hard work. Ever. How noble it is to dedicate your life to a cause, risking vaporization every day in everything that you do and think, when you know and are told from the get-go that you will not see your hard work pay off.

I wish that I had the courage to live as Winston and Julia have agreed to. I wish that someday I feel so passionately about a cause that I am willing to go to extremes so that following generations will be able to reap the benefits of the seeds that I sowed.

This idea I can project onto our current generation's problem of global warming and pollution. Even though we are not seeing drastic and dire outcomes, further generations will. It is hard to devote oneself to something that they will never be able to enjoy. So many people have the mentality that they will never see the day when icebergs melt and the world floods, so why should they even try.

The thing is, each little step counts toward the bigger picture. People may not care about the environment or see the point in doing something that will only be beneficial years and years later, but if everyone contributes to the greater good, so many of our future relatives will be able to live a happy and healthy life like we have. I do not know about you, but I do not want to imagine a future where my great-great-great grandchildren will not be able to swim in the ocean because it is so polluted with toxic chemicals and trash.

Environmentalism is not illegal, but it is still a noble cause to work toward. I have so much respect for Winston, Julia, and every member of The Brotherhood for all their clandestine work against their overbearing government. People who truly stand up for what is right and just, even if it goes against everything they are told to do, will always have a high standing in my book. Even if actions they take to support their cause are secret and  small, the risk that they are taking toward the end goal is very respectable.

My Thoughts About Brave New World

I have to first say that I did enjoy reading this book. Mainly because I like science-fiction type literature...or more likely science-fiction type movies. In any case, this book really wasn't something I took to heart. Yes, Huxley was trying to show his opinion of our future, but it doesn't appall me like some others in our class. To me, it is a piece of literature that someone created in order to make a good read. I do not necessarily take his words literally or feel offended in any way.

 That begin said, I do think that what he imagined happening has begun to happen in our society. The one thing that seemed to be most shocking was the idea of people being created in test tubes. I think that this is unfortunately very possible in our future. We already have people who are conceiving other people’s children and same sex couples having genetic-linked children through surrogates and donors. This is a huge political and ethical debate, which I am not going to get into. However, with technology and 'great' advances come some serious consequences and side effects. To me this is a great idea to help those that need it, but it is not a natural way. Things are bound to go wrong. We also have scientist working hard to clone animals. How long until they begin to clone people? What is going on now was not heard of one-hundred years ago... what will happen to our scientific and medical advances in another one-hundred years?

 The book also is full of characters that constantly run away from their problems and the truth. They use soma to escape the reality in which they live. This has become America to perfection. Everywhere you look people are getting surgeries to look or feel better, without having to do the 'hard work', or they are taking drugs or drinking alcohol to escape from their troubles. This is something I'm sure Huxley saw first-hand at the time he wrote this book, but it continues today and at an even higher rate. There are more pressures in our society to be the best, to be perfect, and to be better than the next person that sometimes people cannot keep up and are consumed with the 'soma' of their choice.

This book also touches on the thought that a government that controls everything is a slippery slope. If you ask me, that is exactly what our government wants here. They want complete control over everything, even though they already have much control. Is there any way to escape this? At times I feel like we are all living in a world that is someone else's utopia. We are all working hard every day, following the rules of the government, and having the privileges to the America life... but at what cost? Don't get me wrong I love living here in America. Lately, though it seems like freedom is a distant piece of our past as the government tightens its reins on us.

I also liked how Huxley brought John into the book. Here was a person who was unlike anything the society had seen before. He was a breath of fresh air, someone who made them think if there was something more than what they had. Many people in today’s society often question this same thing. Is there something more than what I have here? Is there life on another planet? Are there better opportunities for me in other places of the world? There is always that inner nagging question of bettering oneself. I think that it is human nature. Even in a utopia people are bound to search for more.

I think that I am pretty content with the life that I have. Although I do question the government and some of the radical ideas that are being presented with the technological advances, I am willing to hear about it and learn about it.

I think this book was unique and interesting, but I did not take it to heart. It is after all… fiction.

Word count: 680

Final Thoughts on Brave New World

I really loved the last few chapters of Brave New World because if you hadn't yet picked up on some aspects of this “utopia” they are really brought to light here. Chapter 16 is one of my favorite chapters in this novel. This is most likely due to the fact that I get angered by the concept of consumerism over beauty. (The beauty of literature, or art.)

Granted, I am not the most educated person when it comes to literature, but that does not mean I do not read great works by Shakespeare or Austen and others. They are beautiful pieces of art that can be related to modern times even though they written over a hundred years ago. The language is outdated, but the ideas, problems, behaviors all can be seen in society today -- they are even the basis of many plot lines of shows, movies, plays, and other novels! These historical novels have influenced so many aspects of our society that I cannot imagine reading and watching other things and NOT realizing that they have a relationship (in some way) to great works. And the fact that this society keeps them away because they are OLD an do not promote consumerism frustrates me to no end. Also, the citizens of the world state have infantile emotions and gratifications that would not allow them to appreciate great works of art. They would not be able to understand. How can a society take this away from people?! I understand they want stability, but emotions like love, anguish, heartbreak, happiness, etc are beautiful and develop a person. Why did they find this a fault in us? I believe it to be one of best qualities and what makes us human. These beings are just that, beings. They are not humans. They do not know what it means to be human nor should they deserve to be called human.

Chapter 18 also angers me. They want people to b happy and take pleasure or find amusement in the internal, personal anguish John is suffering through. They want to report on it and release feelies about it. It's absolutely disgusting. But then I feel that that is something we do today. We watch other people suffer and hurt themselves, but do not really help them. Why do we watch shows like Teen Mom? or 16 and Pregnant? TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT OURSELVES AND BE THANKFUL IT'S NOT US WHO HAS ALL THEIR PROBLEMS. This is a huge problem with society today. We like to see other people struggle, just to feel a little bit better about ourselves. EXACTLY like they are doing in the world state.

Knowing what I do and thinking about a life without the struggles I face in day to day seems horrifying. It would be interesting, but still horrifying. I am one of those people that always tries to have hope and be content or happy with everything I have, and I feel like I truly am. I don't want to live anywhere else. I don't want to be any one else. I want my family, friends, school, job, struggles, joy...everything. I don't know what the future may hold, but one thing I do know, is that I do not want to live in a world like world state.

Word Count: 552

Closing Remarks on Brave New World

Well, now that I have read the rest of Brave New World, I really don’t know how to feel about it except for appalled. Overall, this book angered me because this is essentially what Aldous Huxley thought that we were headed towards as a society and that is a scary thought. It shows that he doesn’t really have in hope in humanity. People are being manufactured in factories and bottles, they are being conditioned with ridiculous phrases on a daily basis, and being drugged so that they can overlook anything bad that they have experienced, so that they are kept in the state of mind of an infant. Although there was a lot of things that greatly troubled me when I was reading this novel, there was one idea that I liked in Brave New World that I would love to see enacted in our world and that is death conditioning. I think that the way that they condition the little kids to not be afraid of death in Brave New World is great. In the world we live in today, death is one of the top three fears if not the number one fear and I still don’t understand why people fear it. Maybe because it has such a negative connotation, but if bribing people with ice-cream bars while they are surrounded by the dying keeps them from fearing death, why not? With that being said, I think that Brave New World functions well as a dystopia because it is a huge warning about what can happen to society in the future.

So now I have started reading Nineteen eighty four and I haven’t gotten very far but this is a strange novel. My first understanding of it is that this world (Oceania?) is a place in which it is centralized on war. This place is a war generating machine filled with spies, and propaganda. I don’t know much about Winston yet, but I already find his character to be very frustrating only because in the novel, it says that he is somewhere in his thirties but I feel as if this story should be coming from a teenager or at least a pre-teen and it bugs me! But I have high hopes for this novel because I want to compare it to the other novels that we’ve read.

Technology: Society's Doom?

      We see a lot of technology in Brave New World. It seems to cause some problems for them, but does it cause some for us, too?

      I have a serious love-hate relationship with technology. On one hand, it has made my life much easier through my cell phone and has given me opportunities to entertain myself through video games and Netflix. On the other hand, it infuriates me and cripples our society.

      On second thought, even the technology that I love can tend to make me angry. When Hood College's trademark email barrages at noon at five o'clock light up my phone like a Christmas tree, I often want to throw it against the wall just to get it to stop vibrating. When I begin losing a video game that I've invested a lot of time in, I kinda get the feeling that I want to throw my laptop out the window.

      But maybe I'm just a sore loser.

      Let's look at what technology has done to the generation that follows ours. We boast that technology has made children more connected and much smarter than we are. Perhaps the children are more connected, but Facebook and other social media are making it more difficult for them to communicate in face-to-face encounters. My local Board of Education even considered creating a mandatory “Social Relations” class in order to help kids develop effective interpersonal skills.

A class for developing skills that come naturally for most people?! You've got to be kidding me!

      Our boasting that they're smarter is also kind of misplaced. First, I'm not even convinced that they know more stuff. I went to school with kids who couldn't find Maryland on a map of the USA and thought that Austria was located adjacent to Massachusetts.

Second, these kids have sacrificed some of their childhood innocence to get to where they're at (and remember that their current intelligence may actually be worse than ours was). Two years ago, I spent some time tutoring kindergarteners at my old elementary school. Aside from the whole experience being extremely throwbacky, I learned some things about how kids have changed in the thirteen years since I had been in kindergarten.

      These kids were swearing at each other. Not the “Oops, it just slipped out in the moment” or the “I don't know what this word means, but I'm going to say it anyway” kinds of swearing. No, these kids knew what these words meant, and they were hurling them at each other without getting in trouble.

      Five-year-olds. Dropping the f-bomb. I can't even articulate how much trouble that would have gotten me while I was in kindergarten.

      We've given the next generation cell phones so they can stay in touch and computers so they can write their papers. Instead, they have used their phones to spend our money and used their computers to look at porn and play those silly MMORPGs. The results of these choices stay with them for the rest of their lives, hurting them, and in turn, society.

      So, is technology the death of society? The devices themselves are fine; it's how we've used them that is hurting us. If society is damaged by technology, it will ultimately be us, and not the technology, that will be to blame.

(The first meme is from weknowmemes.com. The second is from blog.hsoi.com.)