I stare at the book on the desk before me. "Brave New World," it declares--more like screams it up at me, really--and all I can do is stare, and stare, and softly murmur, "Hmmm..."
I feel that this blog is more of an official pondering sort of blog. Yes, sure, most of my blogs so far have been basically pondering blogs... But this time, I feel okay about it.
So I will be the first to admit that I have not quite yet finished the novel. I'm about... two-thirds? Two-thirds-ish of the way through... and enjoying it, of course. If I haven't already said this, I like Brave New World a good deal better than I liked 1984; it just makes more sense to me. Somehow it feels more realistic--somehow, the characters seem more human.
Human? Hmmm....
This brings me into my ponderings for this week. I have also been enjoying these articles from Dartmouth--especially the one on coming up with a topic. This is something I've always struggled with a little bit... But then, brainstorming is what I tend to do best. I'll try to throw out a little of that now, in hopes of alighting on a good topic for the upcoming essay. As I said, I haven't quite finished the novel, but I do have some certain questions and bits that I would say could use a good deal of pondering.......
*First of all, why, exactly, do I feel the characters are more human than those in 1984? So far it's just a vague sensation, an undeveloped idea. Something that just occurred to me. So why is that?? Is it because they surrender themselves to their senses? Is it because they (at the very least) believe that they are happy, are content?? (I know this has been a hot topic in class in the past... I would like to develop some of my own ideas on this subject, if I find the chance. Are the people of this society happy? Can you call it happy??)
*Soma??? That's the only way I can put this pondering forth right now, just as an incredulous sort of exclamation. What is with this soma? Why do the people of Brave New World take it so much? Are they hiding behind it? If so, what are they hiding from?? I can see myself writing an entire paper on this one, maybe just maybe... I could potentially stretch it out to meet my first topic... An analysis of the society's... Hmmm, of the society's what, precisely...??
Questions, questions, all I come up with are questions. I suppose this is just my way of brainstorming. Maybe later I'll read the questions and spontaneously come up with answers...!
We are also supposed to ponder what kind of outside resources we could include in the paper. I would say, obviously, that I would use George Orwell's 1984; it may just be because we read the books at the same time, but I feel that a discussion of one might just not be complete without mention of the other. They are so opposite, in some ways, and then at the same time so complementary...! (Or is it complimentary?? Oh, that I could have full control of my vocabulary at all times.......)
I think I might also like to use some sort of resource involving a biography of the Aldous Huxley (why do I always feel like I'm spelling his name wrong, whenever I write it?? There's a question I'd like to address in my essay...). The Dartmouth resource encouraged reading into a book's context, so I would like to get to know the author a little bit better.
...I doubled the minimum word count with all this pondering, so I think I'll cut it short here.
Allow me to ponder up a provisional thesis statement:
*The people of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World know only what they are bred to know; this way they cannot possibly understand any better standard, and cannot believe that they are anything but happy.
Hmmm, needs some work... "Happy" also needs an operational definition, as my AP Psychology class has taught me.... But it's a springboard! Let's go.
(Word of the week, obviously, is pondering. Incidentally, the other word is "jerk," but that didn't fit very well with the rest of my argument.)
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Nice as always it has a voice albiet a rambling one. interesting that idea that the characters in Brave New World seem more relatable, more "Human" I've always felt closer to Winston then Bernard or Helmholtz. But maybe it is that we see them(and John) really acting out their emotions, as opposed to Winston and Julia who are more struggling against an idealogy
ReplyDeleteYes, Marin- happiness does need an operational definition. There is no way to prove your point unless you define what your point is about. Remember what Mr. Dominguez said in class about the thesis? It can be more than one sentence and also exclude the author’s name and title. I don’t know if that will help you at all, but it may. I also think that the thesis might be a little bit too limiting if you want to delve into the comparisons of humanity in 1984 and whatnot. It seems as though you really can only look at the happiness in the society and not much else. Oh, and I think you should know that I LOVED your assessment of the humanities in both the books and I really, really, hope you allude to that in your essay. Is the absence of happiness or the absence of pain more human?
ReplyDeleteNice pondering Marin; I think you could potentially use both of your main ideas in you essay-soma and what the Brave New World members are hiding from. Personally, I think they are hiding from true happiness, having both the extremes of emotions available to them, not just through supplements. They use soma as a shield, just as they are conditioned to do, for an emotional society risks instability. I'm not so sure 1984 would really contribute to your essay, unless you talk about pleasure versus violence... I don't know. A biography of Mr. Huxley would be great!!! So, GO RIN GO!!! YAY!
ReplyDeleteP.s. He isn't a jerk. Just a dude.
Thank you, everyone, thank you.
ReplyDeleteTed: Yeah, I know I ramble a whole lot. But through the rambling, I find, comes discovery. It's the getting-there process that you read in my blogs.
Deanna: It is a crap thesis, I agree. But it's just a bit of a springboard for now. It won't be nearly so limiting once it's put into a real essay. And I'm sure I'll implement this whole idea of multiple-sentence thesis... It feels really nice...
Krissie: I'm agreeing with what you're saying here. I really do see the soma as a shield... I just haven't quite figured out what exactly it's shielding. I'm kind of excited about author-ish-context in an essay, because I've never done that before. And he's not a jerk. Anymore.