Post-Reading: Brave New World

Write a blog post that answers the following question: Which "Utopian" world should be more feared; one in which government's control is so oppressive that people have no choice for themselves, or one in which people are so falsely happy that they do NOT realize the oppression of their government's control?   Be sure to explain your answer with specific examples.

I think that the society that should be more feared isn’t one where the people are so controlled by the government that they don’t have a choice for themselves, it’s one where the people are so falsely happy that they do not realize that they are being controlled by their government. If you are in a society where the government’s control is so oppressive than you know that the government is wrong and you have the ability to rebel. You have a chance to change society for the better, but if you are in a society where everyone is falsely happy all chance for change is lost.

In a Utopian society where the government’s control is so oppressive that the people have no choice but to do as they say, there is a chance for change. Some people -or somebody- could work up the courage to actually rebel. In “Harrison Bergeron” some of the people were falsely happy while others feared the government. Harrison found the courage to rebel and he does so by taking of his handicaps. Another person that finds the courage to rebel is his Empress. She stands up to the government by siding with Harrison.

In a society where everyone is falsely happy there is a chance for someone to rebel, but there is a much smaller chance for that to happen or for someone to actually see the evils of their government. An example of someone rebelling in a falsely happy society can be found in Fahrenheit 451. Guy Montag sees that the happiness everyone is feeling isn’t true happiness and he rebels against the society. And he isn’t the only one. There are many people who rebel against the society by having books and not burning them. These people are sometimes caught and their books and houses are burned down by the firemen. There are also the people who are on the run from the government. They know that the government is wrong and that books are precious.

Even though there are people in a falsely happy society who will rebel I still believe it should be more feared than a society where the government’s control is so strong nobody can do anything for themselves. In Brave New World people are brainwashed into believing that they are happy and they also have a pill that will make them be in a blissful and happy state. Even the main character -Bernard Marx- is falsely happy at one point in the book. The government has so much more control in a falsely happy society because the people don’t think they are doing anything wrong. The people would let the government do anything without any fight and wouldn’t see anything they do as wrong. That is why a society where the people are so falsely happy they don’t see the government’s oppression is to be feared more than a society where the government’s control is so strong they don’t have any choice for themselves.  

Pre-Reading: Brave New World

We have been looking at and reading short stories and novels about worlds that are seen as Utopian (to at least someone in the novel).  Write a blog post about your perfect Utopian society.

In the novels and short stories we have read the worlds are Utopian, to some, and to others they are Dystopian. There are some good qualities you want for a Utopian society, but in these novels and short stories they are taken too far. For example the principle of equality. In “Harrison Bergeron” they make everyone equal to each in other in looks and intelligence and they take away people’s individualism. Having equality is good, but taken to the extent that it is taken in “Harrison Bergeron” it isn't.

My perfect Utopian society would be one where everyone is equal and free. People would be equal in rights, not in looks and intelligence. In my perfect society everyone would be free, there would be slavery or anything like it. People would be equal but they would still be unique, they would still be individuals. People wouldn’t be afraid of others judging them and they would be able to be themselves. People who have a sickness -mentally or physically- would be taken care of to the best of our abilities and technology. People wouldn’t starve, children would be able to have a happy childhood and a good education. No one would suffer because they don’t have money or because they are different. The justice system would be fair, there would be no corruption or unfairness in the system or in the government. Everyone would have a fair trial and the death penalty wouldn’t be an option. Any government agency, public schools, orphanages, etc would be well cared for. Every child would have the same opportunities no matter their family background.

My perfect society would be one where everyone is equal, free, and happy, but they wouldn’t all be the same. People would be allowed to be their own selves. People would have rights like the ones we have now -freedom of speech, press, etc. In all the Utopian novels and short stories the societies weren’t really Utopian, they started out as Utopian or the intention was for them to be Utopian, but they ended up being Dystopian. No matter what, a Utopian society would never be possible. I think that some people have to make fun of others to make themselves feel better, and that because of people like that a Utopian society would never work.

Post-Reading: Things Fall Apart

2. "To show affection was a sign of weakness, the only thing worth demonstrating was strength."

There are many people who feel like this. Most people would immediately think that a man would be the only to say/think that, but some women feel like that too. Sometimes people who have experienced a lot of emotional pain feel like this (whether they are men or women) because they don’t want people to think they are weak and try to hurt them or because they simply don’t want to be hurt again. Thinking/feeling that is bad in my opinion because showing affection isn’t a sign a weakness, it is a sign that your are brave and strong. I believe that because to put yourself out there emotionally like that is hard sometimes because you are giving people the power to hurt you- you could get hurt by the person you care about or people can use that person to get to you- and that takes a lot of courage. 
There are examples of this quote all throughout the book Things Fall Apart. Okonkwo doesn’t show any affection to his children or his wives. He does this because the village/tribe he is from is one the most feared and he has to live up to that. A lot of the things he does is so that no one will think that he is weak. He also doesn’t show any sign of affection out of fear of becoming like his father. His father was a poor man whose wife and kids barely had enough to eat. He was said to be a coward and he couldn’t stand the sight of blood and he owed all of his neighbors money. Okonkwo was dominated by the fear of becoming a failure of becoming like his father, of becoming agbala. That is why this quote was like a motto to him. He feared doing anything that would make him look weak or anything like his father. That is why he killed Ikemefuna who was like a son to him. He killed him because he was afraid of looking weak to all the men that were there. In Okonkwo’s mind the only way to not be agbala was to never show anything but strength. He ruled his home with an iron fist, he worked all day and made sure that his family didn’t slack off. If they did they would get constant nagging and a beating, especially Nwoye, his eldest son.

In conclusion, I don’t agree with the quote because I believe that showing love and affection is a sign of strength and courage because there are millions of possibilities of getting hurt because of that affection and love. This quote is important in the book Things Fall Apart because it describes the way people lived/thought in Umuofia, Nigeria. The main character Okonkwo was afraid of losing the titles he held and becoming like his father so he never showed anything other than strength and he used this quote as a kind of motto.

Pre-Reading: Things Fall Apart

3. Many people are afraid of change.  Discuss a time when change was destructive, and discuss a time when change was beneficial.  Why are people so afraid of change?

Many people are afraid of change. Why? Because they don’t know what to expect. I, personally am not afraid of change. Though I do get nervous, but I am not afraid of change.  Sometimes change can be a bad thing, for example moving across the country. This would be a bad thing because not just because you are leaving all your family and friends behind but also because you leaving everything familiar and entering uncharted territory. But something good could come out of that. You could find better opportunities, like going to a better school/college or a better job. I believe something good always comes out of change.  Most people are afraid of change because they don’t know what’s going to happen and can’t prepare for it. It could also be that they are afraid because they can’t always control when or how things will change.

There are times when change can be beneficial, for example when slavery was abolished in the mid to late 1860’s. This was beneficial to all the African Americans who were held against their will as slaves. It took years for things to change and even after slavery was abolished that didn’t stop people from being racist. There are also times when change can be destructive. For example when Hitler/the Nazi’s took over Germany. They committed mass genocide, so many people died. So many women and children died. So many kids left without out parents, so many parents whose kids were killed.

In conclusion change can both be beneficial and destructive, but good things can also come out of the bad. When the Nazi’s controlled Germany they committed mass genocide, but they also helped the country become more prosperous, Germany came out of the depression it was in under the control of Hitler. That doesn’t make up for the millions of people killed during the Holocaust nor does it excuse or make any of it better, but it does show that even in the most dire of situations a little bit of good/improvement can happen.