Author Archives: Iliane Soriano

An Actual Brave New World

Posted on by
Reply

I chose to watch the 1980 film of Brave New World and what a difference it was from the film we watched in class. This film definitely fulfilled my expectations. The film truly showcased everything about the book. The same way I imagined A Brave New World being was the way it was portrayed in the film. All the different social classes looked just as expected from the clothing to the acting in the film. The appearance of everyone in the books was also just as I thought them to be. Bernard was really funny looking and ugly. One of the things I liked the most about the film was the way it begun. It seemed to have started out from the beginning of everything.

Unlike in the book the film showed us how Mond and Thomas got to the positions they were in. We also were shown how Linda ended up in the reservations and how she wasn’t even looked for as she was just assumed to be dead. A similarity between the book and the film of the values of the World State as they didn’t care to look for Linda because the stability of the World State was more important. This was all shown throughout the beginning of the film. In the film it was actually shown that there was a mistake made and alcohol was placed in Bernard’s surrogate.

Mond was made aware of this mistake yet he chose to let Bernard be decanted as he himself would watch him and use him as an experiment. This is another one of the similarities between the book and the film. Even though we weren’t told in the book that Mond was aware of the mistake in Bernard’s surrogate the similarity isn’t between what happened but the values of the World State. Mond chooses to keep Bernard to study him all for the sake of the World State. Like in the book were everything is done for the sake of the World State.

This film was almost similar to the T with the book no pun intended. Fordship was valued highly and every time two people would converse it would end with the sign of the T being drawn in the air. John and Bernard were definitely the main characters in both the film and the book. The troubles Bernard had growing up were also shown in the film. They showed us how Bernard didn’t want to play find the zipper with the other kids. He was brought to the head of the DHCs office and was put in a chair. When he was asked if he wanted to play and he would respond no he would be given some kind of shock. Till he finally agree to play with the kids after being shocked twice. Showing us another one of the values of the World State similar to the ones in the book of control.

Helmholtz also played a big role in the film as he did in the book. He was considered different from everyone else just as Bernard was. He held the same relationship he had with Bernard and John in the book. He was essential to help show how John believed in poetry and in the writings of Shakespeare just as he did in the book. As well as he was close to Bernard before he became popular.

John being brought back from the reservations was also the same as the book. John loving Lenina was also evident. One of the parts from the book that was omitted was the part John hit Lenina when she tried to sleep with him. Towards the end of the film John did choose to go off alone and live for himself. The words used in the film were almost identical to everything said in the book. John did hang himself but he did not strike everyone including Lenina as in the book. Everyone rioted and they were calmed down with soma vapors. John looked for Lenina and he kissed her saying goodbye to her and then proceeded to hang himself. The book did end with John commuting suicide just as the book did. Showing us all the values of the World State and what John truly believed in just as in the book. I enjoyed this version of the film better than the 1998 version of the film.

P.S. This was a bit hard to write as I kept thinking of more and more things to add to it.

The Others

Posted on by
Reply

In a dystopian world like in We where the individual is sacrificed and technology seems to be the control of everything there will always be others who are willing to fight to bring down this world. I-330 doesn’t abide by the rules of the One State and constantly breaks them. She wants to bring down this dystopia and create a new world. Throughout the book she goes from breaking rules to trying to convince D-503 that he too should help her bring down the One State. I-330s rebellion and actions make it clear to us that she is an “other”. We see her do all she can to stop the One State.

Claim 1
I-330 chooses to play the music she wants to play as an individual and everyone laughs at her including D-503.
“Then she sat down and began to play. Something savage, spasmodic, variegated, like their whole life at that time-not a trace of rational mechanical method. And, of course, all of those around me were right, they all laughed. Except for a few…but why was it that I, too…I?” (Zamyatin Pg 17)

Claim 2
I-330 claims that D-503 is now in her hands.
“But now you are in my hands. You remember-‘Every number who has failed to report to the Office of the Guardians within forty-eight hours, is considered…” (Zamyatin Pg 53)

Claim 3
I-330 will not speak and refuses to say anything about their plan to bring down the One State.
“Then she was pulled out, quickly restored with the aid of electrodes, and placed once more under the Bell. This was repeated three times-and still she did not say a word” (Zamyatin Pg 232)

D-503 a murderer?

Posted on by
Reply

One of the most surprising events to me was D-503s lust to kill. He wanted to kill and the thought of it made him act almost like a dog who salivates when he/she is about to be fed. He says “Crushing her skull with something-it gives me a strange sensation of something sickeningly sweet in the mouth……and my mouth is dry” (Zamyatin Pg 205). The event was still confusing to me I wasn’t sure exactly why he wanted to kill her. His intent to was definitely there but in the end he did not kill her. He also asks U if she named someone. I speculated that he was referring to I-330 but I’m not sure who he was referring too.

Throughout the final entries we see a lot of the devotion D-503 has towards I-330. As if the great profound feelings he has for her just allow him to do anything she asks of him. He says to I-330 “And for one foolish action-for what you did the other day during the walk-I love you still more, much more” (Zamyatin Pg 132). D-503 likes I-330 because of all her rebellion and differences yet at the beginning of the book that was the very thing that repelled him from her. D-503 seems to not be all about the One State anymore but more all about I-330.

We do see hesitation throughout the book from D-503. He seems unsure of whether or not to follow with I-330 but his love for her makes him continue to follow her. He does have a discussions it’s her where he disagrees with her about the revolution against the One State. He says to her “But I-330, you must understand-this was exactly what our forebears did during the Two Hundred Years War” (Zamyatin Pg 175). I-330 is trying to explain the revolution to D-503 but he seems to not understand it. As he also doesn’t understand the reason why there has to be a revolution. He believes in that the Two Hundred Years War was the last revolution and that there could be no others.

Sadly at the end of the book we see D-503 go through “The Operation” which caused him to forget his feelings and pretty much revert back to the D-503 we met at the beginning of the book. He confesses everything he knew to the Benefactor and all the plans that were made. We also learn that I-330 did not and would not say anything. They put her through the torturous gas chamber more then twice and she would not speak. D-503 also does not recall her and has no feelings toward what she is being out through. The last line of the book was a very interesting one. I felt like it gave the book a very dramatic effect. As it says “Because Reason shall prevail” (Zamyatin Pg 232). The way the word reason was capitalized in that sentence made me feel like it was capitalized for a reason. It wasn’t the beginning of the sentence so it was definitely done to give the word more emphasis.

Last but not least I definitely enjoyed reading Brave New World more than I did this book. I felt like the book really dragged as opposed to Brave New World. It was harder for me to want to read this book and actually do it.

Character’s D-503 and I-330

Posted on by
1

We’re introduced to We through diary entry posts made by the character D-503. After the first few entries it is quite noticeable that We is similar to Brave New World. We see similar values between the two “Long live the One State, long live the numbers, long live the Benefactor!” (Zamyatin 2). Through this quote we are able to see that what is valued in the One State are the numbers. Like in Brave New World we know that when people are seen as mere numbers individuality is something that doesn’t exist.

As we read more into the entries we get a closer look at the character D-503. Which in the beginning seems to abide by the One State values and agree with them. He seems to disagree with the values we the “ancestors” have today. He says “After all, no matter how limited their intelligence, they should have understood that such a way of life was truly mass murder” (Zamyatin 13). He definitely considers the way that we live life also something that kills us. Unlike in Brave New World the numbers within We are aware of their history. Like in Brave New World there is also a mention of Shakespeare. D-503 mentions it being fortunate that the ages in which Shakespeares existed are gone.

D-503 soon meets I-330 which take D-503 to the Ancient House. D-503s reaction to the Ancient house was very similar to that of Leninas when visiting the Savage Reservations. D-503 explains the encounter of an old wrinkly women and he says “It seemed incredible that she would still be able to speak” (Zamyatin 25). Like Lenina surprised that Linda looked the way she did the character D-503 was astonished at that this old woman could speak. On the other hand I-330 seems to be intrigued by the Ancient House. We then are able to see that the character I-330 can be considered an “other” just like Bernard in Brave New World.

After what occurs at the Ancient House D-503 seems inclined to report it to the Office of the Guardians. He fails to do this as wee see him get sick and actually have dreams after visiting the Ancient House. I-330 seems to be influencing D-503 to do things that go against the value of the One State. D-503 says “I was stealing my services from the One State, I was a thief, I saw myself under the Benefactor’s machine” (Zamyatin 73). D-503 feels as if he’s going against the values of the One State and that he is stealing from the One State. Yet he still continues on to do what he does.

After not seeing the character I-330 for a few days D-503 is feeling sick and they check him and say that he has developed a soul. The fix to this I believe is for him to be killed as they ask him “…would you consent to being preserved in alcohol?” (Zamyatin 90). They then say “Number D-503 is the Builder of the Integral, and I am sure it would interfere with…” (Zamyatin 90). Through this sentence we are able to tell that D-503 can’t be killed as he is the chief who is in charge of building the Integral which is considered a huge advance for society.

John’s Downfall

Posted on by
Reply

We start off the next few chapters with Jonh’s mother Linda dying. Throughout chapter 14 we witness a bit more of the differences between what is a norm for a savage and what is norm from someone from the World State.

We see John get extremely sad and frustrated with the fact that his mother is dying. In the text it states ” Undoing all their wholesome death-conditioning with to disgusting outcry-as though death were something terrible” (Huxley Pg.187). In the World State death is seen as something that is welcomed. While the savage sees it as something sad and this causes an effect on the children that are being conditioned to welcome death.

John’s mothers death has caused a big impact on him and we see this as in the following chapter he starts taking big risks. An example of this in the text is where it says ” But his mind was elsewhere-with death, with grief, and his remorse; mechanically, without consciousness of what he was doing” (Huxley Pg.189).

I feel as if his mother dying was the last straw for John. He then goes on to cause a huge commotion in public. The topic of freedom in the book comes back to play when John states he wants to free the people by throwing away soma. He says “Free, free!” (Huxley pg.193).

John was joined in this commotion by Helmholtz. We see that Bernard did think about joining his friends but didn’t want to suffer the consequences that came along with it. They were all taken to speak to the World Controller Mustapha Mond.

John has encountered someone who I feel he can finally actually have a intellectual conversation with. We see John mention God and Mond’s reply to that. John says ” But if you know about God, why don’t you tell them?” (Huxley pg.208). Mond goes on to say that God is old and that men change. They go on to talk about many different topics mainly revolving around religion, society, and being civilized.

At the end of this chapter we see Mond ask John ” you’re claiming the right to be unhappy” (Huxley Pg.215). He gives John the option to take everything that is considered being uncivilized and to live without everything that they have in the civilized world. John later says “I claim them all” (Huxley Pg.215). John has chosen to live away from this world.

The last chapter of A Brave New World shows us what John has come to and what his current living conditions are. John is fending for himself and has to provide himself with food. He also punishes himself the way they did at the Savage Reservations. He chooses to whip himself to the point that he bleeds.

People watch John as they fly over where he lives and they’re are reporters hiding trying to catch picture of how John is living so the rest of the world can see. At the end I know that everyone comes to enjoy watching John whip himself but then John sees Lenina and starts whipping her.

The last few pages in this chapter did confuse me a bit but what I do know is that John commits suicide and that everything he’s been through has brought him to his downfall.

Bernard’s Newfound Popularity

Posted on by
Reply

I couldn’t help but notice Bernard’s new popularity throughout these chapters. There were also new actions and a new attitude shown by Bernard. You might even say he has actually become like everyone else.

I definitely noticed his new attitude when he was boasting away to Helmholtz. In the text it states ” Helmholtz listened to his boasting a in a silence so gloomily disapproving that Bernard was offended” (Huxley Pg.145). We see that Helmholtz is disapproving Bernard’s actions. Why is he disapproving now when they were actually two very good friends in the beginning?

Then we see the path Bernard has started to take. He has become a popular man because of John “The Savage”. Everyone now sees Bernard as this greater because of the savage. He was being sought out by the most important people. As it also states in the text ” At the same time, he genuinely liked being a success and having all the girls he wanted” (Huxley Pg.145). This is definitely a change in Bernard’s attitude as we see he now enjoys being with more than one person.

People do say nothing lasts forever and it seemed that way for Bernard’s newfound popularity. Soon enough Bernard was going to be the same way he was before. You may call it normal but it would be different it would set him apart from everyone else. Bernard was so afraid to go back to his old ways he begged the savage to come out for his dinner.

Bernard says to the savage ” Won’t you come to please me?” (Huxley Pg. 158). Almost as if he gave himself an importance in the savages life. Maybe all the popularity was going to his head and he thought he would do this just to please him. John chooses not to go and everyone is left to think that Bernard is a joke. At the end of the dinner we see that Bernard takes a soma.

We see that Bernard starts going back to his old ways. He doesn’t get noticed by people anymore and no one sees him as this greater being for having brung the savage to the civilized world. He’s just Bernard again. Bernard goes back to Helmholtz to ask him for his friendship again after their disagreement. In the text it says ” Helmholtz gave it; and gave it without a reproach, without a comment, as though he had forgotten that there had ever been a quarrel” (Huxley Pg.164).

We also see in this chapter Bernard becoming jealous. He becomes jealous of the relation ship that is starting to form between Helmholtz and John. They both seem to really get along especially when it comes to writing. John tells Helmholtz parts of Shakespeare’s plays. This allows for Helmholtz to come up with ideas. Not exactly the one he wants to come up with but it’s helping.

Bernard was starting to take vengeance on Helmholtz and John because of their connection. He would interrupt them. As it states in the text ” In the course of their next two or three meetings he frequently repeated this little act of vengeance” (Huxley Pg.167). Interrupting them as they would speak saying things such as orgy porgy. This did annoy Helmholtz. To the point he threatened to kick him out. I wonder now what’s going to happen with their friendship.

Brave New World Chapters 6-9

Posted on by
Reply

I feel that even though these three chapters were short they shed a lot of light on everything. I’ll start with if you didn’t realize that Bernard was different from the previous chapters then you can really tell now. Bernard is a whole different person compared to other Alphas. We also find out Bernard’s occupation which is an Alpha-Plus Psychologist. We also realize the Lenina is kind of indecisive on whether she should go on this trip with Bernard. She ends up deciding based on the fact that it’ll be a week in the west. The book states “The prospect off lying West again, and for a whole week, was very inviting” (Huxley pg.87). We can also depict how different Bernard and Lenina are from there trip. They both like very different things. Lenina wants to go out where the crowd is and Bernard rather go on a walk with Lenina. Which shows us that Bernard isn’t much like everyone else who would rather go where the crowd goes. Lenina is definitely against Bernard’s thought as she says ” And how can you talk like that about not wanting to be a part of the social body” (Huxley pg.90).

In these chapters we also learn about a new person that the Director knew in the past. He has a talk with Bernard and tells him the story about a Beta-Minus girl that he went on a trip with to the savage reservation and how she got lost. The Director seemed to have an attachment to this girl he says “It upset me very much at the time. More than it ought to have done, I dare say” (Huxley pg.95). Bernard was also threatened by the Director to be moved to Iceland. As he sees Bernard’s behavior going against everything they have been taught. Soon we meet two new characters in the book John and Linda. Bernard and Lenina come across these characters in the savage reservations. John and Linda were different from everyone else in the savage reservations. It says “He had seen, for the first time in his life, the face of a girl whose cheeks were not the color of chocolate or dog skin” (Huxley pg.111). Clearly him and his mom where the only other two people who were this color and that is why they discriminated against him within the reservations as well. The woman Linda clearly did not belong as she says ” Just think of it: me, A beta-having a baby: put yourself in my place” (Huxley pg.113). We can then conclude after reading these chapters that the woman was the same person the Director was telling Bernard about. The woman who got lost on the trip. Now the character John is this woman’s son and she does not understand how she could have possibly had a child because she states that she followed all the drills. If this is her son then the only explanation to being the father of her child is the Director. That’s when I was like wow this story is getting crazy. In the last chapter we see that Bernard goes through all the trouble to bring the two characters back to the World State. He goes through Mustafa Mond to provide him with a pass to bring them back with him. I feel that Bernard will get into worse trouble with the Director after doing this. As he was already threatened with being moved.

Brave New World Blog

Posted on by
Reply

I believe that A Brave New World is about a dystopia. In which values are not the ones that you would probably think if us having today. They’re emphasized values are the ones that were assigned to them based on the class they belong too. Which ranges from Alpha-Delta. Everyone is taught their specific values and rules through Elementary Class Consciousness. The D.H.C. Says “They’ll have that repeated forty or fifty times more before they wake” (Huxley Pg.35). They are being taught through repition in their sleep and when the lesson is done this will go with them forever. I see happiness in this society being determined by the values you are taught as well. They are teaching them to think that whatever class they belong too is the best and that being in any other class would be worse. This is also taught through Eementary Class Consciousness.

Science and technology are advanced in A Brave New World. “The whole of a small factory staffed with the products of a single bokanovskified egg” (Huxley pg. 18). A single egg could produce 96 identical twins. These 96 twins coming from the same ovary and the same male. Which is truly beyond normal. They also use lifts and planes as well as helicopters to fly to places, there has been nothing about cars. In the text it is also mentioned that they use the drug soma. ” There is always soma, delicious soma, half a gramme for a half-holiday, a gramme for a week-end, two Grammies for a trip to the gorgeous East” (Huxley pg.62). They would take soma which would create some kind of happiness and escape from the world. My question is why would they need an escape from their world and are they unhappy? If so, why? When you think about drugs you think about people wanting to get away from the world they are living in and being unhappy with the life they live.

Another thing that caught my eye was the way they refer to women in the text. Henry Foster says “Oh, she’s a splendid girl. Wonderfully pneumatic. I’m surprised you haven’t had her” ( Huxley pg.49). It seems as women are seen to be sexually promiscuous. As if they’re just seen to be with any man that asks them. He also refers to her body figure like its the only thing she has to offer. In chapter 4 it also says ” She was a popular girl and at, one time or another, had spent a night with almost all of them” (Huxley pg.63). This would be something that in today’s day is most likely frowned upon when a woman sleeps around. In the book it seems to be something good and something which makes you popular which is also a good thing.

From pages 82-86 in the book I was completely lost and maybe I didn’t think it through thoroughly but I definitely didn’t know what was going on. I know they all took soma and it was something like a party and they were referring to someone coming but I had no idea what was going on. Another thing I noticed was that the women were required to take contraceptives. They were taught this from the ages of 12-17. ” Years of intensive hypnopaedia and, from twelve to seventeen” (Huxley pg.80). Even though Lenina was as drugged as she was she still remembered to take them because as stated in the text “It was almost as blinking”(Huxley pg 80).

My World?

Posted on by
1

In my ideal world everyone would be at the same economic level. There would be healthcare for everyone. Poverty would not exist. There would be and even amount of supply and demand. Nobody would want more then they already have. Everyone would have a home designed exactly the way the want it. They’d be able to choose where in the world they want to live. Anyone who commuted a crime would be sent to prison. They would never be let out and the death sentence would not exist. Happiness would exist everywhere and everyone would be polite. Everyone would greet each other and speak to each other kindly. Being rude would not exist in this world. Everyone would go to school and school would definitely be interactive.

The education system would involve taking kids on trips to workplaces as well as to museums and different countries. There would be levels to school and once children knew what they wanted to do they would choose. They wouldn’t have to spend years learning at a school to then start their career. They would be allowed to go to this workplace and have a mentor who teaches them everything. Everyone would get together with their family every week. They would plan events together and it would be wonderful.

A person in this world would die of old age. No one would be sick or have any deathly disease. No one would be able to smoke as smoking causes disease. The people would truthfully have a decision to everything. They would decide what, when, and where they did everything. What someone wanted to do at the end of the day would be their decision and money wouldn’t be an issue. The only thing that people wouldn’t be able to choose to do is something that would harm others. No one would be discriminated against. There would a penalty against anyone who discriminates or does anything to harm someone’s self esteem. Bullying in school would not exist.

Technology in this world would be advanced. Whether people wanted to use this technology was solely up to them. Technology would be a helpful device in this world but not essential. People in this world would be able to create whatever they felt the need for both artistically and mentally. One of the things that wouldn’t exist would be cars, they would be a thing of the past. People would need to walk everywhere to enjoy nature. Everyone would also be environmentalists. They would care about nature and the planet we live on.

Animals would play a big role in this world. They would live in a vast area where each of them would have a section. Everyone would help the animals and they would go visit them. There would be no animal abuse. People would be able to have as pets the animals we have now including some others. There would be no war everyone would live in peace. All countries and nations would help each other with anything they needed. I call this My World or is it?

The Machine Stops, Reading Post

Posted on by
Reply

I must say this was actually my favorite story so far. I think in part mostly because it’s something that you may even imagine happening to the world. We live in a world were technology is advancing quite rapidly every day. I compared the story a lot to our society today. The first part that caught my attention was “A faint blue light shot across it, darkening to purple, and presently she could see the image of her son,” (pg.1 Forster). This reminds me of the technology we have today in which we are allowed to FaceTime using our smartphones. We can speak to whoever we want to whenever using this technology which resembles the round plate Vashti uses in the story to communicate. Vashti would be considered the protagonist in this story.
In this story the machine is considered something that does everything for everyone. You have access to a whole bunch of buttons for almost everything you can possibly think of doing. In the story Vashtis son Kuno says “I believe that you pray to it when you are unhappy. Men made it do not forget that.” (Pg.2 Forster). Kuno believes his mom sees the machine as a god, someone she worships, and something that gives her happiness. As well as like in today’s world we have people that use their smartphones everyday and almost consider it their life. I compare it a little bit to religion where as some people consider the bible a holy book that they abide by and like in the story it says “By her side, on the little reading-desk, was a survival from the ages of litter — one book. This was the Book of the Machine.” (Pg.4 Forster). This book is considered something sacred in which Vashti believes in blindly. She considers this book the answer to all her questions. As some people would feel like with the bible.
I also compared the story to a book I’ve read in the past. It reminded me of The Giver when it said “Parents, duties of,” said the book of the Machine, ”cease at the moment of birth. P.422327483.” (Pg.6 Forster). It reminded of The Giver because it was a bit similar to the birth givers in the book. They were just there to give birth to the children so they never had to take any responsibility for the child because the child would be chosen a parent. One part I didn’t understand was in the story it says “When Vashti swerved away from the sunbeams with a cry, she behaved barbarically — she put out her hand to steady her.“How dare you!” exclaimed the passenger. “You forget yourself!” The woman was confused, and apologized for not having let her fall. People never touched one another. The custom had become obsolete, owing to the Machine.” (Pg 8-9 Forster). I wasn’t sure of who fell and who touched who. I know that no one is allowed to touch anybody but I was confused as to who the characters were.
I also didn’t understand to much of the end of the story. When the machine starts to end. In the story it says “They are hiding in the mist and the ferns until our civilization stops. To-day they are the Homeless — to-morrow—” “Oh, to-morrow — some fool will start the Machine again, to-morrow.” “Never,” said Kuno, “never. Humanity has learnt its lesson.” (Pg 25 Forster). What I didn’t get was are there currently people living on earth. Did someone shut the machine off because if it states the someone has to turn it on then I’m guessing someone has to turn it off. It also states that humanity has learnt it’s lesson but aren’t all of those humans dying and if they are then who’s left to know this lesson. It was confusing towards the end but overall a good read. I definitely enjoyed it.