Maus II

Sorry if this is confusing =(....

Well I honestly can say I have not read the whole book but I have an idea of what the book is about. I enjoy how the author uses animal characters as metaphors for the racial and political conflicts of Germany and Poland. It allows one to endure the motive of the book to have multiple themes and meanings. It can be read with a purpose for the future, personal relationship or account of the Holocaust, and as a story in which the tensions between family members are relative to the public world. The second volume of Maus II moves from Auschwitz to Catskills. It is ultimately obtains a tragic significance and comic by turns; it made an effort by obtaining a complex theme and an accurate thought new to comics and not common in any distant from the ends or extremes. The book, overall, ties together two interesting and impacting stories: the unbearable pain of the survival against all odds and the author’s opinion of his tortured relationship of his aging father. Although I am not quite sure what a good theme would be yet, I have some ideas that I might put forth throughout my essay which include talking about family conflict, irony, guilt, racism, etc. The family conflict could be shown through Art and Vladek or Vladek and Mala. Guilt can be shown when Art survived and his brother did not, about not treating his father as well as he should of, how he treated his mother when she turned to him for reassurance and love before she committed suicide, etc. Irony is such as Vladek dominates everyone just as the Germans dominate him or how the success of Maus makes Art feel guilty.

Google =)

Sooo…I completely agree with Carr’s opinion on how humans turn to the internet or Google as a shortcut for his or her brain to have to not work as much. I found myself being guilty of this act when I clicked Carr’s article and realized it was about thirty paragraphs long. I thought to myself, “Wow, do I really have to read all of this…or should I just skim it?” When I look back on it, the article was, in reality not that elongated. My mind is so used to creating shortcuts to reading and finding out answers to certain details that it actually lessons my knowledge in my reading and learning ability.

It stated in the article how people used to read through books after books to find out information needed; it inhibits a person’s time management, but, on a positive note, the individual actually obtains new knowledge from it. Now, since the internet is almost like a supply closet where we can search and choose information to read in a click, we block ourselves from important information we could have obtained if we actually motivated ourselves to take more time to process and actually read more about it.

He states how we are “artificial intelligence” and we are “mere decoders of information”. I could not agree more. When we allow ourselves to function in a way that is pulling our brain away from higher, more independent knowledge, we are losing our mere, overall, independence. Also, when we depend on typing in a word to find loads of meanings of it on the internet, instead of taking time of reading something to obtain it; we can be prone to acts of brainwash. The internet source is not always correct, and people seem to always rely on it. It is ultimately degrading. We are allowing ourselves to lesson our knowledge when we depend on the internet.

Postmodernism extinct??

Okay…so basically this Postmodernism jibberish seems to come up every day in AP Lit. Even in every book we read it somehow compares to Postmodernism, so it seems interesting now we watch and read something that is departing from this act.

In the movie it gives everyone a sense of how rapid populations are expanding, more technologies are being brought out every year, new jobs are being invented, etc. The video is basically saying that we are being prepared for things we have yet known to exist. Such an example is when it states, “The top ten demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004.” That is insane! In a six year span ten jobs that had not ever pass a human thought became the top ten most common jobs! Just imagine that with the demanding use of technology now…that can double or even triple the amount of jobs we think our possible in the present. Is it possible ever to exceed jobs? The economy right now is struggling to even find jobs, will we even have enough to pay people to employ? Is it possible to create an overload of job opportunities and fail because of money? Sorry got a little off topic =)…but as it went on it states at the end of the video that 67 U.S. babies were born, 274 babies were born in China, and 395 babies were born in India. That is 736 people…not including all the other countries around that world!!! Our world’s population is expanding to the extreme.

In the featured article we read it comments how we extinct the act of Postmodernism in a way such as, “In pseudo-modernism one phones, clicks, presses, surfs, chooses, moves, downloads.” Instead of relying on reading and watching things to become brainwashed into certain information, we are actually apart of the changing situation occurring in day to day life. It becomes dependent on technology instead of naturalistic things. Our world used to be able to communicate and live on without technology, but now a days people cannot live a day without it. I read an article that in 1979 2000 customers were given cell phones in a trial and in 1987 they were officially given out. Look how much a cell phone has grown since then! We can even take pictures, videos, listen to music on them, and the list goes on! What else can possible be produced? What can you guys think the world will produce next? Nothing crosses my mind, but I guarantee you once we try this new technology we will rely on it and say we need to depend on it.

I hope that made sense. I rambled alot but I think I got my point across!

Cat's Cradle =)

I absolutely love Cat’s Cradle so far but in comparing it to Postmodernism I am going to have some difficulty because I don’t quite comprehend Postmodernism’s ideas.

Some ideas from Postmodernism that I understood contained similar aspects in Cat’s Cradle. When talking about the religion, Bokononism, I can see how it is relative to a kind of Postmodernist religion. The first line it the Bokonon book stated, “All of the true things that I am to tell you are shameless lies.” Here we can see Bogonot’s opinion on religion. People are in search for something they can actually believe and seems real. The religion, overall, covers the horrific and terrifying truths presented in society, but are hidden to cover these truths with lies that satisfy individuals. They do not question the religion, just blindly follow it. In Postmodernism it simply states that a person believes what they desire to. It is to strive for what makes someone feel good without any negatives. One chooses bits and pieces of varieties of religions or beliefs and takes different approvals into consideration. People believe they understand things in his or her perspective, although, in reality they come to not understand it when they run into something they have never seen or heard of before. They have not looked beyond the normal; only have been kept inside his or her mindset. Furthermore, "Truth was the enemy of the people, because the truth was so terrible, so Bokonon made it his business to provide the people with better and better lies." This expresses the ideas I mentioned previously in the paragraph. The book promotes lies to engage the reader to believe such things to make his or her happiness content. This is bluntly related to Postmodernism in a way because in society when a group of individuals all agree in believing in something, it creates a chain reaction because it seems normal in that environment.

Okay..that was one of my ideas. I do not know if that made any sense but yeah. Have a good day =)

Essay Ideas for BNW....(my initials) =)

Hello there =) I enjoy the opportunity of being capable to bring up a variety of thesis’ my thoughts may acquire. It allows the overall writing of the essay not to be as limitative and permits more personal statements than what it would be on if it was a given topic.

Brave New World is an outrageously interesting book filled with ideas that are extremely out of the ordinary. The characters and lifestyles in the novel in comparison to the society in the reality of our present society, is ultimately out of the normal. How can imperfect humans decide the survival of the fittest? Instead of naturalistic ways of the world, people control the future of not only society, but the minds and activities of peoples’ lifestyles. Its crazy insane!!! I guess one topic in bringing up that statement would be, “How do the people in the novel come up with what will make a bigger impact in society and assist their hatchery?” I mean how are we supposed to know what will make the future better? Technology changes as year’s progress; therefore, since humans, in a way, assist in their technology, do they change throughout the years too? It makes me ponder…I know the society is based off progression and power, but how do they know what power will cause progression?

Also, some other ideas that were brought up in the discussion in class were how it was relative to 1984. I found a lot of similarities in such way as if the majority of people in society believe something; it has a major impact on your beliefs. This meaning that one can easily contradict his or her beliefs with the brainwashing acts of society. Individuals in both novels do not have a choice to live an individualistic and free-willed lifestyle. In addition, I could compare Bernard’s and Winston’s characteristics of how they were in opposition of the normal society.

In addition, I think that in bringing up symbolism in key parts of the novel in the easy would be genius in explaining the main point to a reader. Also mentioned in our class circle was the “Model T Ford” I think? The T being replaced by the cross is a major symbol, in my opinion. Instead of worshipping Christ, the society seems to rely upon and worship the morals of Ford.

Well I could go on for days but yeah. I hope I did this correctly. Bye Bye =)

Brave New World/Postmodernism Prompt =)

Myths and narratives serve as an ethical importance to a present society. It permits individuals to determine his or her beliefs without being told if it is true or not. A myth can ultimately be taken in as true or false by a person’s discourse, which in being said, can be passed on from generation to generation. Although, there is a difference between a myth and a true fact, a myth explains how a fact has come to be. This action can be contradicted because evidence is limited and is told in stories or wording. Also, narrative shapes the early stages of moral development. This action is not taken upon in Brave New World.

Myths and narratives are abolished in the society presented in the novel. Instead of designating moral development, the act of brain washing and technological use is in power. Natural and cultural (also can be stated as myths or narratives) ways are ignored and destroyed, such as when a simple scene in the novel states, "Till at last the child's mind is these suggestions, and the sum of the suggestions is the child's mind. And not the child's mind only. The adult's mind too-all his life long. The mind that judges and desire and decides-made up of these suggestions. But all these suggestions are our suggestions... Suggestions from the State." Instead of a mind growing up by moral standards and cultural/naturalistic ways, the brain is forced to act upon a certain way by technology and imperfect human beings. Choices are demolished, while demands are forced and unquestionable. These characteristics extinguish hearts’ desires and logical thinking. Although the novel has one grand narrative, in which being that the people can only follow certain criterias and actions to be labeled as correct and okay in society. This leads to ultimate repression.

Cultures allow stories to be brought upon in society. This is brought upon ultimately by the narratives and myths. Cultures were brought upon by narratives and myths in the beginning because technology was of no use back in the days. It was of great importance to share “thought that were assumed to be facts” to be spread from generation to generation. In one culture of today such as Christianity, it is a choice to follow it as a “fact or myth.” An individual is allowed to take the Bible as a reference or just a book (story). In Brave New World, culture beliefs are overall shattered. Cultures cannot allow stories to be brought upon because people are forced upon into functioning his or her mind in ways society desires them, instead of by nature. This rids of new ideas, facts, and knowledge to be stored because stories read cannot be relative in a normal way, but in a controlling one.

Brave New World =)

Brave New World obtains an outrageous and preposterous society, one that I disagree with ultimately. The government not just controls the way society is to be lived, just as in 1984, but how someone is to be born and brought upon earth.

In reading the novel, individualism is abolished and overall extinct. Technologies control reproduction through medical machines, instead of by human nature. In doing this, a machine can create any time of human being they desire, in addition, to being identical to even ninety-six people. This is beyond insanity. The world was brought upon by nature, not by humanity. Humans did not create the earth, so this should give them no reason to create individuals and mess with the selection of humans to produce. Each person is supposed to be produced by a man and a woman who is not exactly like anyone who has ever been in existence, thus, both producing a baby that is unique and has ceased to exist before. Without this action, uniqueness and distinctiveness in comparison to another human being can be brought upon as similar or exact in nature.

The illogical nature of the novel is exotic in the way it is being explained. As the director explains how infants are to be taught certain criteria’s for a planned future he comments how people should be formed and taught in a way by hypnopaedia instead or moral education in stating, “Moral education, which ought never, in any circumstances, to be rational.” This is immoral. Building up knowledge is an act of learning which is apart of being an individual. Without the act of learning experiences, one cannot enhance his or her self in life. In being controlled just as a robot, one is limited in knowledge and can only act upon certain situations.

Although I disagree with what is written in the book, I am looking forward to see what else is to be read. It states about reproduction through the chapters, but I am aware that it goes into deeper meaning than just that. It involves “technology control, consumer society, and the incompatibility of happiness and truth.”

Basis of Our Country

In discussing the article in class, it is quite obvious all of our beliefs and opinions were revealed. I observed the verbal aggressiveness as individuals spoke, facial expressions of concerns or agreement, or just a rather simple nod or shake of the head determined whether we concurred or were against the statement spoken. I have ultimately concluded that no matter how much we share in common or how each one of us find an opinion outrageously preposterous, we ultimately will never see eye to eye the views of someone else in understanding him or her completely. This defines what we learned in class; a discourse. In that being said, my opinion about the topic was determined completely by only my discourse.I have been raised as a Christian child my entire life, so my beliefs are brought upon differently by others. This is the basis of my perspective on ideas classmates stated in class. Although I understood the opinions stated in class, each person had an individual opinion within his or her self, let alone by his or her discourse. I, myself, do not mind Christianity being permanently put into history books and being stated as “an overall force for good.” This is because I have been raised to live for God, completely. The American nation was founded upon Biblical principles basic to Christianity and to Judaism which it flowed. The basis of the Bill of Rights is influenced from chapters of the Bible in Exodus, Saint Matthew, and Isaiah. If we did not have a moral background, our country could have ended up as a Totalitarian government, such as in 1984. Totalitarianism bands individuals’ rights for anyone except the state. In that being said, without the assistance of Christianity would our Bill of Rights still be the same? Would we be allowed the same freedom laws as we obtain now? If it were not for the Bible, would our Bill of Rights be the same? In this reason, we should give at least some acknowledgment towards the Christian faith in putting it into the text books. Yes there are plenty of religions that could be put into text books: Muslims, Jews, Naturists, Atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Unitarians, etc., but the morals of those religions were not put into the Bill of Rights. Although, our society is not set in stone to be a Christian nation, our society was based upon the morals and beliefs of that faith. Why on American coins do they state “In God we trust”? That is because it is crediting the Christian faith, but is not forcing people to be apart of the religion, which brings us back to the Bill of Rights. All in all, Christianity should be put into school text books because it assisted our country to the outcome of all our freedoms of today.