Brave New World vs Oceania

Neil Postman makes a sound argument about the differences between Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World. It is true that Orwell “Feared that what we hate will ruin us,” while Huxley “Feared that what we love will ruin us” (Postman). Orwell’s society, Oceania, was extremely oppressive through violence and scare tactics; while Huxley’s Brave New World maintained control by creating a caste system and providing escape from fear and unhappiness. While there are examples in contemporary society that can relate to both fictional worlds, Huxley’s Brave New World is a more appropriate characterization of today.

The thought police of Oceania who would be able to gain knowledge of any idea that the residents had could be likened to the U.S. government’s ability to wire tap phones via the Patriot Act. However, wiring tapping is not as extreme as the thought police. We also do not have telescreens that can spy into our homes; however we do have security cameras and webcams that can allow us to see into the lives of others if they choose to let us. We do not have three minutes hate to direct all of our anger toward one subject so that we can remain civilized; feuds and displeasures come out everyday in newspapers; on TV; on the internet; and via word of mouth. Our media does try to manipulate us, but texts that are supposed to be truthful are typically not altered to the pleasure of the government. Members of the opposite sex are not separated and forbidden from engaging in sexual encounters like Winston and Julia; in fact, much of our culture is heavily influenced by sex. Sex is present in music videos, TV shows, commercials, and print ads. Half-nude models adorn shopping bags from Abercrombie and Fitch, and sexual references are made in countless songs that are played over the airwaves; much like how sex is ever present in Huxley’s Brave New World.

Huxley takes the casualness of sex to an extreme with kindergarten aged children playing sexual games on the playground; however he does present that sex plays a huge role in our lives. The technology of altering embryos is actually something being considered in today’s scientific world, not the intelligence level, but many genetic research projects relate to this. It is amazing that Huxley would dream of this, or have nightmares about it in 1932. The influence of soma, a drug that allows people to sleep away their problems and have a dream vacation from everyday life mirrors alcohol and substance abuse, without the unwanted side effects. Huxley is making a statement that we wish to evade our problems and fears, like when Lenina needs to sleep for 19 hours to survive the trip to the reservation. Soma allows the people to escape, and only enjoy the good things in their life. Even if someone is not an alcoholic or illicit drug user, there are still ways to escape; everyone has them. For some it may be music, reading, writing, sports, dancing, or any other hobby that allows us to escape from the rest of our lives. We do these tasks because they provide us pleasure or reward which provides pleasure. We do not do these things because it is our duty, and it is a fair assumption to say that many of us would be much less happy without our hobbies to release stress.

Why neither utopia is perfect, as none are, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley presents an idea that is much more relatable to today’s society. While 1984 does have some presence today, it would be much more applicable to a Cold War era society that feared the Communists and spies, much like the people of Oceania feared Big Brother, and in a society that as a whole is more conservative in public. In general, we do not use violence to make people obey society’s rules. Our society is influenced on a much larger scale by the media and actions of others. There is always a large group of people that want to fit in with the “in crowd” so they willingly comply, while a few choose to not conform.

Capital Punishment

Murder is presented to society everyday on the news and in the newspaper, but there are very few instances where justice is served. While capital punishment is legal in some states currently and for federal offenses, it is rarely used over life imprisonment. From the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 up to December 2008, 1,136 executions have occurred while 3,308 inmates remain on Death Row; according to America.gov. Nearly 17,000 murders occurred in 2007 alone. (Disastercenter.com) Capital Punishment should be carried out for convicted murderers.

Some may feel that issuing capital punishment only places others on the same level as the convicted; as George Orwell states in A Hanging, “I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man. When I saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide.” Why is the same sentiment often not considered for the victim? The murderer did not consider what was being taken away from the world when he took his victim’s life; so it does not seem fair that he garners more consideration and a second chance.

Capital Punishment may seem inhumane, but the processes used, electric chair, gas, injection, firing squad, and hanging, are more humane than numerous ways a person could kill another person. All of the processes are designed to be as efficient as possible so that the murderer feels as little as possible. Nearly all of the states that do use capital punishment use lethal injection; which is the most efficient and humane method. If only the victims had received consideration in their final moments, or got to choose how they wanted to die, as some convicts do in certain states.

Giving convicted murderers multiple year sentences spanning to multiple life sentences in prison is a mistake. There are some convicted murderers that receive parole for good behavior or are acquitted. How can any amount of good behavior in prison make up for taking a person’s life? Life is supposed to be sacred and valued. Murderers do not value lives that they take. They do not deserve to have their own valued. Putting a murderer back on the streets is endangering the lives of others. There is no way to prove that someone has changed, and with an issue as important as life, no chances should be taken.

Imprisonment may seem like a good alternative to capital punishment because the convicted has to live with guilt everyday, for the rest of their lives, but very few people actually want to die. As long as the convicted is living, they have hope that something might change for them. Numerous people are afraid of death because no one is certain about what is after death; it all depends on personal beliefs. Allowing a murderer to obtain any hope or possible pleasure they may still have in prison, whether it is as simple as reading a book, is unfair to the victims who can have nothing.

Not only is imprisonment unfair to the victims, it is extremely costly. Imprisoned people can not work to support themselves, so their lives are paid for by the government; meaning you and I are supporting them with our taxes. It costs approximately 22,650 dollars to house one inmate per year according to the federal government. If capital punishment is not considered because of justice, it should be considered because of economical reasons. The money spent to support these individuals that have been so detrimental to society could be used to better infrastructure, social programs, or a number of other causes.

Capital Punishment is the most efficient and fair solution to dealing with convicted murderers. Assuming that our justice system has afforded someone a fair trial, they deserve no further consideration. Any consideration given to a murderer is more than they gave to any of their victims or their victim’s family. Justice should be served in the capital punishment.

NY Sports Rant

Differing from the theme of this blog, I am going to rant about sports.

Just when the Knicks were finally starting to show a little bit of heart….Just when they were actually winning a few games, second in the Atlantic, one of the biggest trades in recent Knicks’ history takes place. Trading Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford, and Mardy Collins was a great decision by Donnie Walsh! I liked Randolph and Crawford, but both had large contracts, and this move will put the Knicks under the salary cap limit for the first time in my life. It will be tough to watch games at times because the team lost a lot by trading their top two scorers and top rebounder; however they will be in a good position in 2010- with or without Lebron James.

….

The Stephon Marbury situation is just RIDICULOUS! He is so talented, but he wastes every single ounce of talent in his body. Lenny Wilkens, Larry Brown, Isiah Thomas, and Mike D’Antoni are not perfect, especially Isiah Thomas, but they did not get to be hall of famers in the NBA or overseas for by knowing nothing about basketball. Stephon Marbury, you were the common denominator in every one of these battles. You need to realize that you have issues and stop acting like a spoiled child. I wish I could get paid 21 million dollars to do nothing. Think about that.

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I am itching for some Mets news this off season. They really have not done much yet; except pick up Delgado’s option for 2009. I am hoping that extend an offer to Oliver Perez. He was one of their most consistent starters. He has great “stuff”. He is a big game pitcher; just look at his games against the Yankees or in the 2006 post season. Perez had inconsistencies in the past, but finally seems to have gotten it together in New York. The starting rotation in 2008 was one of the best things the Mets had. Having a rotation of Santana, Maine, Perez, and Pelfrey would be strong. The Mets would just need a serviceable 5th starter to replace Pedro.

I would like to see the Mets trade Luis Castillo for an outfielder or relief pitcher. He is not good anymore, he is constantly hurt, and his contract is huge, so it might be difficult, but Castillo is not going to help the Mets in 2009. Murphy at second base hitting second in the lineup would be good as long as Murphy can play a decent defensive second base. He is a very patient hitter, and he is a cheap option for second that would give the team more money to spend on the bullpen.

The bullpen is awful. Get rid of it. Please. First they need a closer. K-Rod is the best closer on the market, but he is going to be expensive. He would be a good fit for the Mets, but they should be careful about how long of a contract they give him. The velocity on his fastball has dropped, and his motion to the mound gives me nightmares of a career-ending injury to come. He falls so far off the mound that he practically lands on his knees. He has to be putting considerably more stress on his elbow and shoulder than most pitchers in order to generate that type of momentum. Omar should go get K-Rod, but he might want to buy some extra insurance on that elbow because it would be awful to have to pay to closers that are not even able to pitch.

The Mets also need a left fielder that can hit. It does not have to be a long term solution because Fernando Martinez will hopefully be in Citi Field at some point in 2009, but he has to be able to hit. The lineup was not that good after Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Delgado.

I can not wait to go to Citi Field, or as it was called in the Times Herald Record today, Citi/ Taxpayers’ Field. Citi Group could make up a small portion of their losses if they were not buying naming rights for the new stadium.

LETS GO METS!

Do People Really Change?

I agree with Tim O’Brien that very little changes about a person from birth to death other than superficial attributes and physical things. Much of who we are as people is formed from early childhood lessons that stick with us forever. Physical things may change. Opinions may change. Friends may change, but a person’s values and key characteristics, what defines us, do not.

As a small child, I always wanted to keep up with my older sister. My Mom told me how I used to get out of my play area to follow my sister when she would leave the room because I wanted to play with her. I was fairly stubborn and determined then, and I still am today.

My parents taught me to be honest and work hard. They used to have to make me do my homework and do chores to earn my allowance. Now, I do all my school work on own and work for things that I want. Work is my addiction. I always take on a lot of responsibilities and commitments, and it does not appear that the status quo will be changing soon.

While my situation may not provide the most credibility because I have only lived seventeen years, a look at my grandfather’s life provides a much more convincing argument. My grandfather grew up on a farm and bought it from his parents. He grew up working hard every day and was taught not to waste anything. Even in his later life, after he sold the farm and took a job in industry, he still lived fairly simply an acted the same way. There were few occasions where he would buy frivolous items or take a day off, even when he could.

Someone can change their physical appearance, find new interests or friends, or even change an opinion, but they never truly change their basic values; as O’Brien writes, “But the essence remains the same,” (236). Values and characteristics that all people gain early in life become foundations for everything life presents. These characteristics and values become twisted into so many aspects of life that that to escape them is a near-impossible feat. Values are like the footings of a building; even after the building has been torn down, the evidence of where it stood still remains.

"Why I Write" by Frank McCourt

Angela’s Ashes was a way of purging the emotions I carried inside myself for the first nineteen years of my life. The memoir was not about making money; I lived most of my life without money so it is not a necessity now. I wrote because I needed to tell other people that poverty is real. We really did live in a shack infested with fleas that would flood during the winter. When I wrote that we had nothing to eat, we really were starving. The babies really would cry because they had nothing but sugar water. We only had the clothing on our backs and broken shoes. The smell from the lavatory was real. The sickness was real, and it affected us greatly.

I write because of my sister and brothers who died due to our poverty. I did not fully understand what had happened then, but I know it hurt me inside. It was painful to watch my brother as he waited for Ollie to come home. Knowing Margaret died was worse because Mulachy and I were jealous of her. Everyone paid so much attention to Margaret; my father even stopped drinking then. It was worse after she died because then Mam got so upset and we had to move to Ireland where most of our family hated us. I needed to let those bottled emotions out.

I write because of the mistakes my father made. I love the father that would tell me stories of Cucchulain. The father that would come home drunk and singing was even tolerable at first, but after years of his habit, it was too much. He drank the baby’s money, and Mam sent me to pull him out of the pub. No father should make his son have to drag him home from the pub and then leave his family. However, when my father left I was able to work and bring home wages that he never did. Walking home with a few shillings in my pocket gave me a sense of pride that I never dreamed of experiencing and best of all, working enabled me to come back to America.

Being in America has allowed me to escape the poverty and sins I committed; now I can let everything go. I can write everything out on paper and put it aside so that I can try to move on with a different part of my life. I write so that other people will know that the suffering they hear about is real, and I hope they will be thankful for their good situations or find hope if they are suffering. Writing is a process that allows me to look back at my life and analyze what has happened to me. Through writing I can look at what happened in my past and understand it with a sense that I did not have when I was nineteen years old. I did not understand everything that happened to me in New York and Ireland, but I can reflect back on it through writing and fill in the missing pieces. Completing Angela’s Ashes was like finishing the puzzle of my life, and now I can set the puzzle aside and be at peace. I write so that I can heal.

Angela's Ashes

“Through our sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us as night.” Oscar Wilde

This quote from Oscar Wilde relates extremely well to Angela’s Ashes because poverty, sin, and misery are more than just a state of being or an emotion for the McCourts. Wilde represents the same sentiment in the quote above by personifying poverty, sin, and misery. Wilde also says that poverty, sin, and misery are connected, and they are for the McCourts as well.

The McCourts always fall back into the clutches of Poverty, and being in a state of poverty affects so many parts of their lives. For example: they have to live in a rat and flea-infested home that floods and connects to a lavatory for an entire street, The children become sick and die, and their family dislikes them. The problems that affect the McCourts mount and lead to other problems because money affects so much in the world. It is appropriate that Wilde personifies poverty because poverty touches so many aspects of life; like a person is more than just their appearance.

Wilde writes, “Poverty with her hungry eyes and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her,” indicating that the two are connected. The same is true for the McCourts; such as when Frank steals lemonade and a box of food.

“There’s a van pulling away from South’s pub leaving crates of beer and lemonade outside and there isn’t a soul on the street. In a second I have two bottles of lemonade up under my jersey and I saunter away trying to look innocent” (McCourt 236).

Frank knows that stealing the lemonade is wrong, but he is so desperate to feed his family. Frank feels extra pressure to help because he is the oldest and his father is not home. While it is wrong to steal, he is not able to see any other way because he does not have any money. Not only does the poverty affect the physical things in the lives of the McCourts, but it affects the mental aspects of life. Sin followed Poverty close behind.

The line in Wilde’s quotation, “Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us at night,” makes the poverty situation described in the quote come full-circle. Once again, misery and shame are personified showing that they can have many different layers and levels. The actions of Misery and Shame show that the emotions stay with the people every day; life is a constant struggle for the McCourts. For example, Frank explains his family’s shame when they do not have food while Mr. McCourt is in England:

“At times like this Mam tells us to stay inside. We have noting but bread and tea and she doesn’t want the tormenting neighbors to see us with our tongues hanging out, suffering over the lovely smells floating up and down the lane,” (218).

This quote shows that the McCourts are desperate, but they do not want to be seen in that state in order to protect what dignity they have left. The McCourts wake up every morning to little, if anything, to eat, their horrible apartment, and the problems of life. The problems do not go away in the course of the day; the problems are waiting every night as well.

Why the Name Schell?

The last name Schell is fitting for many of the characters in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close for various reasons.

Lets start with Oskar. Oskar is clearly struggling with depression following the tragic death of his father. Oskar does not fit in well with other kids his age; for example, the interactions between Jimmy Snyder and himself backstage during the production of Hamlet. Oskar’s knowledge of information that is not typical for his age group, combined with his inventing, both indications of a possible mental disorder, separate him from children his age. Oskar even references zipping himself into a sleeping bag, as if it were a cocoon. While Oskar has lost some of his innocence as a result of the tragedy, he attempts to comfort himself by ignoring the truth as much as possible. Oskar carries a tambourine with him as he visits the Blacks. The tambourine is comforting and shows how Oskar tries to remain as innocent as possible. Oskar also tries to protect his mother by hiding the messages that his father left on the answering machine. In this sense, he is bringing others into his shell for protection.

In a different sense, Schell is a fitting and significant name because Oskar’s journey to all the Blacks because Oskar is breaking out of his shell. Oskar is going out of his comfort zone trying to find information about his father. This is a large task for Oskar because in the back of his mind he knows that the information he receives can finalize his father’s death which he has been attempting to hide from.

The name Schell is also significant in discussing Oskar’s mother. Like Oskar, she hides the fact that she received a phone call from her husband to protect Oskar. She also could have been protecting herself by ignoring the fact that she received the phone call, Oskar’s mother is not making her husband’s death final.

Schell is a fitting name for Oskar’s grandparents as well. Both people have a lot of bottled emotion that they keep from one another. Oskar’s grandmother knows that Thomas truly was in love with Anna; yet she continues a relationship with him for many years hoping that he will love her, when she is really hiding from the truth. Thomas has trouble expressing his emotions towards his son; for example, all the unsent letters he wrote to him. All the bottled emotion Thomas has could be considered a shell that he unable to break through.