Good and Evil

Good and evil in Hamlet is represented by two different parts. The characters themselves are either good or evil. Duncan is good and harmed wrongfully, Macbeth will be the crime-doer and evil. Although we are only a few scenes into the first act, it is suggested that many people who appear good and acts that appear noble will ultimately reveal their sinister bases. We also see that perhaps good and evil can exist side-by-side. As Macbeth will make this transition, he will probably be plagued by the choices he makes and the evil he commits. He starts off good and ends up evil. As the main character, Macbeth is the perfect example of the battle between good and evil.

BNW Comparison Essay; Brave New World vs. Fahrenheit 451: Curiosity Killed the Cat

The ability to fit into a society without a hitch is not a talent that many possess. Strict moral codes and rules of conduct are often characteristics of dystopias. These restrictions can chafe and irritate people, which in turn makes them question the source of their irritation. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury both feature main characters who were ostracized because of their curiosity and determination to change society. The change from an ordinary citizen to a not-so-typical person is one that influences the course of the novel by changing the main character.

John, no last name, is the well-read protagonist of Brave New World. Raised on a Native American reservation, he holds a strange mix of ideas.  Worshipping both God, in the Christian sense, and other gods, such as Pookang, from various cultures, he is able to balance many ideas without conflict. Since he was young, John has been exposed to a multicultural society. This background was strengthened when he was exposed to Shakespeare, a writer who influenced him dramatically.

His home life was never great. A drunk for a mother and no friends to speak of, you can safely say that he was alone from the beginning. Unfortunately for John, his fair skin color, blue eyes, and worthless whorish mother set him apart from the first society he was placed in. John’s curiosity guided his education. With the literature he found a friend and a teacher wrapped into one.

John, or Mr. Savage to the second dystopian civilization he ended up in, was unique in the second society he visited. The place where he was raised was considered strange, barbaric, and yet funny by the brainwashed citizens of the second society. This place believed that too much knowledge was bad, and everyone would be happier if they only knew, and were exposed to, that individuality was a bad thing. This had been engrained by their culture since they were in test-tubes as babies.

This fear of individuality led to dread at the prospect of one person causing change or going against the grain. John challenged the ideas by telling people different ways to think about a subject. For example, he chose to talk about Shakespeare’s thoughts on nobility. This contrasts directly with the society’s idea the promiscuous behavior was the best course of action. He ended up paying dearly for his opposition. The people drove him into despair because they didn’t want to fix themselves or change according to his beliefs. Harshly crushing his hope for an alteration in that culture, he hanged himself, ending the novel with no hope for possible transformation of the society.

Guy Montag is the main character and protagonist of Fahrenheit 451. He led a fairly normal life with a wife, house, and job, until meeting a girls who makes him question the life he has been leading. This story also features literature as an important aspect, a guiding and character-changing force. Inquiries about the past and statements about why life is the way it is pepper their conversations. They get on the topic of books, which she encourages him to read. This goes contrary to what Montag does for a living, which is burning any books found in his city. As he starts to question, the people around him grow more distant and hostile. Guy forces his wife, Mildred, and her friends to listen to a poem. Done in an attempt to open their eyes to literature, this backfires and none of the women even care or listen, let alone comprehend. His wife turns him into the police for possession of books and his boss investigates him. He looses everything and it makes him realize that anything worth this much trouble is extraordinary.

In the end he escapes from the controlling society to a type of literary commune. All the people live together and each has a book memorized in case the opportunity arises for them to reintroduce the idea of history, books, and education back into their original society.

The two protagonists have very different backgrounds, but are united in the fact that questions refashions their lives and novels. The strength of the characters is shown by their attempt to change their society and lives. Guy shows other characters a poem and tries to talk to them about it. John tries to throw out a pill that brings so much satisfaction that it prevents them from wanting anything else.

The protagonist is the character the book follows. If the main character alters his or her ideas or actions, this will lead to a change in the plot of the book. A very common force that creates change is curiosity, which leads to questions. Questions are a base for discomfort, if one does not know the answer.

BNW Summary/Response

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley can be classified into three broad parts: the exposition with the inciting event, rising action coupled with the climax, and the falling action with the resolution.

The first part consists of the author introducing us to a futuristic society. This dystopia’s thinking is backward compared to our society. Birth, family, and uniqueness are considered hindrances and even disgusting. People are put into castes before birth. Some are choked with alcohol to stunt their growth, all are forced to listen to messages filled with government messages. They are brainwashed in their sleep from before birth. No one is actually born anymore, they are all test tube babies. This is all over seen by World Controllers, one of which is Mustapha Mond who controls Western Europe.

We meet Lenina Crowne, a normal Alpha woman, who is promiscuous, blonde, and brainless. Another main character, Bernard Marx, is also introduced to us. He has been an outcast in their society because of his physical appearance and his anti-social tendencies. Although he is ostracized, Lenina believes him to be a good person and accepts his offer of a weekend on a mysterious savage reservation.

The second part starts off with the inciting event. The savage reservation is a Native American reservation. Lenina and Bernard meet John on the reservation after witnessing a brutal ceremony. Remarkably John and his mother Linda are both white, despite living on a savage reservation. Bernard connects two and two then sees how this middle-aged lady was the woman his egotistical boss left here many years ago. Bernard makes arrangements with Mustapha Mond and they travel back to London with Linda and John in tow.

The handsome young white-savage made a splash on the London social scene. Lenina and Bernard find themselves popular through association. She is interested in the savage, and he in her, but John subscribes to the old ways of Shakespeare and nobility. Lenina is put off by his reluctance to even touch her or look to closely. Meanwhile, Bernard is becoming an arrogant jerk with the attention showered upon him for knowing the savage. He ignores and belittles his only real friend, Helmholtz Watson. Watson is a fellow outcast because of his intelligence and extreme good looks. His personal wish is to write something meaningful; Watson feels that the stories, movies, and brainwashing phrases he composes are silly and not worth it.

The climax is a dramatic scene in which John, with his history of no brainwashing, tries to get rid of soma, a drug which causes feelings of euphoria and encourages mindlessness. He is aided by Helmholtz Watson while Bernard stands around being a coward. The riot they cause is soon subdued by the police and Mustapha assigns them their punishments.

The last third of the book entails John running away from civilization to live as a hermit. He is discovered by reporters and bugged until John can’t take it anymore and breaks down, whipping Lenina and going crazy. The resolution is that he decides he cannot live with his actions and hangs himself from the rafters of the lighthouse.

My favorite scene was the celebration right before John met Lenina and Bernard. The snakes and the ceremony are very interesting because it is a subtle mockery of both cultures ceremonies. The least enjoyable part in the book was any part featuring Lenina as a focus. I did not enjoy Lenina because she was whiny, stupid, and very thoroughly brainwashed. Both Bernard and John were obsessed with her at one point. Although physically pretty, she has no intelligence or creativity worth mentioning.

Overall this book is good for people who understand what an allusion is and how to identify it, but are not quite able to recognize indirect references. There are a ton of easy allusions to pick up on, perfect for someone not quite ready to pick up on the more difficult literary elements. The themes are also easy to identify and are strongly represented throughout the story. An example of this is the idea that a question causes disruption, as illustrated by John questioning the laws put forth by the World Controllers. Repeated ideas allow for readers to pick up on them and explore those concepts, with backing from the story. I would recommend this book to average students around the 10^th or 9^th grade level in English.

BNW Journal Ch. 18

Ch. 18

Summary:

            Helmholtz and Marx say goodbye to John and go to their island. Before they leave, Bernard apologizes to John; they make amends. and that is the last of them we see. John swears to both of them he will not be used as an experiment any longer. He planed to run away and be a hermit.

            The place he chose to live was a lighthouse, with comfortable furnishings and a marvelous view. To punish himself for choosing the best one he would voluntarily crucify himself by holding his arms out and pray for hours on his knees. The reason for all the dramatics is he feels he is not worthy to be in the sight of god and escape the filth civilization had brought upon his soul. This lighthouse was near a small village named Puttenham, some woods, and the beach.

            John planned to live off the land with only basic start-ups such as seeds, blankets, rope, and nails. He would garden and hunt to sustain himself. As he was making a bow to use in hunting, he realized that he was happily singing. This was unacceptable and not what he had become a hermit for.

            The same day three Delta Minuses saw John whipping himself for some sort of punishment. They told a reporter who was intrigued and went to interview John.

After asking John a few questions, which he did not answer, the reporter was literally kicked away from John’s new home. More reporters came, but after a couple bouts of violence, they stayed away for a while. A reporter named Bonaparte staked out the lighthouse for seventy-two hours placing cameras and microphones all around to capture a moment of the Savage’s day. He was rewarded when the Savage whipped himself.

            Hundreds of people came to view him, egging him to whip himself. “We want the whip!” they chanted.

            In the midst of this John saw Lenina stepping out off a helicopter and his fury boiled to the top. The audience wanted the whip and they got it. He whipped Lenina, himself and started chanting/throwing out words. Soon the audience mimed whipping themselves as well because they were trained to go along with everything the group did. Then someone shouted orgy-porgy and it became just that.

            The next day when John woke up he realized just what had transpired the day before and was ashamed. He hung himself because he saw it to be a fitting punishment.

Lit Elements:

            The strongest metaphor and symbol in this chapter was the very last paragraph of the book. It compares John’s hanging body to compass needles. This is a metaphor for obvious reasons, but it holds a lot of meaning symbolically. Compasses are used to locate something, John was looking for a way to exist in such a cruel world. The existence had to allow him to feel adequate in life. It reinforces the outcast idea; he was forced to wander away from his home and never found a place. Even in his original home he was considered strange and did not really have friends.

Vocabulary:

Coccyx –noun- a small, triangular bone at the base of the spinal column in humans (tail bone)

Panglandular - help

Turpitude -noun- depravity

BNW Journal Ch. 17

Ch. 17

Summary:

            In this chapter Mond and John argue about the need for pain and religion. Religion, Mond argues, is not necessary because there is no need to be freed.  Freedom is hate, anger, sadness, and the ability to truly feel and experience a range of emotions, instead of happiness. John wants this because he wants the difference; he believes this makes life interesting. Mond argues there is no need for interesting because comfort is worth more than interesting events. Neither of them really get anywhere in their arguing or come to a compromise about life and the best thing for people.

This chapter focuses on what is needed for stability.  John argues the self can create a stable, but interesting life. Mond says that outside influences are completely in control of wants, likes, and morals. We are able to better understand both men through their arguments and opinions.

Lit. Elements:

            On page 231 Mustapha mentions a number of philosophers and various allusions. The one that stuck out to me was Maine de Biran. He was a French philosopher of the, late, 1700s and 1800s. His opinions and theories developed over the course of his life. Ideas drawn from the French revolution and other world events influenced his works. However, for most of his life he believed that the self and our own personal thoughts were the most important. Mond mentions his name in trying to refute John. This makes sense because John’s ideas are similar to some of de Biran’s.

Vocabulary:

Adrenals –noun- a pair of ductless glands situated above the kidneys

BNW Journal Ch. 16

Ch. 16

Summary:

            This chapter focuses on what Bernard and Watson’s fates will be after consorting with John. Mustapha tells them how he was once a type of revolutionary. A scientist who wanted to continue his studies, but was apprehended by the authorities for going too far in science/being too smart. He was given the choice or either being a World Controller or being exiled to an island. Mond chose to be a Controller, but hints he is not completely satisfied because he works for others and is not fulfilling what he wants to do.

            He tells both Bernard and Watson that they will be going to an island with other great thinkers. After Bernard has a breakdown and is lead away to be sedated, Mond even gives Watson a choice as to what type of place he wishes to go. Helmholtz replies that he thinks a rough weather place would be his choice because it would inspire him. We get the feeling Mond likes Watson because he is not mean and even opens up to him to an extent.

            After this chapter, all the main/important characters, minus John and Lenina, fates are tied up. Loose ends are being woven in and the story is closing. However, I get the feeling there needs to be some sort of final act because John is so full of character, energy, and uniqueness, a quiet ending would not make sense structurally.

Lit. Elements:

            On page 222 a gyroscope is used in a metaphor as a symbol. The gyroscope is a wheel or disk mounted on something so that it can spin. The gyroscope is representing the idea that we need a base to be able to perform the impossible. SO therefore, all events and ideas are inspired or based on something else. No matter how free or unique something might appear to be, it is truly rooted or connected with another thing. This idea is repeated by Mond because he is saying how stability is needed for progress. Stability allows progress to happen, but safely.

Vocabulary:

Chary -adj- cautious; wary

Gyroscope -n- a device consisting of a wheel or disk mounted so that it can spin rapidly about an axis that is itself free to alter in direction

Abject -adj- extremely bad, degrading, unpleasant

BNW Journal Ch. 15

Ch. 15

Summary:

            The soma distribution lab is where John ends up after wandering out of the ward where Linda died. In shock and unable to process much, all he sees are two faces. The Deltas are women with orange hair and freckles or men with dark hair and eyes. He shoves through them mindlessly and there is a great grumbling. However, they quickly forget about the Savage when the soma comes out. They line up to get their daily rations when bam the Savage interrupts.

            John has been thinking about how evil soma is, using addiction to force compliance and weakness. He goes to the front of the line and announces his thoughts on soma and how he was going to save them by throwing it away. This makes the Deltas angry. Meanwhile, the distributer was phoning someone to deal with the savage.

            Bernard and Helmholtz were waiting for John, to go to dinner, when they received a call. The unknown person on the other end informed them of John’s “crazy” behavior. They arrive at the distribution center and find John ranting maniacally about manhood and freedom. He throws soma tablets out the window and that is when things turned ugly.

            Among the Deltas a large roar went up and the crowd surged angrily forward. It is now a melee, with John punching angry Deltas and throwing soma out the window. Helmholtz, before standing in the back with Bernard, laughs and joins John. Back to back they fight the furious Deltas who are now more like animals than humans.

            Bernard is still on the fringes and cannot decide whether or not to join the two on stage. He is not brave and fears the consequences, but feels like a coward for standing back. When the police arrive, he ran over to them saying, “Help, oh help!”, and generally being a nuisance.

            The men in blue spray the crowd with soma vapor and play a message of love and happiness. Pretty soon, everyone is hugging, saying sorry, and leaving peacefully. The police ask John and Helmholtz to come quietly and catch Bernard trying to weasel away from the scene.

            The fight scene in this chapter was the climax of the book. In the end we see how Helmholtz is more revolutionary than Bernard, not something I expected at the beginning.

Lit Elements:

            The biggest symbol of the chapter was, once again, based on the similarity. This time the author describes them as animal, unintelligent and vicious. All of the faces were reflecting the same idea. The reflection symbolizes the unity of opinions in this dystopia. This idea of unity is visible throughout the book, as unity often means strength, and the society is strong.

Vocabulary:

Dolychocephalic –adj- long headed

Vestibule –noun- an antechamber, hall, or lobby next to the outer door of a building

Derision –noun- contemptuous ridicule or mockery