BNW and 1984

I sure am glad that I do not live in Oceania or in Brave New World. In both places the government has complete control over its citizens. In 1984 the government has the people conditioned to be able change their thinking as the government's beliefs can change daily and in BNW the government mentally conditions its citizens to believe the laws of the government. In both places the citizens have a greater force they either look out for or look up to. In 1984 Big Brother watches the citizens and is a silent watchful eye making sure that they do what they are supposed to. In BNW Ford is their god they worship. The last similarity that I noticed was that both governments changed historical facts to help keep their governments looking respectable. In 1984 and BNW they would either destroy items or they would condition their people to be able to not believe what the historical artifacts said.

BNW vs. today's world

Although BNW and today's world may seem to be nothing alike, they do have a few similarities. In BNW they control the population of the world. Although they do not control when you die, the government decides if a person is born or kept within the bottle. China is an example of one place in the modern world in which they do practice poplulation control. The government in China limits the number of children each family can have, thereby controlling the number of citizens in China. Another similarity also has to do with how the people in BNW make humans. The Bokanovsky groups can be compared to today's housing developments. In BNW the Bokanovsky groups were used to mass produce humans that all looked exactly alike. The government would use the same genes to make several hundred people for one task. Housing developments serve the same purpose, a lot of houses built in the cheapest and fastest way possible. The last similarity was one that I quickly noticed in the book. In BNW people took soma to get away from their life and their problems. In today's world alcohol is a great comparison to soma. Alcohol is used by most when they want to get away from troubles that haunt them in their daily lives. They may use alcohol to be happy and find relief. The only differences between soma and alcohol is that soma has no side effects, while alcohol will leave the user hung over and feeling worse than ever. This similarites help bring the reader to see how BNW adapted from the world of today.

Lenina and John

Although Lenina (through hypnopaedia) and John (through the works of Shakespeare) were conditioned using different methods they both were affected in the same way. They both believe with all their heart and mind what they were told or read. The conditioning that they received helped to prepare them for the society that they lived in. Lenina was prepared to share the same beliefs as the rest of BNW; while John learned about feelings and love through Shakespeare.The seperate conditioning types gave Lenina and John the characteristics they needed to live in their society only. If either had been conditioned using the other's method they would have never fit into their own world.

The biggest difference between the conditioning of Lenina and John is that John's conditioning was voluntary. Lenina had no choice what she was conditioned to do, because the government controlled what she learned based on her social class. John chose to read the works of Shakespeare. Even though it was the only other book, besides a manual, he decided to read and get his morals from that book.

Lenina and John are unable to understand each other, because their conditioning has taught them to think differently about simple moral issues. One example is how they each feel about love, Lenina is conditioned to believe that "everyone belongs to everyone else" and that it is proper to engage in exotic play with others. John, through Shakespeare's works has grown up believe love is a sacred thing and sex should be held off until marriage. One modern day example of this inablility to get along is seen among the different religions or parts of the world. Just recently, a polygomist was taken in to custody. While he may believe that how he lived his life was proper and right, several other people believe that this is wrong. In BNW, Lenina and John try to get over their differences to love each other.

Brave New World

Connections between Brave New World and Utopia:
The connections between Brave New World and Utopia include wanting to make every one the same, though in BNW this similarity is by class. Both societies are about the good of the society. They do have some differences. In BNW marriage is illegal while in Utopia it was what was wanted. In BNW they wanted to keep different people away from each other and in Utopia everyone had to help each other.

What is good about BNW:
In BNW I like how they make everyone like what they are doing. The government wanted everyone to have a good like, even if it would really be boring to others. I thought that was a good idea for everyone.

One thing that troubles me:
The one thing that troubled me the most was how they condition the babies with electric shock. I could barely read this part of the book, and it almost made me sick to think about. This is a form of punishment and harsh conditioning. I wish they would come up with another way to condition their children.

Utopia Book Tres

This last part was really just more on the different parts to the Utopian lifestyle and customs. This part did not freak me out as much as the first, but I still realize that I would not want to live in a Utopian society.

• Slaves are either the poor or the criminals in the Utopian community.

Disagree: I still do not believe that they should of had slaves in their society. The poor should definitely not become slaves, just because they do not have money. Like the sick they should help their poor become better people.

• Help the sick however much they need help and if necessary kill them to end their suffering.

Disagree: I do not believe in killing others, even if it is to relieve their pain. You are still killing someone which is a power that God, not humans have. But, I do believe that they should help their sick people feel better and do what ever they can to help relieve their pain WITHOUT killing them.

• The marrying age for women is 18 and 22 for men.

Split decision: I do not like how they have a set age for marriage, because that is a decision I believe the couple should make. I like how this is an age when people have matured and do not rush into marriage as quickly as when they were younger. This becomes especially important in this society, because divorce is not allowed, so if you rush into a relationship you will be stuck with that person forever. Anyways, we have rules like this in the United States, you have to be a certain age or get consent from your parents.

• If you have premarital sex you can not get married.

Split decision: I do not agree with sex before marriage, but I do not believe that someone should be denied marriage because of a mistake they may have made when they were younger.

• Polygamy and divorce are not allowed (divorce can only happen if there is adultery).

Split decision: I do not agree with polygamy and believe it should not happen now. I disagree with divorce, but I know that in some cases the children and families would do better of if the parents were not together.

• Harsh crime= harsh punishment

Somewhat agree: I do not believe in slavery, but this seems to be like our common day jail. They must do labor for committing the awful crime they did. Instead of being killed, they must help society by providing their services to the city.

• Men chose their wives not based upon looks, but their obedience to him.

Disagree: Men should not be the ones choosing their spouse, it should be mutual. He should also not pick his wife by her obedience to him. This sickens me to think about this.

• People can worship who ever they want, not set religion.

Agree: I believe this is one of the great things about our country is that we are able to believe whatever we want to believe in.

• People should become married, unless religiously they can not.

Disagree: While I believe I will get married when I am older, I know several people who do not want to get married and settle down. This should be a personal decision.

• Children are made to help the country.

Disagree: Whoa, No. Children should be made from love, not just to be extra hands to help. This made me extremely mad and I strongly disagree with this.

• No sacrifices.

Agree: Sacrifices are just another form of killing.

This should become a read of anyone who ever says they want to live in a Utopian society.

Utopia- Book 2

Wow, this book was full of description. I actually felt as though I was on the island. It sometimes became hard to read this, just because he would spend a whole paragraph describing the size of the island. But the imagery was amazing. Anyways back to the second book. Here are the main descriptions of the island.

• The island was part of the continent. He had dug a tunnel so as to seperate his people from everyone else. To me this started to sound really creepy. It sounded like these people were part of an experiment and were being kept away so that they could be unable to be influenced by the rest of the people on the continent.

• All of the cities were exactly the same. Each of the cities on the island had to obey by the same rules. They were limited on the number in each family, the number of families in a city, and several other things in their lives. This reminded me, vividly, of a cult. There was one person who watched over the other families and made sure that everyone did what they were supposed to and tried to make the city a better place.

• They were to respect their elders and men. Within these cities men were the dominant sex, and women were inferior to them. I do not agree with this idea. Women can do as much as men can, and some instances they can do something better than men. Each person has something they are better at than others, and it has nothing to do with what sex they are. I do agree with giving your elders respect. I believe it is sad that older people are not more respected and valued as is the tradition in the Asian cultures.

• Everyone should have slaves. He had his soldiers work with the slaves so that they would not believe that they were slaves. I do not believe that they should have slaves, but I do understand that this was written in a time when slaves meant wealth and several people had them.

• There was no free time. It was against the rules to just sit and do nothing. Everything these people did was for the good of the family and city. (Once again it sounds like a cult.)

• Everyone had to share. In therory this sounds like a great idea, but in reality it could never work. Imagine having to switch houses, jobs, lives, every couple of years. There would be no sense of ownership. In our times this would be impossible, because people like "their" things.

• You will be either punished or rewarded. They believed that if you did things for others you would be rewarded from God. If you did wrong things then you would be rightfully punished. I agree with this thought.

Overall, the description of Utopia reminded me of a cult. It seems like it would work and be wonderful, but it ends up controlling your whole life and every decision you make. I would hate to live in a Utopia, because you loose lots of your freedom.

Utopia

During book 1 of Utopia, Thomas Moore describes some key points about the society that he lives in. After reading the first book, I found the following to be the main points about his society.

• A country should not have soldiers ready to go during a time of peace
• Stealing is unfairly punished
• The death penalty sentence is unjustly given out to unworthy convictions
• Killing people and deciding when they shall die is divine action
• The monarch is a sheepherder and should take care of his peoples' needs and not make them take care of his wishes
• Judges always rule in favor of the Prince

My reaction:

I do agree with the statement that a country should not have soldiers ready to go during a time a peace. If the country works in the sense that they are always ready for war then they will be willing to go into war without much hesitation. This part of the book reminded me some what of our Army National Guard, because although they do not fight unless the country really needs them they have to train one weekend a month. In a way they are our country's reserve of soldiers who are ready for action.

Stealing should be fairly punished. Back in those times a murderer and robber would both be put to death. While I believe that stealing is a serious offense, I do not believe that a robber should be put to death for it. If he dies then he will never be able to learn from his mistakes and have a second chance at life in the community. This reason is why I do agree that the death penalty needs to given out, if given out at all, to those who may deserve it and not for people who may be able to change their way of living.

I personally do not believe in the death penalty, because it goes against my religious beliefs. When you decide to take the life of someone, even if they have killed several other people, you are doing what you condemned in the first place. God is the only one who has the power to decide when a person will die.

The monarch is in charge of his people just as a president is in charge of the country he rules. Their duties include protect the people of the country and keeping them safe. Monarchs should not use the people under his rule to help fulfill his own wishes and desires. When a monarch does this the people of his country start to respect him less. When judges are supposed to always rule in favor of the prince this is an example of a monarch using his people to fulfill his desires. This is wrong and a judge should never be made to do this, or there is no reason for the government. A society like this one would be a society in which the people are living by someone else's wishes, the people of the country do not have a chance at a life they would like to make. This society reminded me of a rustic version of the soceity in which we live today.