The novel “Ishmael An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit” by Daniel Quinn explores the problems of society, culture, and the world. Humans are thriving in the world currently: we have developed language, mastered fire, and have dominion over agriculture. But while doing this humans have caused many massive problems, and are continuing to do so. Humans have great power over the world but do not fully understand the consequences. If we do not stop destroying the earth and environment, then humans will not survive.
Alex Csikasz Ms. Marshall ENG1D1-04 6 March 2017 The Chrysalids - A World Of Fear The people of Sealand may think higher of themselves, but are as judgmental and subjective as the People of Waknuk just in a different way. The fictional story “The Chrysalids” written by John Wyndham illustrates how one single mind can have the freedom to think for itself, even in an oppressed, tension run society such as Waknuk. The society of Sealand provides an example of what we can earn if we overcome our egocentric and intolerant personalities and unite ourselves instead of judge and hurt each other.
Dystopian Fiction-Novel Presentation Task This task will give the class an overview of a range of dystopian texts. Choose one text from the list below or elsewhere and create a multi media presentation about it looking at the following questions: Time length: 2- 3 minutes 1. Who is the author and what was happening historically and culturally at the time to influence the text?
An important thing for those observing Huxley’s work to keep in mind is the intentions of the World State. The idea of a utopia, ideally without pain or conflict, can be quite tempting and it can be noted that the intentions may be far from what results from the wishful thinking of idealism. In this book, the readers visualize what sacrificial decline of principles might entail. Do the ends justify the means?
Every person has something to contribute to society, regardless of age, sex or culture. The measurement of a person’s worth is determined by more than simply following rules and going through the motions. Accordingly, the combined contribution to society is more than the sum of each person. However, in The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham, the people of Waknuk live a life governed by strict social norms, which limits their expression of individuality. This pervasive attitude results in a narrow-minded perspective on what it means to be human.
Societies are built to be a safe, welcoming and an accepting environment, but sometimes end up to be harsh, cruel and irrational places. In John Wyndham’s novel, The Chrysalids, we are introduced to a world we can never imagine being, yet we live in a world that is actually not very different. David Strorm lives in post-apocalyptic world as a telepathic who is regarded as a mutant and goes on a tough journey with his cousin Rosalind to escape from their non-accepting community. The Waknuk society is indeed very similar to our world considering that today’s society also fears things they do not know about, do not always accept differences and has major issues with dealing with sexism. By comparing Waknuk to our world, the similarities
In the Brave New World, a book written by Aldous Huxley,, he writes about a utopian future where humans are genetically created and pharmaceutically anthesized. Huxley introduces three ideals which become the world's state motto. The motto that is driven into their dystopian society is “Community, Identity and Stability.” These are qualities that are set to structure the Brave New World. Yet, happen to contradict themselves throughout the story.
In Aldous Huxley’s dystopia of Brave New World, he clarifies how the government and advances in technology can easily control a society. The World State is a prime example of how societal advancements can be misused for the sake of control and pacification of individuals. Control is a main theme in Brave New World since it capitalizes on the idea of falsified happiness. Mollification strengthens Huxley’s satirical views on the needs for social order and stability. In the first line of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, we are taught the three pillars on which the novels world is allegedly built upon, “Community, Identity, Stability" (Huxley 7).
This teaches that the accountability of people with power did not change between the seventh century and the fourteenth century, thus showing that abuse of power was and is a very common issue throughout the century. Love is another theme that is recurrent in this EN 231 class. It begins when we read of Gilgamesh and his friendship with Enkidu. Gilgamesh is converted from an arrogant king, into a profound leader after Enkidu reminds him of his mortality. Enkidu is also molded from a savage man into a civilized character.
Cole and Ortega’s The Thinking Past is a book that covers the history of humans and civilization. The authors cover the transition of humans from a hunter-gatherer life into a sedentary life, forming the civilizations we know today. This transition can be witnessed through the character, Enkidu, in The Epic of Gilgamesh. Enkidu—a glorified forager—is created by the gods to keep the King of Uruk, Gilgamesh, in check.
Child Soldiers are recruited when government groups that fight either in wars, and are forced into fighting with adults. Leaders who encourage Child Soldiers are once children who were brainwashed, manipulated, and encouraged to fight. For example, Dominic Ongwen who was abducted into the LRA, had been changed into a new life. He has made horrible actions which lead him into Court after being encouraged for other Child Soldiers to be abducted. Child Soldiers should not be recruited because of the terrifying scenes that take place during wars.
For an utopian society to exist, there needs to be a merging of conformity and individualism in the society. Pure individualism or pure conformity in a society leads to a lopsided and corrupted society; they need to exist in synchrony. In Merry Mount, the people follow an ideology of complete freedom of thought and of individualism. The Puritan’s society shows what happens when everyone conforms and no one expresses their individual beliefs. When the ideologies of conformity and individualism merge it combines into a greater society as a whole, better than either of the individual half’s.
With community and identity, stability is supposed to be achieved, but the novel makes you question if stability is an actual thing that can happen in society. In Brave New World, many things are done to ensure stability, three of them being the tyranny of happiness, drugging the population, and the mass production of children. With these three factors, it is eerie how close Aldous Huxley came to predicting the impact of these in the future of society. First of all, the world state is obsessed with making people “happy”. They want everyone in society to be happy to ensure social stability.
These societies have developed inventions and ideas that have significantly affected today’s world such as, government, art, wheels mathematics, and many more (Garone). The cultures and themes from the story are displayed all across the text, and after studying Gilgamesh’s culture and story, it is evident that there are numerous cultural contribution to modern day society, such as gods, seeking revenge or love, and destroying enemies. More importantly, throughout the text, Gilgamesh was in a predicament trying to figure out the meaning of life and the value of human accomplishment (Mark). The culture of mankind has always been to seek the meaning of life, no matter the time period, religion, or community. From the times of Gilgamesh to
Carr intentionally begins by expressing compelling arguments against what he maintains are misguided and ultimately damaging fundamentals of Utopian thinking so as to convince the reader of a Realist stance. Carr, in my opinion is successful in this regard. Carr critiques Utopianism for opting to ignore how the world really is. A prime example of this is the belief that public opinion can be relied on to judge rightly, that man upholds a moral code that is inherently good, and therefore public opinion is good. To claim that every man will possess a moral code identical to one another is a quintessential demonstration of Utopian’s lack of understanding of reality.
