The Invisible Cat and Cradle

                Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Cat’s Cradle follows as post modernist theme in a number of ways.  Before we elaborate as to how Vonnegut constructs the novel as a post modernism novel, let us first address what post modernism actually is.  Post modernism was a reaction to the modernism movement.  It rejected the modernism movement.  This rejection was evident in many areas such as literature, architecture, cinema, and so forth and so on.  Modernism was centered around standardization and uniformity and regarded democracy as sin.  Post modernism, on the other hand, was overwhelmingly democratic in nature.  It rejected the idea that though had to be controlled and universal.  It rejected that there was a set meaning in anything.  Cat’s Cradle has a strong undertone of post modernism.

                One of the strongest areas in which Cat’s Cradle relates post modernism is in chapters 74-79.  In these chapters one of the main focuses is Newt’s painting and the reactions to it by Newt Hoenikker himself, Julian Castle, Angela Hoenikker, and the narrator.  The painting is described by the narrator when he first arrives at Frank Hoenikker’s home.  “Newt’s painting was small and black and warty.  It consisted of scratches made in a black, gummy impasto.  The scratches formed a sort of spider’s web, and I wonder if they might not be the sticky nets of human futility hung up on a moonless night to dry.”  The painting is very abstract, as an art form it is very different than the modernist box buildings.  What’s more, it follows the post modernistic characteristic in that it has no real set meaning.  Each person sees it differently.  As stated in the above quote, the narrator sees it as a symbol of the “sticky nets of hum futility.”  Newt, however, sees it as a representation of the absence of a cat or a cradle in the string game called cat’s cradle, but rather just a succession of x’s.  Angela sees it as a simply ugly mess and Castle sees it as a representation of hell and throws it off the terrace, calling it “Garbage-like everything else.”

                This is but one example of how Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Cat’s Cradle contains a post modernist theme.  There is evidence of this theme all over the novel.  This example speaks very loudly to me.  I really liked the symbolic meaning of Newt’s painting.

Pretend Pleasure

                Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, relates the tale of a utopian society in which everyone is supposed to be happy, but when we read the novel, none of us can imagine being happy if they were in these shoes.  Or, that’s at least how I feel.  When I write about this novel I want to discuss how despite that everyone on the planet wants to live in a perfect world where there is no unhappiness, that being a utopian society, and constantly implores the government to achieve universal happiness, we don’t actually want that because we would end up in a society like that in Brave New World in which the happiness is artificial. 

            Of course I will have outside sources to back this up.  The two on the class forum that I have found that really speak to me are the Naomi Klein piece and the Frederick Winslow Taylor piece.  I’m attracted to the Taylor piece because I feel like I can use it to prove the point that when we move towards a “better” society such as in this piece and in Brave New World the focuses get warped to something that, from my perspective, is far from the happiness that people actually want.  For example, consider this quote from Taylor’s piece.  “It is no single element, but rather this whole combination, that constitutes scientific management, which may be summarized as:
Science, not rule of thumb. Harmony, not discord. Cooperation, not individualism. Maximum output, in place of restricted output. The development of each man to his greatest efficiency and prosperity.”  This of course sounds very similar to many passages within the novel itself, most especially the last sentence in which man’s “greatest efficiency and prosperity” is discussed.  People are looking for true happiness.  They want to live life.  Living life is not about efficiency, it’s about savoring the small stuff.  This is where I believe utopian societies like the one in the novel are backwards.  I would like to use the Klein piece because unlike the Taylor piece it doesn’t praise the process of moving towards an efficient society, but rather condemns it.  From this author’s perspective this move towards universal happiness robs people of freedom.  This is a prevalent theme throughout the novel itself.

                Thus, I believe that these two articles will help me analyze the novel and present my view that utopian societies are the result of foolish and unrealistic desires for no unhappiness in the world.

Education Factories

                The video posted on Mr. Dominguez’s blog (D, by the way is super cool :D)draws many parallels with regards to education with Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World.  I was actually really amazed by the similarities between the two.  What’s more I actually agree with most of the things said in the videos.  As we move forward in life the education system we currently have becomes increasingly outdated and alienates more of the world’s children. 

                First of all, I was amazed by the comment made in the video about how today’s education system is very similar to the workings within in a factory.  Split into groups based on age, “batches” of children are bussed into schools that operate according to a bell schedule and split into specific pieces, also known as subjects.  What’s more education, according to the video, is resulting in losing its subjects by splitting students into two main groups, those who succeed and those who do not, and by assigning ‘grades.’

                In Brave New World, children are produced, much like supposed intelligence and individuals are produced in school, in “hatcheries”.  Within these hatcheries, the children are put on an assembly line, for Henry Ford, whom they worship, created this noble device.  Just like there are desks in which each student is confined to at school where they develop, in the novel there are “racks upon racks of numbered test tubes” in which the children develop.  What’s more each learning process in the novel is separate, just as subjects are in school.  There’s a room for birthing, a room for establishing a fear of books and flowers, and there’s a room for erotic play, and so forth and so on.  Furthermore, the people are split into groups during the “pregnancy” based on how dumb or successful they are supposed to be.  These groups are Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons.  These groups are similar to grades.  There are even pluses and minuses within each grade.

                All in all, there are so many similarities between the views of education and the happenings within the novel Brave New World.  It is made very obvious how detrimental these practices are to society, regardless of the good intentions that may be attached.

               

Assembly LIne for Embryos

                Chapter 3 of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley paints an apt picture of the morals and values in this society.  Let’s begin by considering the quote from the text, “Wheels must turn steadily, but cannot turn untended. There must be men to tend them, men as sturdy as the wheels upon their axles, sane men, and obedient men, stable in contentment."  This quote is super meaty, so there are so many places you can go with it.  Plus, the book itself is meaty.

                This quote, which is said by Mond, who is the Resident Controller of Western Europe, has a great deal of significance with regards to why the society is run the way is it.  The society itself can be compared to a machine through this metaphorical quote.  The wheels are the way the society operates.  Thus, when the quote says, “wheels must turn steadily”, it is comparable to saying, and “society must operate steadily.”  The quote goes on to say that these wheels cannot turn untended.  What this means is that society needs a government and people to make sure it operates steadily.  The remainder of the quote, “There must be men to tend them, men as sturdy as the wheels upon their axles, sane men, obedient men, stable in contentment” goes on to reveal the purpose behind the mass production of human beings as is told of in Chapter 1-4.   According to this society’s mind set, in order for them to be successful and productive they need to have massive amounts of men who are strong, not necessarily physically, but in terms of their usefulness.  These men need to be sane, obedient, and always content.  This will allow them to work more efficiently, which is the purpose of this society: to run as efficiently as Henry Ford’s Model T production assembly technique.

                Through the chapter’s skipping of point of view, you gain a very good sense of how the value system works on different personal levels in the society.  For example, in efforts to make sure that people serve the government to the best of their abilities, they eliminate emotions, such as those between a parent and child.  With regards to monogamy, the view point of society is ever so clear with the case of Lenina.  Her friends scolds her for going out with Henry again.  She goes so far as to say, “ ‘It’s such horribly bad form to go on and on like this with one man.”  Current society is a proponent of monogamy; however, if this quote is taken seriously, then she has said anything. 

                What’s more, impulse, feelings and desires are also frowned upon.  According to Mond, they there outrageous and led only to government failure.  For, once again, the money is crucial to the security’s success.

DIscussions of Post-Colonialism Within The Tempest

I wasn’t here on Friday, so I’m very unsure how to do this, but here is my best shot.  If it’s wrong then I’m deeply sorry. 

In discussions of The Tempest, by Shakespeare, one controversial issue has been the appearance of post-colonialism within the text. On the one hand, critic George Will argues that it is unfortunate that all literary works, such as The Tempest, are subject to the liberal victimization of all minorities.   On the other hand, Stephen Greenblatt, a critic who directly challenges Will, contends that it is the very purpose of literature to highlight such injustices so that society can become increasingly aware.  He argues that if literary criticism is checked as Will would like then it will enslave people in unawareness outside their own life. Others, such as Aime Cesaire’s in his parody of The Tempest, which is also called the The Tempest, maintain the same views as Greenblatt, by portraying Prospero as a disgusting slave driver under which both Ariel and Caliban stuggle.  However, my own view is a blend between those of Will and Greenblatt/Cesaire.

In discussions of The Tempest, the traditional view is to condemn Prospero for his conquering and enslaving of the island and all of its inhabitants.  However, there may be other ways to think about this text. For one thing, I believe that Shakespeare is portraying post-colonialism, which explains the events throughout the play. The existence of traditional European post-colonialism is clear afterall.  I; however, am not convinced that Shakespeare is portraying this to necessarily condemn the Europeans.  Rather, I believe that he is portraying it more as a way to show that it happened.  And Greenblatt also contends that literature’s purpose is reveal things about the past, whether they be injustices or triumphs. Therefore, taking these positions into account, we can see that, while The Tempest does expose European post-colonialism that does not mean by any circumstance that they do so out of criticism.  It may have been done merely to tell a story.

Battle of the Critics

                Like many of my peers, I found the literary debate a little difficult to follow at times.  I do; however, believe I got the gist of the positions expressed by both George Will and Stephen Greenblatt.  The debate between the two men concerns Ronald Reagan’s appointment of Carol Iannone to the NEH Board and what it means with regards to literary criticism.

                Will is very much in favor of Iannone’s appointment.  He says that her appointment will help restore balance in the literary world so that literary criticism will be tamed slightly and not reflect the liberal political agenda as much.  Will states that , “All literature is, whether writes are conscious of it or not, political.”  He goes on to highlight several social issues that come out politically in literature, such as feminism/sexism and colonialism.   Iannone is quoted to say that “the eruption of politics in literature….have become instruments of racial, ethinic, and social reparations for Western Civilization’s sins.”  He declares that literary criticism, which dares to speak for the author, is bad and robs the reader.  In short, Will declares that  Iannone should be put on the NEH board despite the board’s disapproval of the action because it would balance out the politics involved in literature.

                On the other hand, Greenblatt says that the social issues that present themselves in literature are essential to its greatness.  He challenges Will’s position regarding Shakespeare’s The Tempest not truly being about imperialism.  “The play,” he says, “-set on a mysterious island over whose inhabitants a European prince has assumed total control- is full of conspicuous allusions to contemporary debates over the project of colonization.”  He continuously contradicts Will’s claims regarding The Tempest, justifying his position over and over again.  Greenblatt says that his chief concern with the appointment of someone like Iannone is that literary criticism that highlights the social issues for which, according to him, literature is supposed to represent , will disappear completely.

                Like I said, I didn’t totally understand a lot of this article.  It was hard for me to really make a connection between Iannone’s appointment and the issue of literary criticism.  I did get a something out of it though.

Breaking Free

            The Tempest’s Acts II and III possess quite a few parallels with both the text provided in class and the video with regards to the opinions of people about natives.  Shakespeare’s portrayal of Caliban as a “savage” matches the typical portrayal of natives that is testified to in the video.  Our society’s insistence that natives, such as Caliban, are barbaric and unworthy, prevents us from being able to see these people and give them credit for their actual value.

            In the provided text, it is stated that the interpretations of novels are largely limited by post-colonialism.  Post-colonialism affects literary interpretation because the studies rooted in it “are based in the ‘historical fact’ of European colonialism.”  This means that the way that people are viewed by readers, such as how Caliban is by readers, is subject to the beliefs that gave rise to colonialism.  Consider when Shakespeare wrote The Tempest, that is the 1600s.  During this point in time, Europe making its way to the New World and encountering the Native Americans.  Once there, the Europeans took advantage of the Native Americans by learning the secrets of the land, stealing it from them, and then quite often enslaved them.  Likewise, Prospero has done the same to Caliban, which Caliban tells Stefano in Act III, Scene II.  He tells Stefano that Prospero, “‘by sorcery he got this isle.  From me he got it.’” What’s more the way in which Miranda and her father taught him their ways also reflects an issue addressed within the article.  They, like the British, who thought they “were biologically superior to any other race”, wanted to force Caliban to “conform and be quiet” and “deny yourself” so that he would be “well”.  Never is it even considered that Caliban may like himself and not want to know their ways as he proclaims.

            This struggle for an identity because it has been robbed by those dominant (the white man) is also addressed in the video.  The Native Americans talked about how they often had trouble distinguishing who they were when they were always in the shadow the inferior portrayals they saw of their culture.  Likewise, we see that Caliban really struggles to maintain a sort of independent identity as he opts out of real freedom and merely changes “masters”.  He degrades himself, telling Stefano, “ ‘I’ll kiss thy foot.  I’ll swear myself thy subject.’”  Because he himself has for so long been walked on and made a “subject” to a “master”, he appears to believe he actually requires one when in fact he could be on his own.  This characterization of Caliban as an “other” by Shakespeare is quite unfair.  It ties in with the concept of the White Man’s Burden that says that white people should help other races out by enslaving them. 

            Basically, The Tempest is largely racist and promotes suppression of un-white races with the treatment of Caliban.  The text voices a suggestion for how to remedy this suppression of the voices that are not status quo such as Caliban’s and non-post-colonial literary interpretations and that is “refuse to conform to…hegemony.”  No matter what.  Just break free from the chains that enslave your thoughts.  This will set free all things, most especially your thoughts and bring people to a new found sense of liberty.

Prospero's Powers of Manipulation

            In Act I of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, one of the principal characters, Prospero, manipulates those around him in order to get his way.  This is apparent in his dealings with several characters including his daughter Miranda, Caliban, and Ariel. Prospero, by rhetorically expressing stories to those around him so as to make him seem like their hero to whom they are ungrateful, effectively gets things to go his way and control those around him.

            One of the most blatant examples of Prospero’s attempts at controlling those on the island with him is his relationship with his daughter.  In Act II, it at first appears that the relationship between Prospero and Miranda is quote genuine and loving.  However, as the play progresses their relationship begins to fall under a shadow.  This shadow is cast in the conversation during which Prospero relates to his daughter how he lost his Dukedom in Milan and how they came to live on this island.  Throughout this discourse, Prospero paints a picture of himself a good lord who was cruelly usurped by his own brother who tossed him out to sea.  He continually manipulates the story so as to make his seem as the victim.  Miranda, who is obviously of a naïve and innocent nature, is so taken with his elaborate tale, that she at one point goes so far as to cry out, “‘Alack, what trouble I was then to you!’”  By, for lack of better words, belittling herself in the situation, Miranda exposes that she has been swayed by her father to see things in his perspective and, thus, turn against his enemies that he ship wrecked onto the island.  By constructing his narrative in a way to lift him above the malevolency of his enemies and ensure his daughter’s loyalty.

            In addition to using specific rhetorical tactics to ensure Miranda’s loyalty, Prospero uses narratives of the past to control both Caliban and Ariel.  For example, when Ariel, his magical assistant reminds him that he has promised her her freedom, he reacts very angrily.  In a fit of rage, he embarks on a spiel his rescue of her.  “ ‘Hast thou forgot the foul witch Sycorax who…did confine thee…into a cloven pine’”?  Through conversations like this, in which he threatens Ariel no freedom at all because she is ungrateful for his having freed her from captivity in a tree, Prospero manipulates Ariel to do his every bidding.  Similarly, he uses Caliban’s past and his own involvement in it to control Caliban.  He presents it in a way so as that he has done Caliban immense favors.  When Caliban continues to argue, he continues to pull out supposed offense after offense, going so far as to bring up that he had tried to “‘violate the honour of [his] child’”.  Finally, he goes so far as to threaten each of these individuals with magical punishment, solidifying their obedience to him

            All in all, Prospero’s character is a slippery one.  While he presents himself as a good lord who was himself wronged, he appears largely to be the one in the wrong.  He continuously employs twisting of the past to guilt trip and manipulates those around him into doing his bidding.  Through rhetorical strategies, Prospero controls his surroundings and gets his way.

            

Curriculum or Selfish Political Agenda????

The textbook issue that our class dealt with in the Socratic circle was not only interesting to me, but also profound. Unfortunately, I don’t really think that this problem is fixable. In the discussion concerning the article I read, which addressed how a conservative board in Texas changed the curriculum of textbooks in order to reflect more Christian values and Republican doctrine, person after person was addressing the issue of bias and whether the board was actually evening the influences of the left and the right in education.


However, whether or not the influences are even now after they supposedly were made to be even, is questionable. Now, the left believes that things have been tipped in favor of the right. Basically, no matter which side acquires changes to favor them, it will never be equal. For if there are concessions made to the left, the right will say that these changes are unfair and will protest them and if there are concessions made to the right, then the left will be up at arms. Essentially, there is no way to make both parties happy because life is not fair. Life is not a bundle of rainbows or a sack of lollipops. Life is a never ending struggle between disagreeing ideals.

The saddest part of this entire right vs. left argument about the textbooks is that no one appears to consider what is best for the children and their education. Education is for the enrichment of the children. Children should learn what is best for them and what will help them grow into wise adults who are equipped with skills that will lead to be successful citizens. In the article; however, the only consideration is what political doctrine the children should be brainwashed with. It’s disgusting that there is so little consideration for the actual purpose of the textbooks and absolutely no consideration for what is best for the children. The only consideration made is whether the curriculum distributed will advance a particular political agenda.

I Hit My Head

Yesterday, my boyfriend was tickling me and I hit my head on a wall.  I got a concussion, so I had to go to the hospital.  I got their at 9:30 PM and I didn't leave until 4:00 AM.  I got an xray of my neck and a CT scan of my head.  I'm okay, but my head hurts....

B

Ode to Peter

Peter was my first car.  He was a 1997 Ford Mustang.  He was white.  Even though he was a piece of crap (it was an automatic car, but in order to shift you had to take your foot off the accelerator like a manual car), he was still amazing.  I named him Peter at the end of my sophomore year with the help of Cassie DeWitt. 


Recently my dad bought me a new car.  The new car is actually a used car, but to me it is new.  It's a yellow Volkswagon bug.  I like it a lot, but it's a stick shift, so I had to learn to drive it.  At first it was pretty difficult, but now I like driving stick. 


Anyways, back to Peter.  My dad sold it and I just wanted to recognize Peter and all the amazing times I've had in him since I got him as a hand-me-down from my cousin. 


Good bye Peter.  I loved you.


-B