Biblical Quotes

            The premise of how Gilead is run is based upon the biblical quote from the book of Genesis. This quote is partially sited before the table of contents. This quote basically explains where all of the traditions in Gilead came from and why they happen. For example, the ceremony is meant to represent the wife having the child through the handmaid and that when the child is eventually born that it is the wife’s not the handmaid’s who is the true mother.

            There is another biblical quote that I used recently for a World Literature speech that I feel is also just as important and relevant in this book as the Genesis quote. The quote is: “wives be subject to your husband, as to the lord, for the husband is the head of the wife” Ephesians 5:22-23. This quote clearly demonstrates that the bible intends for males to be superior to females. This quote is demonstrated in every aspect of the handmaid’s lives in Gilead; they are constantly oppressed by the government in every action from not being allowed knives at dinner to being forced into the roles or handmaid/Martha/wife/aunt/econowife in the first place. This can even be seen from the earliest chronological point in the book where the women’s jobs and credit card accounts were taken away from them and everything they had in their name was immediately transferred to closest male relative after the “temporary suspension” of the Constitution.

Confusing Children

            So, apparently when you jump into a movie 40 minutes, or in my case being sick for the first day of class that the movie was being shown, makes it very difficult to understand what is happening in a movie. Although after asking others, it seems like I wasn’t the only one that was in the dark about what was happening even though everyone else was actually there to see the first part of the movie.

            Although missing the first portion of the movie was not intended, I believe that the confusion that it brought about helped signify the confusion that went on in the plot of the movie, or at least the parts that I understood. Examples of this confusion that I witnessed is how it didn’t seem like people fully understood how to handle the baby since it was such a strange site to them having not seen one in nearly two decades. Another example of this confusion is how no one ever mentioned why there was a war going on or what their motives/intentions were; they just seemed to be fighting.

            One of the few things that I was actually able to understand out of this confusion was the symbol of hope that the baby was, how perfect that this was the only thing that I understood. When the baby passed through the crowds of people, everyone stopped fighting and some even started praying. This shows that hope really can stop even the worst of things. Sadly, the fighting resumed just a few short seconds after the baby passed through the crowds, signifying that hope can only do so much for so long and that there needs to be more for hope for anything to ever change.

She would have made it

            Would Miranda have been able to make it to the post office in the first place? And even if she did, would she then have been able to make it to the town hall to get the food? These are the questions that we asked during our class discussion the other day. Some said that she would not have had the will to go on even far enough to make it to the post office and others said that she easily had the motivation to go the entire way to the town hall. In my personal opinion, she would have made it both to the post office and then the town hall.

            The reason that she would have made it is because of the incredible things that the body wants to do when it either has the motivation to or when the basic survival instincts start to kick in. The first of these is during Miranda’s first portion of her journey to get from the house to the post office. She had the motivation of wanting to have just the slightest chance of seeing if the other half of her family was able to make it out alive, especially including the baby. The second trip of Miranda traveling from the post office to the city hall was fueled by the kick start of the basic survival instinct to get food to survive. Now while she didn't know at the time if food would actually be at the city hall or not, she had enough of a suspicion to get the adrenaline rush from the survival instinct to make the second journey. Another thing that was brought up about this matter was not the motivation that she had, but if she had eaten enough over the past few months to be able to sustain her for these two journeys. The answer to this is yes because the human body can go almost a month without any food; with their diet of a meal every other day, Miranda would have easily had the energy to make the journey.

            Now, these tales of extreme motivation and adrenaline rushes are not confined to fictional stories like this one. In times of great need, such as a natural disaster or a loved one in a life or death situation, the average human body has been shown to break world record setting boundaries in order to overcome an immediate danger. Some examples of these dangers can include a father running into a burning building to save his daughter and then running out faster than Mr. Bolt, or a wife lifting a car off of her husband after a car crash just occurred. The human body can do truly amazing things when it has the motivation to do so.

My Feed

The feed in the book is very controlling of its owner and manipulates its owner in the way of what products are displayed even though it says that the products shown match the interests of the owner. Their feed is also biologically attached to their brain which means that the body depends on the feed functioning for the rest of the body to properly work. This connection of an imperfect technology to a vital part of the human body caused the rest of the body to actually decay while they were still very well alive.

I actually like the general idea of the feed, but I think it needs to be scaled back a lot. For starters, the method of how the feed is used would need to be changed dramatically. Instead of the feed being implanted into your brain and having it make an actual biological connection with the body, it would be very similar to the Google glasses, or contacts for those who want the feed to be esthetically pleasing. The main advantage to this above all other things is that the user is in control and the feed can be taken off at any time and should be taken off at least when the user goes to bed. The feed would be able to register what the user wants by a high tech retina scanner that can tell what you want to happen on the “screen” in front of you. Also, as an improvement from the Google glasses, they would be able to sense the environment around you and if something was going to happen (ie you running into another person if you continued on your course) then all of the windows would minimize, leaving a clear screen to allow you to reassess your environment.

The things that would be displayed on the feed would also be slightly different. First of all, everything in your field of vision that you don’t know is just going to pop up on your screen with an explanation; if you see something that you don’t understand, you’ll just have to Google it. Also, instead of constantly being spammed with advertisements, there would actually be very few displayed on your screen, and they also wouldn’t immediately appear on your screen, but instead appear as a notification in a corner of the screen for you to view later. The advertisements that you do receive would be only the select few that the user allows and enjoys, and the user can discontinue any advertisement streams at any time they want. The rest of the feed would function similar to any smart phones that are available now, just contained within the feed. 

Spies

            Spies have been present in society ever since there have been two opposing viewpoints. The purpose of a spy is to retrieve information from one side and to bring it back to the other side. Now, being a spy isn't that simple, they have to do it all without being caught. They first have to infiltrate enemy lines by blending in and not sticking out even in the slightest. Then they have to work their way up the ranking system of whatever they are spying on until they reach the point where they have access to the information that they are trying to get. Finally, the information has to be passed back to the original side so that the information can be used, and all of this needs to be done without ever getting caught in order for the information to be successfully passed on and used.

            There have been countless spies in the real world. There have been good spies, and terrible spies as well as famous spies and spies that no one will ever hear about. These spies also completed, or in some cases didn't, missions that ranged from very short to very long and missions that were ranked from low importance to extremely high importance. One of the most famous spies is Nathan Hale. Nathan Hale was a spy for the Continental Army that spied on the British Army while they were stationed in New York. This famous first spy for what would become the United States of America is most known for his phrase uttered just before he was hung by the British. This famous phrase was “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

            Spies in 1984 are slightly different than those in the real world. First of all, their title is not a spy, but yet something that is much more confusing in nature, the thought police. Second, their intended target is not truly the enemy, but instead the target is controlling the government’s own people. Finally, the intended result of the spying is not to get a leg up on the opponent, but instead to shut down any unwanted ideas from floating around against the government. The three main similarities between the real world spies and the thought police are that they alter themselves in some way whether that be physically or through personality, that information is taken from one group by another without consent, and that the main purpose of the spying is to make the government be stronger and have more control over something.

Privacy

            Privacy is something that is highly valued in present society. People in modern societies like the United States will protest against the government when the smallest amount of their privacy has been breached. When things are hidden in the small print or people are not directly told what can and cannot be done, society will also revolt because it considers actions such as those to also be breaches of privacy. The average person in society today also doesn’t understand the vast array of information that is public property such as Facebook posts, search history, emails, and even texts messages. Overall, when it comes to the issue of privacy, society does not like it when the privilege of privacy is taken away.

            In 1984, there is little to no privacy at all for the main characters or anyone in that society for that matter. The telescreens are mounted everywhere for surveillance of every single thing that anyone and everyone does at all times of the day and night. On occasion, the inner party members on the other side of the screen will respond or react to something that the outer party member does where the telescreen is actually located. This shows that the people of Oceana really are being watched at all times and that nothing they do or say will go unseen or unheard; every action made is scrutinized by the inner party and is determined to be appropriate, not appropriate, or an attack against the government if it is bad enough. There is a group that is much worse than the telescreens though, and they are called the thought police. The telescreens can only arrest someone if they either make a physical motion or say something to give them away; with the telescreens, if a party member is good enough at hiding their emotions, they can get away with thought crimes. The thought police on the other hand can. The thought police are a specially trained group of individuals that can find the minutest detail wrong in someone’s behavior and find a way to get the suspect to give out incriminating information. With the telescreens and the thought police, a person’s actions, voices, and thoughts are not safe; there is no privacy in Oceana.

            In The Truman Show, every aspect of Truman’s life was being watched, nothing was private. The cameras were on Truman for the entirety of his life, nothing he did was private. While Truman might have thought that he had his privacy when he was in his own home, he didn’t even in the slightest. His entire life from the moment of his birth to the moment that he stepped out of the manmade dome, his life was for the world to see every single thing that he did live on television. His thoughts also weren’t private. The reason for this is that if he told anyone, whether that be his parents, or his friends, or his girlfriend, those thoughts were now public knowledge because the cameras were everywhere and captured everything. His drive to work wasn’t even private; the crew would give directions to the actors as he was turning down any given street. Finally, once Truman came to the realization that his privacy and his life as a whole was being taken from him, he summoned all of his strength and left.

Handicapped

In Harrison Bergeron people are handicapped for whatever their abilities are that are greater than that of the rest of society. Examples of these include ear pieces to scatter the thoughts of the smart, weights to hold down the strong, and masks for the beautiful. If I were to live in this world, I would also be handicapped. The main thing that would handicap me would be the ear piece to scatter my thoughts because I am a fairly smart student and I also enjoy just thinking at times for now particular reason about no particular topic. I would also be handicapped physically, but only slightly. Although I am a cross country and track runner, my abilities have been greatly decrease in the past year due to real life health issues including bad knees and injured lungs resulting from a bad case of bronchitis last winter.

Propaganda

            Propaganda is present in every aspect of life whether we are aware of its presence or not. This can include anything as obvious as a political commercial to anything as simple as a school t-shirt. There are a large variety of types of propaganda; however, they all accomplish the same purpose of selling either a product or idea. While we are more aware of propaganda that is associated with actual physical products or services such as an advertisement for a new television or trying to get you to switch to a different phone or internet provider, there are also advertisements that deal with ideas instead of products. An example of this kind of propaganda is anything that involves politics; since deal with trying to get a point or idea across about someone who is running for an office instead of actually selling anything. While most propaganda can be either considered bad or just not useful, there are a few circumstances where “good propaganda” exists. The two main instances of this are when there is an improvement on a product and also when an idea is put out there that can genuinely help people if acted upon.

            The first type of beneficial propaganda, in my opinion, is when a product is improved upon. This does not mean when a new iPhone comes out with fancy “new” features, but instead when a genuinely new product comes out. An example of this would be a new microchip that has more capacity and power in a smaller and more compact form. The problem with this is that new inventions or innovations are often very expensive. Good propaganda also results because of this overpriced nature; an example of this in the medical field is generic medicine instead of the brand name version. In addition to improvements on products, there is also good propaganda for services. Examples of this include the free busses in downtown Chicago or free wifi available at restaurants or other locations. The reason that this is good propaganda is because it improves upon the services that are already in place for customers and enhances the experience.

            The second type of beneficial propaganda are ideas that benefit society. An example of this would be commercials that are for St. Jude’s or Children’s hospital. The reason that these are beneficial examples of propaganda are because the proceeds received from the propaganda are put towards enhancing a person’s life to a quality that could not be reached without the help of others. Likewise, commercials or ads asking for donations to other organizations such as the Red Cross or the Soup Kitchen are also beneficial because they can help the less fortunate, bettering their lives and improving the quality of their lives.

            While most propaganda that is present in the world today is useless, there are some instances where propaganda is not only useful, but also helpful. These instances of good propaganda are few and far between and are often over shadowed by the millions useless ads for the new iPhone or other iProduct that is coming out or commercials that are about bickering politicians and nothing else. Good propaganda is out there though, and it aims to better society as a whole.

My Utopia

            For millennia philosophers have always pondered the idea of a utopia, a place where everything is perfect in every way imaginable. Everyone have their own view of what a utopia should be based on what their own mind pictures as perfect. For this reason, no two utopias are the same for each is shaped and formed in the image its creator. Also, everyone has a utopia even if they have never specifically tried to think of one; each person’s mind subconsciously knows what it thinks would make a perfect world. In my utopia, not everything would be perfect, but instead a more realistic semi-achievable perfect. There would be two main aspects to my utopia, the people and the government.

            The first aspect of my utopia is the people. Ever since mankind has existed there have always been superiors and inferiors, whether it is based on race, sex, religion, or countless other reasons. In my utopia some level of equality could be reached. This level of equality would include everything except for economic standing. Part of the reason for this is that different economic classes drive the economy of a government in different ways that are necessary to sustain it; however, the majority of the reason is because economic standing can be changed while race, religion, sex/sexual preference, and others cannot usually be changed under normal circumstances. On the other hand, the economic classes can change hands relatively easily is the proper effort is put forth.

            The second aspect of my utopia is the government. Throughout history mankind has always had someone at the head of the ship so to speak, that is just how the human race operates; however, the governments of the past and present would not suffice for my utopia. The government that would rule over my utopia would first of all proceed over the entire plant. It would work in a similar fashion to the legislative body of the United States, each country would send representatives to a central world headquarters and matters would actually be addressed and a solution would be proposed and enacted, unlike the US government which just bickers with itself. Also, all the countries would be allowed to rule themselves in a similar manner to how the states can operate under the US government. It wouldn’t be a perfect system; crime would still exist, but it would be in much smaller numbers, laws would still be imperfect, but they would get fixed, and there would still be differing opinions as to what kind of government is the best for a country, but they could peacefully co-exist.

            My utopia is far from perfect, but that is what makes it my utopia. Things still need to be improved and worked on, but that is the motivation for the people to strive forward and make progress instead of just being content. My utopia is not out of grasp at all, the only things that need to change between 2012 and my vision of a utopia is only for people to be treated equally and not judged and also for the government to stop bickering amongst itself and actually listen to each other and make decisions together. My utopia in a nutshell is basically for everyone to peacefully co-exist.