Player Piano

Within this novel, Kurt Vonnegut utilizes irony as an important aspect of his story line. This irony plays a humorous role within the novel that allows the reader to enjoy the tale more thoroughly while portraying Vonnegut's point. With this said, the reader ends up concluding that while the machines enhance daily life by making it easier, they also took away from any point in living. No one was truly happy except for a select few that were honestly ignorant to what happiness ultimately is. An example of all of this irony that proves Vonnegut's point is on page 271 within the novel. On this first page of the chapter, one can see the ironic situation of the football coach. He is higher up in the hierarchy of the school than the Arts & Sciences teacher. This is clearly a commentary on today's society on how even today, people sometimes put sports in front of academics. The purpose of living is also brought up in this novel. Without realizing it, the more the characters create machines, the more a person's purpose in the world dissapears. Look at Bud from the novel. He created a machine that did his job better than him therefore leading him to be fired because of it. The thing that he loves to do has been taken away from him leaving with nothing to be passionate about. When this occurs, society loses a little piece of what could be a major part of the future. Humanity creating machines is the biggest betrayal in the novel. In the end, Vonnegut uses what he is most strong with in his writing to benefit his novel as a whole. Irony, is the tool that alludes to all things throughout the novel.


So as I am sitting here trying to figure out what I would rate this novel, I realize that I cannot remember whether or not I enjoyed the book. With this in mind, I would probably give this novel a six. Me not being able to remember whether I enjoyed reading it or not means that it was not that fantastic of a book. Yet, if I did not like this book at all, I would clearly still remember that too. This leaves me indifferent with a little bit more of a lean to liking the novel. It was very well written and it was a very easy read. I also liked how Vonnegut used irony as humor which made it more enjoyable. I really cannot think of anything in particular that I did not like about the novel.



pg 195-198: As for a quote, I chose a passage. I found the scene from the Meadows particulary humorous. Yet while being humorous, Vonnegut still managed to get what he was trying to portray across. He used many literary tools within this passage such as repetition and irony. The repetition of what the speaker was saying just showed that technology is preventing and interupting human interaction. The ironic part is what the speaker is actually saying. The speaker is telling the men to converse and make new aquaintances, but the speaker is constantly talking. With its boisterous voice, it is nearly impossible to hold a conversation none the less think straight. This passage also reminded me of Farenheit. In Farenheit, they would put shells in the ears of the people to stop them from having any thoughts. If any thinking went on, the shell would blast the ear with a sound that would create the person to not be able to think straight.

Handmaid's Tale

Within the novel, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, the many biblical allusions are very apparent. A few of them are the Rachel & Leah Centre, Gilead, Loaves & Fishes, and Milk and Honey. One could say that all of these biblical allusions are used for the sole purpose of furthering Atwood's satiric purpose in the novel. The Rachel & Leah enter represent the two sisters from the bible, Rachel and Leah who forced their handmaids/servants to sleep with their husband and to bear children. Ultimately it turned into a competition to fight for their husbands love. At the Rachel & Leah Centre in the novel, the women are taught to accept the idea that their duty to Gilead is provide a child for the family in which they reside with. They sleep with the Wife's husbands as part of the annual ritual. The name Gilead from the novel is a very barren, wasteland devastated by pollution and war. The society however tries to portray that the land is fertile and the best possible place to live in. Gilead from the Bible is a very fertile, desirable region in Ancient Palestine. Both Gilead's contradict themselves and create irony. The novel also replaces names like the bakery or butcher with Biblical names such as "Loaves & Fishes", "All Flesh", "Lilies of the Field", or "Milk and Honey". By renaming even food and clothes shops like this, the society manages to establish references to the Bible in every aspect of daily life. The new names are also meant to abandon old names for for shops that supposedly are "too much temptation" for the citizens. However, these names are highly ironic for they suggest abundance, while food in Gilead is in short supply.

"We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories" (57).

The quote above speaks about the Handmaid's of the novel. These women are viewed as in the way possessions by most. The handmaid's have barely and freedom. They are all the same leaving them emotionless and like a blank piece of paper. They live an invisible life for the most part being that their only sole purpose is to reproduce. The ironic part is that the Handmaid's view the only freedom they have being that they are invisible. The newspaper symbol is a representation of the society in which they reside in. The words are the higher rankings within while the Handmaid's, who basically equate to nothing, are the blank spaces on the edges-- waiting to be used only when necessary.

I enjoyed this novel thoroughly. I had read it last year as part of an English project and even then I found it amusing. For women to sit back and accept being degraded like this is baffling. I also enjoyed Margaret Atwood's use of satire. It helped portray her message. I enjoy novels that cause controversy and this was certainly one of them. It brought light upon certain topics that sometimes get ignored. It was not your typical book one reads for English class. I feel that all English classes should read this. It has more of a powerful message while not being boring at the same time.

Anthem

IOne major theme in the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand is the theme of individualism. In the society within this book, the individual is erased. The leaders go as far as to rule that everyone refers to themselves as "we." With this rule in place, the people are left without any sense of who they are. Everyone is the same, leaving no room for any individual thought. The people are left as shapeless beings with the fear that if they do have any different perspectives from the rest of society, they will be rejected. However, there is a flaw in this system. Human nature allows a person to never be dominated. The inner feelings and thoughts being suppressed will always ultimately resurface due to the fact that freedom is a part of everyone. This is what happened with the main character Equality 7-2521. Equality, having his invention rejected, runs away to the forest where he begins living with his companion. The message of the individual always rising to the top is what Rand uses as a theme to better portray her novel.

I AM. I THINK. I WILL. My hands... My spirit... My sky... My forest... This earth is mine...

I am a man. This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before! ... For the word "we" must never be spoken, save by one's choice or as a second thought. This word must never be placed first within mand's soul, else it becomes a monster, the root of all evils on earth, the root of man's torture by men, and of an unspeakable lie. The word "we" is as a lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white adn that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it... and now I see this face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. This god, this one word:

"I" (97)

I chose this partial passage because I loved how powerful Eqaulity spoke here. His full liberation is so fascinating to read through. It is hard to imagine losing the word "I" in one's vocabulary. It also makes the reader realize how powerful such a word is. Just by reading what Equality is saying can see how much respect he holds for the word. He pretty much compares it to a god. In the end, I could not fit the complete passage for it is three pages long, but this short excerpt speaks volumes in itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzlcJMzay6M

I found the above video. I think as a school project, the makers were asked to create a trailer for the book. Check it out.

I enjoyed this novel. It was a fast, easy read. I enjoyed the message that Rand was portraying, and I also enjoyed her style of writing. The other factor that made me like this novel better was the fact that I did not like We. The novel also had many good quotes in it as well.

Thought I'd spice things up a bit going along with the K-Fed theme...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0rq8nRQW_o

Acrobat

In The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, a society exists where woman are treated with respect but lack all freedom. Through devices like syntax, detail, and point of view (just to name a few), the song "Acrobat" by U2 shows a clear connection to lifestyle that is led by the women in the society within the story.

The lyrics in the song describe a stuggle between a woman in choosing whether to fight for her rights or to sit back and just take watch them get taken away. The song describes a girl that used to have a firery spirit. She appears to be the type of person that never let anyone tell her what to do. However something drastic happens that brings her down to the level of almost being a ghost, "...you had fire in your soul/ what happened to your face/ of melting in snow/ now it looks like this..." The girl has the inner struggle of wanting to break free but something is holding her back whether it be fear or something else. The same story line takes place within The Handmaid's Tale. Offred, the main character, goes along with what the society preaches. She never disobeys or rebels. However, it appears that internally she struggles. Memories and emotions of the past cause her to reminisce to what she considers better times. She secretly desires everything to return back to the way it used to be. But instead of thinking of ways to make a change, she instead blocks out everything with the thought of how silly the idea is. She also demonstrates this inner desire to get out by reflecting on Moira, her high spirited friend. Moira is someone Offred wishes she could be. (bastard-syntax)

Another thing that is simiar is the way men are portrayed in each. Through the repitition of the line "so don't let the bastards grind you down," one gets the sense that men are the ones forcing the girl to endure the struggle she is going through. Likewise in the story. Offred's society is one run solely by males. All of which who have established the lack of freedom for the woman.

In the end, both the song "Acrobat" and the novel The Handmaid's Tale portray an internal struggle where the women are left to make a difficult decision: sit back and watch the freedoms taken or do something to make a change for the better.

We

An interesting thing withWe is the many breaks within each record. It is rarely ever seen in novels and some people could argue that it hurts the novel when people are left to make up their own sentences. However, with We, the breaks within the pages of the story actually have a deeper meaning then simply incompleted sentences. The breaks ultimatly symbolize D-503's conflict with his want to fullfill his personal desires vs. his loyalty to OneState. The breaks are seen only when D-503 has thoughts that are considered going against what OneState preaches. These thoughts are D-503's desires. He shows emotions for I-330 which is bad. He is considered to have a soul which is bad. And he considers rebelling against certain rules which is bad. The breaks benefit the story by allowing the reader to finish D-503's thoughts. For the most part everyone is able to see where D-503 is going with the sentence and come up with similar completed sentences (as seen in a demonstration during class one day). In the end, the breaks would appear to hurt the novel but in reality they help portray the struggle that D-503 appears to exhibit.

"What's going on? A soul? Did you say, a soul? What the hell! Next thing you know we'll have cholera again" (88).

I chose this quote because I found it very humorous. I think it is funny that the leaders of OneState compare having a soul to having cholera which is a deadly disease. They pretty much make it sound that if one were to have a soul one is doomed to die. In reality, a soul is what makes up each and every person. It is what makes them their own individual. OneState cleary is trying to rid its society of individualism by convincing its people that having a soul is considered bad. Not only that, but they threaten the idea of being an outcast with it. And like any human being noone wants to be considered an outcast in a society.

I thought that the novel We was ok. I enjoyed anthem a lot better out of the two but this was bareable. I think the reason as to why I did not like the book as much might be because it was very confusing to read. The story also required the reader to think more outside the box then usual when forced to complete D-503's sentences. Overall, I did not hate the novel, but I simply just did not enjoy reading it. However, I might have enjoyed it more if I did not have Anthem to compare it to.

Farenheit 451

A major symbol of the story was hands. Hands represented both good and evil. The evil aspect was when the hands were used to burn the books. The books were the only representation of free thinking that still existed. And by burning them, individual ideas also burned out. The good aspect of the hands is that they also created things. At one point in the story, one of the men talks about his father being a sculpture and creating beatiful things and using his hands to the best of his ability. Hands also fall in the middle when it comes to killing and reading. The firemen sometimes ended up killing innocent people who were different in the society but at the same time, hands saved Montage when he killed Beatty. In this society, it is also bad to read or even pick up a book, but reading saved Montage life by making him realize the wrongs of the world he lives in. In the end, hands appear to have a mind/character of their own and end up being an extension of the owner-- feeding off the mind.I personally did not like the novel. I felt Montage's character was more of a coward and not a hero and that bothered me. Instead of Montage following his own thoughts, he listened to what others told him to do. And when their advice turned him into a criminal, he just ran away. He never once stood up for what he believed in. If Montage had been more of a leader then a follower, maybe I would have liked the novel better. The only good thing that came out of him being a coward was that he became more self aware. However this still did not persuade my opinion of the book.
I found this clip off youtube and it is a music video showing scene from the movie version of this book. I found it interesting that the way the movie portrayed the novel has a totally different perspective of what everything looked like from my own perspective. I pictured it more of a town that was always really in darkness and everything was super hightech or super fast. The house in the clip was very like todays modern houses and the firetruck did not impress me in any way shape or form. The only thing that matched with how I actually pictured it, is the scene where the firemen went inside the house to burn the books in it. The inside is the same way I pictured along with the way the events occured. If you listen to the lyrics, you'll see that they go along with the symbol of hands as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zilil5W7xxU

I'll comment of other people's posts when I figure out how.