while listening to my ipod the other day, i remembered that there is a song by the band the strokes called soma. i listened to it, and then looked up the lyrics, which are as follows.
"Soma"
Soma is what they would take when
Hard times opened their eyes
Saw pain in a new way
High stakes for a few names
Racing against sun beams
Losing against their dreams
In your eyes
And I am
Stop
And go
In your eyes
See I am
Stop
And go
In your eyes
Let's go
When I saw her for the first time
Lips moved as her eyes closed
Heard something in his voice
"And I'll be there", he says
Then he walks out
Somehow he was trying
Too hard to be like them
Well I am
Stop
And go
In your eyes
And I am
Stop
Oh, darling, let me go
Tried it once and they like it
Then tried to hide it
Says, "I've been doing this 25 years"
But I'm not listening no more
And these friends, they keep asking for more
Oh, yeah
Oh, but that's it
i don't see much of a resemblance to BNW, other than the first few lines. it's possible that it was written with the book in mind, but not likely. it seems that the song might be about drugs, and it would be interesting to know if the fictional drug from BNW was used as a metaphor for other real drugs. hmm...
john quotes romeo and juliet, when thinking about lenina, and how beautiful she is.
it is called a hive of industry, again comparing the society to insects.
brenard brings john to the brave new world to study him, and the effects of the society on him, and also to help him escape exile from iceland
the DHC says that brenard is a conspirator of civilization, and is trying to destroy the society.
after the DHC is outed as the viviparous father of john, he resigns, never to return to the hatchery again.
people do not want to see linda, because she is fat, and ugly, due to the fact that she spent time on the reservation, and did not get the necessary blood transfusions and such to stay young and attractive.
thee doctor says "soma may make you lose a few yars in time, but think of the enormous, immeasurable duration it can give you out of time. every soma-holiday is a bit of what our ancestors used to call eternity." basically, he says it makes you feel immortal.
he is glad that he is popular. he then acts condescendingly towards others, and becomes arrogant. hemholtz is upset, because his friend is no longer interesting, different, and nice, and is now boring, and mean.
i do not recall an ariel being in the chapters, and i do not remember any mention of what you get after a hard day's work.
john the savage does not like the feely. he thinks it is stupid, but later on he compares it to othello, simply because the main characters are both black.
he embarrasses brenard by not showing up to an event about the study of the savage. he then does not show up to the party either, and people think he is a fraud.
mustapha mond refuses to publish "a new theory of biology" although he did find it interesting, he cannot allow the public to read it.
after hemholtz meets john, brenard is jealous of their new friendship, and feels like a third wheel.
he gets in trouble with the authorities because he writes "propoganda" poetry about solitude, which is frowned upon in the BNW
hemholtz enjoyed the strange, foreign scenarios of shakespeare, but later found it too absurd.
john was at first in love with lenina, but once he found that she is not as innocent as he imagined, he thinks she is a whore.
she tries to seduce him, and he gets scared, and freaks out. she locks herself in the bathroom, when john gets a call, about who i assume to be his mother OD'ing on soma, and rushes to the hospital.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
chapter 8
i had trouble understanding this chapter for some reason, and half of the questions, i cannot answer. i will probably re-read it soon.
i don't recall brenard asking john to do anything at the BEGINNING of the chapter, but at the end, he asks him to come to london with him.
i do not know the answer to #2 or #3
she gives him a book about her former job at the "other place" but john does not like it. he spends a lot of time trying to read it, but once he does learn, it still takes him a long time, and he gets mad and throws it around. reading in the brave new world is purely informative.
pope gives him the complete works of shakespere. unlike the brave new world, reading on the reservation is recreational, entertaining, and thoughtful.
the quote is from hamlet, but i am unfamiliar with the play, other than that it is famous for the "to be, or not to be" monologue, so i do not know how it relates to john.
johns use of Shakespeare plays is a reference to the use of literature in the brave new world, in comparison to today, or the reservation.
john says this in excitement to brenard, because it is something he can relate to. brenard responds confused, and does not quite understand the quote, and says that john talks strange.
other than the fact that the title sounds good, and is a good summary of the book, i don't understand it.
well, if i do read this chapter again, i will re-post the more understood answers to the questions.
i don't recall brenard asking john to do anything at the BEGINNING of the chapter, but at the end, he asks him to come to london with him.
i do not know the answer to #2 or #3
she gives him a book about her former job at the "other place" but john does not like it. he spends a lot of time trying to read it, but once he does learn, it still takes him a long time, and he gets mad and throws it around. reading in the brave new world is purely informative.
pope gives him the complete works of shakespere. unlike the brave new world, reading on the reservation is recreational, entertaining, and thoughtful.
the quote is from hamlet, but i am unfamiliar with the play, other than that it is famous for the "to be, or not to be" monologue, so i do not know how it relates to john.
- "O wonder!
- How many goodly creatures are there here!
- How beauteous mankind is!
- O brave new world
- That hath such people in't!"
johns use of Shakespeare plays is a reference to the use of literature in the brave new world, in comparison to today, or the reservation.
john says this in excitement to brenard, because it is something he can relate to. brenard responds confused, and does not quite understand the quote, and says that john talks strange.
other than the fact that the title sounds good, and is a good summary of the book, i don't understand it.
well, if i do read this chapter again, i will re-post the more understood answers to the questions.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
BNW chapter 7
a lot of this book reminds me of a song, called "the yeah yeah yeah song" by one of my favorite bands, the flaming lips. they are a very strange psychadellic rock band, and nine out of ten of their songs are random nonsense strung together into a bright and charming melody, but every once in a while, the songs make a very great statement. basically, the song is about power given to the wrong people. the verse asks the listener questions, like "if you could make everybody poor, just so you could be rich, would you do it?" and "if you could watch everybody work, while just laying on your back, would you do it?" and the chorus replies "yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah" but basically, the song says that people have a natural tendency to wish to be in control, because they believe that those in control are doing the wrong thing, but with all the power in the world, what would you do with it? it makes me think of the controllers, and this whole "brave new world" i'll try and post the music video of it on the blog.
the savage reservation is mostly modeled after ancient mayans, or incans, or aztecs, or one of those type societies, along with some american indian themes, and a hint of modern christian beliefs.
brenard and lenina first encounter a skinny, almost deathly skinny, old indian man. this sets the tone of just how different the outside place is from the reservation.
lenina is horrified of the ritual, and keeps wishing she had some soma.
the snake dance is a sort of ritualistic sacrifice ceremony, in which a man whips a younger boy to sacrifice him to their gods.
john is described as a naive kid. he is eager to fit in with the savages, because it is the only world he knows. he has some knowledge of the outside world, but not much.
john wishes to be in the snake dance, to prove his manhood, and to give himself up selflessly to the indian's god.
i think huxley wants us to focus on the huge gap between the two societies, and the segregation between john and his mother (OH NO! DIRTY WORD!) and the rest of the savages.
the only thing i see that the two places have in common is the fact that they are both different societies, both from each other, but more importantly to us, different from the world we live in
we learn that john the savage is the son of the DHC. this is important because monogomous relationships are frowned upon, and natural childbirth is frowned upon even more
linda is a loving mother, who wants to go back home, but is not allowed to. she is fat, and unattractive, but was "pneumatic" at one time in her life.
and, i will leave with my favorite line from the song, that relates to the way people act in the book, and their impulsive-ness.
it's a very dangerous thing to do exactly what you want.
the savage reservation is mostly modeled after ancient mayans, or incans, or aztecs, or one of those type societies, along with some american indian themes, and a hint of modern christian beliefs.
brenard and lenina first encounter a skinny, almost deathly skinny, old indian man. this sets the tone of just how different the outside place is from the reservation.
lenina is horrified of the ritual, and keeps wishing she had some soma.
the snake dance is a sort of ritualistic sacrifice ceremony, in which a man whips a younger boy to sacrifice him to their gods.
john is described as a naive kid. he is eager to fit in with the savages, because it is the only world he knows. he has some knowledge of the outside world, but not much.
john wishes to be in the snake dance, to prove his manhood, and to give himself up selflessly to the indian's god.
i think huxley wants us to focus on the huge gap between the two societies, and the segregation between john and his mother (OH NO! DIRTY WORD!) and the rest of the savages.
the only thing i see that the two places have in common is the fact that they are both different societies, both from each other, but more importantly to us, different from the world we live in
we learn that john the savage is the son of the DHC. this is important because monogomous relationships are frowned upon, and natural childbirth is frowned upon even more
linda is a loving mother, who wants to go back home, but is not allowed to. she is fat, and unattractive, but was "pneumatic" at one time in her life.
and, i will leave with my favorite line from the song, that relates to the way people act in the book, and their impulsive-ness.
it's a very dangerous thing to do exactly what you want.
Brave New World Chapters 4 - 6
1) Brenard and Hemholtz are both alpha plus. however, Brenard is considered much uglier than Hemholtz, and Hemholtz is much less socially awkward.
2) the solidarity service is an odd meeting of ford-warship, followed by an orgy. they recite hymns and chants about ford, and then have an orgy. Brenard reluctantly participates.
3) Brenard likes silence, but Lenina does not. she gets scared, and turns on the radio, where it seems that a radio host is about to say that skies are always blue here. this could mean that somehow, the people of this time engineer a way to keep weather good, and never make it rainy, snowy, etc. it could also relate to a line later in the chapter "everyone's happy nowadays" and mean a more metaphoric term for blue skies. so anyways, brenard explains that silence makes him feel himself. lenina does not agree, and makes brenard leave. they return to his "rooms" or apartments, i assume, and have sex.
4) the director took a woman to the reservation twenty years ago, and she was lost in a storm and never heard of again. i predict that we will meet up with this character, or her death/disappearance will be more significant later in the plot.
5) the director threatens to exile Brenard to Iceland.
2) the solidarity service is an odd meeting of ford-warship, followed by an orgy. they recite hymns and chants about ford, and then have an orgy. Brenard reluctantly participates.
3) Brenard likes silence, but Lenina does not. she gets scared, and turns on the radio, where it seems that a radio host is about to say that skies are always blue here. this could mean that somehow, the people of this time engineer a way to keep weather good, and never make it rainy, snowy, etc. it could also relate to a line later in the chapter "everyone's happy nowadays" and mean a more metaphoric term for blue skies. so anyways, brenard explains that silence makes him feel himself. lenina does not agree, and makes brenard leave. they return to his "rooms" or apartments, i assume, and have sex.
4) the director took a woman to the reservation twenty years ago, and she was lost in a storm and never heard of again. i predict that we will meet up with this character, or her death/disappearance will be more significant later in the plot.
5) the director threatens to exile Brenard to Iceland.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Brave New World
i just finished reading the first two chapters. the first one was VEEEEEEEEERRRRRRYYYYYY boring. the second one more than made up for it though. it seems like the first chapter was: ok, we need to get all this stuff out of the way and tell the reader right now. its important to the story, but its kinda boring. i predict that much of it is foreshadowing and such, and if i ever read the book again, this chapter will be filled with many clues that i never got the first time around. the second chapter was much more interesting. the sleep mind control stuff in chapter two was very cool. i still do not understand baby ruben, or why they didnt want the babies to like flowers, or why that kid tommy didn't know what the nile was, but he could recite the same thing over and over again.
well, i predict that A.F. means After Ford. did they specifically say that? well, theyve referenced ford as this great idol, and a very great man. and what really tipped me off was when, at the end of the chapter, the guy says "oh ford! ive woken the babies." at first, i thought that he was notifying someone in the lab named ford that he woke up the babies. but after i thought about it, they have made Henry Ford into a messianic figure, and refer to him in expletive, similar to "oh my god!" or "oh, jesus" or "oh christ!" etc. that's very interesting, and sets the stage for what kind of society huxley is predicting.
so already, im writing a paragraph speculating about one line that will me answered in a chapter again. im going to sleep.
well, i predict that A.F. means After Ford. did they specifically say that? well, theyve referenced ford as this great idol, and a very great man. and what really tipped me off was when, at the end of the chapter, the guy says "oh ford! ive woken the babies." at first, i thought that he was notifying someone in the lab named ford that he woke up the babies. but after i thought about it, they have made Henry Ford into a messianic figure, and refer to him in expletive, similar to "oh my god!" or "oh, jesus" or "oh christ!" etc. that's very interesting, and sets the stage for what kind of society huxley is predicting.
so already, im writing a paragraph speculating about one line that will me answered in a chapter again. im going to sleep.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Blade Runner
My clue was Christ on a Crucifix. oh. whoops. was i supposed to say that? oh well...
i couldnt find much similarities from this clue to the film. if comparing to the book, i would assume it some metaphor about wilbur mercer, but he, along with the dust, specials, Iran, Phil, and Garland, were all absent from the film.
the one way i could relate this clue to the film was when roy stabbed himself with a nail in the hand at the end. my only interpertation of this is that he wanted to feel pain. androids don't have emotions, but he wanted to feel something. it showed that he was not human. pain did not effect him, yet fear did. he was scared to die. other than this, i found no resemblance to the clue, and even this, it didn't have anything to do with christ on a crucifix, more as just someone with a nail in their hand. im sure that theres something else, or a deeper explanation of this scene that, as soon as i see it, i'll go "oohhh yeaaaahhh. of course. duh." but right now, i have no clue. hehe. lame pun...
"TOO BAD SHE WON'T LIVE, BUT THEN AGAIN, WHO DOES?!?"
I really liked that line...
i haven't bought a copy of brave new world yet, but im gonna either walk down to chop suey, or go to barnes and nobles and get it today...
i couldnt find much similarities from this clue to the film. if comparing to the book, i would assume it some metaphor about wilbur mercer, but he, along with the dust, specials, Iran, Phil, and Garland, were all absent from the film.
the one way i could relate this clue to the film was when roy stabbed himself with a nail in the hand at the end. my only interpertation of this is that he wanted to feel pain. androids don't have emotions, but he wanted to feel something. it showed that he was not human. pain did not effect him, yet fear did. he was scared to die. other than this, i found no resemblance to the clue, and even this, it didn't have anything to do with christ on a crucifix, more as just someone with a nail in their hand. im sure that theres something else, or a deeper explanation of this scene that, as soon as i see it, i'll go "oohhh yeaaaahhh. of course. duh." but right now, i have no clue. hehe. lame pun...
"TOO BAD SHE WON'T LIVE, BUT THEN AGAIN, WHO DOES?!?"
I really liked that line...
i haven't bought a copy of brave new world yet, but im gonna either walk down to chop suey, or go to barnes and nobles and get it today...
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