Blog #29: Final Reflection

At the beginning of the year, I was nervous about starting Senior year classes, especially English. We began starting to use our gmail accounts more and began using the blogger app. It seemed very easy especially embedding them, despite the confusing instructions and multiple tasks to do just to get an embed code to post. Then came the first group assignment for the Poem, The Black Walnut Tree, I thought that the Google Drive App would help speed things up in group efforts, but the problem was that we had chaotic schedules and only I was online after school to work on this. I ended doing the whole thing after I finished my section to save our grade and learned that I should just switch groups with people that are actually productive and helpful. Best choice I made because I can't work with poel that can't be productive. My new group were very nice and let me join them and Ms. Wilson also approved, whom I thank very much for allowing me to do so. When we started our next project, we actually finished on time and everyone talked to each other about their sections and got some tips or edits form each other using the chatroom feature as well as comments feature. Overall, this small change helped improve myself in English as a student and a teammate as most assignments in each class are individual and some groups in group projects don't really focus  unless they are disciplined in focusing on the task at hand. I don't blame my old team for almost getting us to fail we just needed more cooperation and focus to help encourage cooperation when tasks were being shared out. Nayonika was like the glue that kep the group on task. In the future, whether you are a student in school or an adult in the workforce, I recommend working with a group of people you know well and can help get the job done.

Blog #28: Art & The Artist PPT

Blog #27: Art & The Artist Organization Chart

REQUIRED TEXT (TYPE IN THE TITLE)	EXPLAIN IN A FEW SENTENCES HOW THIS TEXT WILL HELP ANSWER ONE OR MORE ESSENTIAL QUESTION.	PROVIDE TWO QUOTES (WITH LINE/PAGE #S) FROM THE TEXT, AND EXPLAIN HOW YOU WOULD USE THIS QUOTE IN YOUR PRESENTATION.
Criticism Theatre Of The Community Isn’t Necessarily ‘Community Theatre’	“HartBeat does not look at its Greater Hartford community as potential audience members but rather as an important part of the play-making. Ensemble members regularly spend months researching a subject by interviewing people from whatever the community or neighborhood the subject is about as it develops its works.”	I could not access the full article
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (p. 1033) by T.S. Eliot	Prufrock is very concerned about his reputation, and he doesn't want to stick out in a crowd. He'd rather people not notice him at all, which is why he seems uncomfortable with doctors and scientists, whose jobs involve examining and taking things about. But he’s also like a scientist himself in the way that he "cuts people up" (yikes) in his mind, reducing people, and especially women, to a collection of body parts. He loves to use the "synecdoche," which takes one part of an object and uses it to represent the whole. He talks about "faces," "eyes," and "arms," but never full human beings. In art we can only see parts of what an artist’s painting means, but without being able to ask for clarification, debate is still open. Take the cave paintings in Europe, who knows what the past was trying to portray, a story, a point of inspiration to record the beauty of nature, or even a hunting list.	“I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, And in short, I was afraid. (1036 lines 84-86)” More time passes in the poem, this time on a larger scale. He comes to realizes that "the moment of my greatness," the moment of his big chance at love, has come and gone. His best chance for happiness is over. Now he only has death, "the eternal Footman," to look forward to. This, he knows, is bad news. He expresses his concern so much he is lost in his train of thought as time passes by him faster. His clever outlook on life makes him overly dramatic of what choices will affect him the most in life, but in the end it was his choice to find an answer to his dilemma that affects him the most.
“Videotape” (p. 1090)	The plot of Don Delillo's Videotape is strange enough as it is a twelve year old girl is playing with a video camera while in the back seat of their family car. Thinking it is fun to do so, she points the camera out the back window and starts recording the man driving the car behind them. It is not long before the girl and her video camera witness the man being fatally shot, and her video becomes widely publicized thereafter. Art draws us to it like the news where we see lead titles for upcoming stories that wants us to see what made them. I'm not saying death or killing is an art but in a way it’s almost what an artist tries to portray in today’s society in their work.	“You want to tell her it is realer than real but then she will ask what that means (1093).” Drama has an intellectual and emotional impact on both the participants and the audience.  Sometimes what we see on the screen feels like real life; not acting. “There is a jolting movement but she keeps on taping (1093).” Kids today experience so much drama it’s hard to tell whether something is real or imaginary. The footage wasn't made as a project, it was just something fun for the child to show the world through the lens. She didn’t expect a sudden change in pace as the man she was filming was fatally shot right before her eyes.
Poem The Lady of Shalott	Camelot is like a painting and the island of Shalott is like our world where life isn't like a fairytale. Even in the fantasy world of this poem, Camelot seems far away, untouchable until the very end just like a beautiful painting. When we finally do see Camelot, it's a place of joy and beauty, every bit as social and splendid as the island of Shalott was lonely and sad.	“To many-towered Camelot; and up and down the people go, gazing where the lilies blow Round an island there below. (1.1-4)” Theater takes you into a dream world as the curtain rises and falls. The idea of going to the famous town of Camelot and being happy are just dreams to The Lady as she can never leave her cursed home. “Skimming down to Camelot: But who hath seen her wave her hand? Or at the casement seen her stand? (1.23-25)” While the cast in theater put on a show, the crew that run the lights and props keep the play moving. The Lady of Shallot remains in the background and no one has ever seen her. She’s like the crew for theater, you never see them, but they can see you.
Poem The Century Quilt	Marilyn Waniek’s poem “The Century Quilt” displays an individualized type of inspiration by detailing the persona’s reading process. Although the speaker is neither the maker nor the owner of the quilt, she somehow comes to own a quilt that is symbolic of her past life.   As the character reads her quilt, she puts together different parts of her own mixed racial heritage.	“Under her blanket, dreamed she was a girl again... perhaps under this quilt I’d dream of myself of my childhood of miracles (23-25, 36-38) Within the dream of myself perhaps I’d meet my son or my other child, as yet conceived. (41-43).” The narrator portrays the adult’s hope that her dreams under a quilt that was like her grandmother’s will be the same as her grandmother’s dreams when she slept under her quilt.
Short Story The Myth of Sisypus	Sisyphus is most famously known for his punishment in the underworld than for what he did in his life. According to the Greek myth, Sisyphus is condemned to roll a rock up to the top of a mountain, only to have the rock roll back down to the bottom every time he reaches the top. We react to Sisyphus's fate with horror because we see its futility and hopelessness. Of course, the central argument of this essay is that life itself is a futile struggle devoid of hope. Art can mean many things to people such as hope, love, and happiness, but in reality art can only go skin deep before we find the real meaning.	“You have already grasped that Sisyphus is the absurd hero. […].His scorn of the gods, his hatred of death, and his passion for life won him that unspeakable penalty in which the whole being is exerted toward accomplishing nothing.” According Albert Camus, Sisyphus was at conflict with the Gods and cheated death multiple times, and was forced to replay the same task of pushing a boulder to the top of a hill only for it to fall down again. In theater, we repeat the tasks of mastering lines and body movement to have the audience believe we are the character. “One always finds one’s burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks.” Camus suggests, we can fully appreciate life, because we are accepting it. Therefore, Sisyphus is above his fate precisely because he has accepted it. His punishment is only horrible if he thinks it is. He is aware of his punishment, but if he doesn't think so badly of it, his punishment doesn't sound so bad.
Non-fiction/Essay Why we worship `American Idol'	It's a nexus of factors shaping the "virtual revolution" unfolding all around us, on so many fronts. Think chat rooms, MySpace.com, blogs, life journals illustrated with photos snapped by cellphones, flash-mobbing, marathon running, focus groups, talk radio, e-mails to news shows, camcorders, sponsored sports teams for tots -- and every garage band in town with its own CD. What do all these platforms have in common? They are all devoted to otherwise anonymous people who don't want to be mere spectators. In this virtual revolution, it's not workers against capitalists -- that's so 19th century. In our mediated world, its spectators against celebrities, with spectators demanding a share of the last scarce resource in the overdeveloped world -- attention.	“The "everyday hero" answer reflects the virtual revolution, but what about performers? Why are they so important to their fans?” Because these new kind of heroes create an experience of belonging that their fans would never know. When the star meets the audience's expectations and creates, in song and character, a moment in which each individual feels personally understood and, at the same time, fused with other fans in a larger common identity. "American Idol" takes the next step. It unites both aspects of the relationship -- in the climactic final rounds, a fan becomes an idol; the ultimate dream of our age comes true before our eyes and in our hearts. We watch ‘American Idol’ because we can relate to the contestants. They didn't want to remain ‘mere spectators’, they want to be someone that people will know and look up to.
A piece from a non-literature genre of art (painting, sculpture, music, food, architecture dance, etc):	Theater is where we put on our own masks so to speak and become someone else. These masks and others like them, were worn in the Greek theater to distinguish the different emotions of the characters. The comedy and tragedy masks serve to show us the two aspects of human emotions― the comedy mask shows us how foolish human beings can be, while the tragedy mask portrays dark emotions, such as fear, sadness, and loss. The two masks are paired together to show the two extremes of the human psyche.

Blog #26: Prewriting for Art & The Artist Unit

1.            What is Art?

Art is a form of escaping from reality where you can live out your dreams and wishes. It changes the way we think. It creates a story.

2.            What is the artist’s role in society?

To show their own interpretation of the world and human activities.

3.            How can we effectively utilize are in our lives?

Art is a form of communication between our world and its own.

Curiosita

As a child, I was always a handful, always full of spirit and practically curious about everything, but anything related to water always spiked my highest curiosity. Today, I am a senior in high school and soon to be graduate, that plans to earn his degree in marine biology. I think what perked my interests on the ocean was going to aquariums and zoos when I was little with my family. I actually remember seeing an orca show, and I was only one or two years old. On top, it’s like sheet that hides the real canvas underneath, full of all sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes. Anyhting to do with the sea, my paretns were always doing what they can to make my dream a reality. Now here I am almost graduating and a spot at OSU Mansfield Campus, and about to show what I can do.

TED Talk “How Art gives shape to cultural change

1.       What is Art?

Art is a form of expression that changes the way we think. It creates a story in our minds that we never get tired of hearing.

2.       What is the artist’s role in society?

To express thoughts, feelings and beliefs of one’s self.

3.       How can we effectively utilize are in our lives?

According to Thelma Golden, art is about considering the implications of what this generation has to say to the rest of us. It's considering what it means for these artists to be both out in the world as their work travels, but in their communities as people who are seeing and thinking about the issues that face us. It's also about thinking about the creative spirit and nurturing it, and imagining, particularly in urban America, about the nurturing of the spirit.

Surface

Drama

Shallow

Concept of time, facial expressions, nonverbal communication, body language

Deep

Nature of friendships, Preference for competition or cooperation, concept of “self”, concept of past and future 

The reason I chose the theme Drama is because I am a part of Drama Club. Since freshman year, I have seen great people come and go, but not before performing every play from Dracula to Fiddler on the Roof. We are all great friends and are like a giant family. When the play is announced auditions are a free for all as those who have acted before and fresh talent that could make it far in acting. A play in my opinion, is a work of art. Actors express their characteristics of their character to a point they become them and we believe it. The emotions, expressions, and body language is what helps create the character for the audience, but in the end, whether we were villains or bystanders, we're all a bunch of chums that enjoy the life of the theater.

Blog #25: Final Research Paper with Title Page & Works Cited Page

I have read and understand the sections in the Student Handbook regarding Mason High School's Honesty/Cheating Policy. By affixing this statement to the title page of my paper, I am certifying that I have not cheated or plagiarized in the process of completing this assignment. If it is found that cheating and/or plagiarism did take place in the writing of this paper, I understand the possible consequences of the act, which could include a "0" on the paper, as well as an "F" as a final grade in the course.

Signed: _______________________ 

                        Peter Kociba

                                    English IV

                        Ms. Nichole Wilson

Peter Kociba

Ms. Nichole Wilson

English IV

April 2015

New World, New Rules

If we had a chance to live the future, today, but had to give up our humanity to do so, what would be our choice? Everyday people are given a choice – a choice to reach for their goals or do what makes them happy. In a perfect world, these would be one in the same. Aldous Huxley presents this utopian world in his book Brave New World, where the people are governed and trained in a totalitarian regime that not only ensures that people are happy, but also is able to control the behavior of each individual and keep society stable. Upon closer inspection of Today’s society, we are not any closer to this type of government.  

            First, the government controls how the people in the World State are born and are treated like products that need to go through a series of tests before being ‘shipped out’.  Instead of being naturally born, the World State uses a form of artificial birth to determine which child will be in what category of the caste system. Huxley generates "community" by dividing the population into segments, where the Alphas serve as intellectual superiors and Epsilons function as pure menial labor. In Brave New World, “[they] decant [their] babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons" (Huxley 13). Children are taught throughout their life to be happy with their caste so they have no desire to change. The basic ideas of society are also "wedded indissolubly before the child can speak. But wordless conditioning is crude and wholesale [...] for that there must be words, but words without reason" (Huxley 28).

Next, the government for the World State controls what Caste the baby will be born in and what its future job will be for the World State. In an experiment at the beginning of Chapter Two, one can notice how Delta babies are forced to learn “…what the psychologists used to call an 'instinctive' hatred of books and flowers” (Huxley 22). Their love for books and flowers may influence the efficiency of the lives The Controllers want humans to live. Deltas are trained to avoid roses and books by giving them electric shocks when they touch those items. Before they even know it, their freedom of choice and belief is eliminated. Psychologically, this conditioning also lowers these classes to the status of animals. They are trained to hate books in case they read something that might undesirably decondition one of their reflexes. They are taught to hate flowers, so that they will not spend too much time in the countryside, away from work and responsibilities. This again applies to the efficiency of the society. Alphas are given challenging jobs and Epsilons are given grunt work that would be boring for higher caste members. “Alphas are so conditioned that they do not have to be infantile in their emotional behavior. But that is all the more reason for their making a special effort to conform. It is their duty to be infantile, even against their inclination” (Huxley 98)."Stability" in their society is ensured through the limitations placed on the intelligence of each group.

In Brave New World, their happiness is only as limited as what they are told and the use of a special drug used to forget these emotions. The drug in question here is soma, a hallucinogen used by those in power to subdue the citizens in their society’s futuristic, totalitarian setting. It is described as "the perfect drug," with all the benefits with no drawbacks. The citizens of the "World State" have been conditioned to love the drug, and they use it to escape any momentary bouts of dissatisfaction. The problem, as The Savage identifies, is that the citizens are essentially enslaved by the drug and turned into mindless drones and are still prisoners of their own freedom. The hypnopædic platitude "Every one belongs to everyone else"(Huxley 47) is a great example of the sort of confinement we see in Brave New World. No one can be free because everyone is subject to the desires and urges of every other person through the conditioning and soma. How can we have freedom when we are considered property?

The society Huxley presents is based on many things, one of which is the desire to consume. The people have been conditioned in this manner. From the economic standpoint of the society, if people consume readily as they do, there will always be a need for jobs thus completing the supply and demand cycle. Huxley’s world was intended to be a future utopian society, but is in reality a dystopia. This reality to any human would be devastation for everything that people have worked for. People want to be free and the chance to feel. As the Savage put it, "I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, [and] I want goodness. I want sin" (Huxley 240).

In today’s society, nobody has a right to limit anyone’s intelligence. Those who are intelligent enough will become what they desire, and their knowledge will be contributing towards the whole world. By conditioning the population to tell them to respect each other’s caste, and to be happy with their identity and the community they form, where the only reason for living is to benefit others, those freedoms are eliminated and no one is given a chance to choose, think, or change. They have stripped themselves to choose freely and give up a part of humanity by being created in a tube and look like everyone else instead of being born and really living.

As we grow up into adulthood, we would think that being able tell whether or not we are happy would be easier, but, judging our own happiness can be difficult. There is often a disconnection between what our brains tell us and what we actually feel.  In “How to Intentionally Design a Happier Life” by Elizabeth Segran wrote Paul Dolan, a professor at the London School of Economics, a government policy advisor and one of the world’s leading happiness scholars, says "We tell stories about the things we think should make us happy, but sometimes, when we look a bit closer, we are not really that happy at all"(Segran). He explains that landing the dream job or getting engaged can make us feel happy, but in reality, the negatives may not register to someone such as the co-workers are mean or anxious about tying the knot. It takes a lot of energy to be constantly thinking about whether or not we  are happy ourselves, which is why most of us adopt a philosophy about what goes into meaningful life—such as finding satisfying work, getting married, having kids—then we stop wondering whether we are happy. Dolan concluded that “thoughtful, driven people spend so long reflecting about what makes a meaningful life, they sometimes lose sight of what actually feels good to them on a daily basis” (Segran). To be happy, we make mistakes and learn from them such as making mistakes as a child. For example, children learn not to play with fire if they burn themselves once. One should not be taught to hate things that are not dangerous for their own health, otherwise these individuals are considered narrow minded and ignorant.

Arthur Brooks, author of “Free People are Happy People”, suggests that in order for us to be happy, we have to be free in our own society. Therefore freedom and happiness are connected. In 1976, an experiment was conducted to explain how freedom causes happiness, “Psychologists in Connecticut gave residents on one floor of a nursing home the freedom to decide which night of the week would be “movie night,” as well as the freedom to choose and care for the plants on their floor. On another floor of the same nursing home, residents did not receive these choices and responsibilities” (Brooks). The first group, which were no healthier or happier than the second when the experiment began, quickly showed more activity, greater awareness, and better moods.

As man has progressed through the ages, there has been, essentially, one purpose – to arrive at a utopian society. A society where everyone is happy, disease is nonexistent, and strife, anger, and sadness are unknown. Only happiness exists. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley counters this by showing that these items are not what the human soul really craves. In a utopian society, the individual is lost in the melting pot of semblance and world of disinterest. Huxley uses his knowledge of science along with his imagination to show how a utopian society would be pictured. In Brave New World, he removes individuality and has made happiness and the enjoyment of life into an artificial feeling with the constant presence of soma. Freedom is what makes people human and in a world where freedom the freedom of choice is taken away, feelings then disappear.

In the society of Brave New World, the population only know how to be conditionally happy and oblivious to the fact that their world is not a slice of heaven. According to Biswas-Diener and Kashdan, the secret of happiness is a concern of growing importance in the modern era. “We are no longer hunter-gatherers, so to speak, concerned with where to find the next kill, but in truth, we worry instead about how to live our best lives” (Biswas-Diener and Kashdan ). The fever to search for our happiness is encouraged by a growing body of research suggesting that “happiness does not just feel good but is good for you—it's been linked to all sorts of benefits, from higher earnings and better immune-system functioning to boosts in creativity” (Biswas-Diener and Kashdan ). The citizens of Brave New World's futuristic society are in a constant state of imprisonment. But because they have been conditioned to love their servitude, no one seems to have any problem with this.

Now we bring ourselves to the final question, “If we could live the future today, but in return had to give up our humanity and happiness to do so, what would be our choice?” Our thoughts would not be our own, nor would our actions. The people would be governed and trained in a totalitarian regime that not only ensures our happiness, but along with being able to control our behavior of each individual and keep society stable. We would be under the influence of false facts and drugs to a point where we are treated like animals. In today’s society, we choose what we do and what we think, which is what makes us human. Everyday people are given a choice – a choice to reach for their goals or do what makes them happy.

Works Cited

Biswas-Diener, Robert, and Todd B. Kashdan. "What Happy People Do Differently."       Psychology Today. N.p., 19 June 2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.

Brooks, Arthur C. "Free People Are Happy People." City Journal. N.p., Spring 2008. Web. 26      Mar. 2015.

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1932.

Keyes, Alan. "Freedom Means Having The Choice, Liberty Means Using It To Do            Right." The Daily Caller. N.p., 26 Feb. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.

Landau, Elizabeth. "Why Happiness Is Healthy - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 25      Dec. 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.

Segran, Elizabeth. "How To Intentionally Design A Happier Life." Fast Company. Fast    Company & Inc, 12 Feb. 2015. Web.

Blog #24: Research Proposal, Research Questions & Annotated Bibliography

RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BNW

Research Proposal: In Brave New World, scientists talk about the perfection of mankind and improving society, but the citizens don’t have a choice on how they improve it. The scientists take away the freedom to choose, and shows that no one is sad or unhappy with the lifestyle they were designed to live. My topic will be about the different perspectives of freedom in the World State and the Savage Reservation, as well as their goals.

Reasearch Questions:

1.     How important is freedom of choice?

2.     What does it mean to be human? 

3.     What are the ultimate goals of human society?

 Peter Kociba

Nichole Wilson

English IVB

25 March 2015

To be Human and To Be Free

Segran, Elizabeth. "How To Intentionally Design A Happier Life." Fast Company. Fast Company &   Inc, 12 Feb. 2015. Web.

As we grow up into adulthood, you would think we would be able tell whether or not we’re happy, but to tell you the truth, judging our own happiness can be difficult. There is often a disconnection between what our brains tell us and what we actually feel. Paul Dolan says "We tell stories about the things we think should make us happy, but sometimes, when we look a bit closer, we’re not really that happy at all." Perhaps you think you’re happy because you’ve just gotten engaged and after a series of best wishes, it may not register to you that you’re anxious about moving in with your partner. Therefore, Dolan concludes that thoughtful, driven people spend so long reflecting about what makes a meaningful life, they sometimes lose sight of what actually feels good to them on a daily basis, and ties with my research question of what being human means.

Landau, Elizabeth. "Why Happiness Is Healthy - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 25 Dec. 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.

Happiness -- you know it when you see it, but it's hard to put it into words. You might call it a sense of well-being, optimism, or even life satisfaction. But whatever happiness is, we know that we want it, and that is just somehow good. We also know that we don't always have control over our happiness. The author suggests that happiness makes peoples’ lives much better and gives us the optimism for each day. In a study of people older than 60 who enjoyed life less were more likely to develop a disability. In other words, how we feel about life and ourselves affects how happy we feel in the future.

Brooks, Arthur C. "Free People Are Happy People." City Journal. N.p., Spring 2008. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.

Brooks suggests that in order for us to be happy, we have to be free. The earliest American definition of liberty is about constraints on personal actions: if I don’t hurt anybody else, I should be free to pursue my own will. The idea is that The Founders believed that freedom was one of at least three fundamental rights from God, along with life and the pursuit of happiness. These three rights are connected: not only does liberty, of course, depend on life, but the pursuit of happiness depends on liberty. In a way the freedoms and laws we have were to keep us happy and keep our slates clean.

 

Biswas-Diener, Robert, and Todd B. Kashdan. "What Happy People Do Differently." Psychology Today. N.p., 19 June 2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.

According to Biswas-Diener and Kashdan, the secret of happiness is a concern of growing importance in the modern era. We are no longer hunter-gatherers, so to speak, concerned with where to find the next kill, but in truth, we worry instead about how to live our best lives. In a study of more than 10,000 participants from 48 countries, psychologists Ed Diener of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Shigehiro Oishi of the University of Virginia discovered that people from every corner of the globe rated happiness as being more important than other highly desirable personal outcomes, such as having meaning in life, becoming rich, and getting into heaven. This information helps tie together my research question of what the ultimate goals of humans in society.

 

Keyes, Alan. "Freedom Means Having The Choice, Liberty Means Using It To Do Right." The Daily Caller. N.p., 26 Feb. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.

According to Keyes, is that humanity abuses the power of freedom throughout our lives. Our nation wants order, but we also need happiness to balance the order. In other words, even though a government passes a new law, we can’t force this change on people who have a different set of morals and choices. For the research question on the importance of freedom of choice, it is expressed that we are given this right to express ourselves, yet others take advantage and abuse the power before them. We aim to bring the world together in peace, but our morals, greed, and our own choices in life that prevent us from moving forward.

Blog #23: Research Paper Final Topic Selection & Final Graphic Organizers

Brave New World Topic Selection My Essential Questions: Freedom & Happiness: How important is freedom of choice? When should one give up freedom of choice? Humanity/Society: What does it mean to be human? What are the ultimate goals of human society? My Final Topic Selection & Why I Chose It/Connection to Brave New World -- I will be writing about the different perspectives of freedom and ultimate goals in their society in Brave New World. In "How to Intentionally design a Happier Life," Elizabeth Segran says "It takes a lot of energy to be constantly thinking about whether or not [you're] happy. This is why most of us adopt a philosophy about what goes into meaningful life—such as finding satisfying work, getting married, having kids—then we stop wondering whether we are happy." In Brave New World, The World State stripped its citizens of their emotions through positive and negative reinforcement after being artificially born and 'created to follow a specific job. They forced the citizens to hate things such as flowers and books, so that they want nothing more than what the World State offers through the physiological need to belong and self-actualization of purpose in each caste they were assigned. Although the citizens have no freedom to choose what they want because they believe they already have what they want. Yellow – Iceberg View of Culture (Concepts of food, concepts of self, concept of past and future) Blue – Outside sources to reinforce connection to BNW Green – Maslow’s Hierarchy  BNW Quotations  Maslow Iceberg   "They'll grow up with what the psychologists used to call an 'instinctive' hatred of books and flowers. Reflexes unalterably conditioned. They'll be safe from books and botany all their lives." The Director turned to his nurses. "Take them away again." (2.22) Physiological Esteem social interaction rate rules of conduct Ideals of childbearing(partially?)  "We also predestine and condition. We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers or […] future Directors of Hatcheries." (1.13) Esteem Safety tone of voice social interaction rate  "Stability," said the Controller, "stability. No civilization without social stability. No social stability without individual stability." His voice was a trumpet. Listening they felt larger, warmer. (3.42) Physiological Safety Love/belonging  patterns of handling emotions roles in relation to class notions of leadership Alphas are so conditioned that they do not have to be infantile in their emotional behaviour. But that is all the more reason for their making a special effort to conform. It is their duty to be infantile, even against their inclination. (6.2.98) Love/Belonging Safety social interaction rate roles in relation to class and occupation "But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin." "In fact," said Mustapha Mond, "you're claiming the right to be unhappy." "All right then," said the Savage defiantly, "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy."  (17.240) Physiological Self-actualization Love/belonging  concept of past and future definition of insanity facial expressions

Blog #22: "Home and the Family" Socratic Discussion Preparation

Part 1: 3x3 plot exercise

The Alpha Troy- Limited Awareness

Family falls apart- Consequences

Infant Repairs wounds- Resurrection/ Final Attempt

Part 2: Fences Questions

1. In the stage directions for act 1, scene 1, Wilson describes Troy as “a large man with thick, heavy hands; it is this largeness that he strives to fill out and make an accommodation with.” How does this description establish the character of Troy? Hard-working, strong and prone to telling compelling, fanciful stories and twisting the truth, Troy is the family breadwinner and plays the dominant role in his over thirty-year friendship with fellow sanitation worker, Jim Bono. Troy is a tragic-hero who has excessive pride for his breadwinning role. Troy was also a former baseball star in the Negro Leagues. Troy's athletic ability diminished before the Major Leagues accepted blacks. Troy's years of hard-work for only meager progress depress him. Troy often fails to provide the love and support that would mean the most to his loved ones. He insists that his son Cory abandon his dream of playing football and learn a trade. Troy loves his wife, maintains a cool distance from his children, and actively protests discrimination at his workplace. He entertains and inspires his friend Jim Bono with his combination of jovial vulgarity and wisdom, and he seeks to rediscover lost passion with a mistress, Alberta. Later, he becomes a disturbed, angry man, causing his friends and family to desert him.

1.   Is the character of Troy Maxson believable/realistic? Use textual evidence to defend your answer. I would say that that Troy Maxson’s character is believable because he’s like the common tragic hero. For one thing, like every tragic hero, Troy has a clear-cut case of hamartia. This word is commonly translated from the Greek as "tragic flaw"; however, a more direct translation is "missing of the mark." That's a perfect way to describe almost everything Troy Maxson does in Fences. Troy's relationship with his son Cory is a good example of how he misses the mark. Cory is overjoyed because he's been selected for a college football scholarship. Like his father, Cory loves sports, and this is his one chance to go to college. Troy, however, is dead-set against Cory going off to play football. One of the greatest sources of disappointment in Troy's life is the fact that he wasn't allowed to play pro baseball. Though he was a homerun king of the Negro Leagues, he couldn't graduate to the majors because of racial discrimination. Troy refuses to let his son play football, claiming that he doesn't want Cory to suffer from the same sort of heartache. Everyone around Troy tries to make him see that times have changed, and that Cory will have a better chance. His wife Rose tells him, "They got lots of colored boys playing ball now. Baseball and football" (1.1.152). Troy's best friend, Bono, says, "Times have changed, Troy, you just come along too early" (1.1.153). Cory points out to his father several current black baseball players, like the famous Hank Aaron. Troy dismisses all of this and tells his son, "The white man ain't gonna let you get nowhere with that football noway" (1.3.123). Though he used be able to knock a baseball out of the park like it was nothing, he constantly "misses the mark" in his personal life. Like most tragic heroes, Troy does whatever he thinks is right. Even though the people around him warn him that the things he's doing may have tragic consequences, he stubbornly pursues his own course of action.

1. What role does Bono play in the development of Troy’s character? Pick a scene that you think shows Bono’s role most clearly, and then explain. Bono admits that he's always admired Troy, and that he's learned a lot by following him. He says, "I done learned a whole heap of things about life watching you. I done learned how to tell where the shit lies. How to tell it from the alfalfa" (2.1.60-62). Bono also tells his friend, "You done learned me a lot of things. You showed me how to not make the same mistakes...to take life as it comes along and keep putting one foot in front of the other" (2.1.62-63). With lines like that, it seems like Bono is definitely the sidekick in this situation. What's interesting, though, is that by the end of the play Bono and Troy don't really hang out anymore. It's never said outright, but it seems pretty clear that this is because of Troy's affair with Alberta. From the very first scene, Bono is trying to steer Troy away from this sexy lady. Troy, however, doesn't listen and has the affair anyway. The last time we see the two friends together, it's clear they don't chill anymore. Troy's promotion to driver has separated them at work, and Troy's betrayal of Rose has separated them on a personal level. It seems the affair damaged Bono's admiration of Troy. In the end, Troy hasn't just lost his family; he's lost his best friend.

1. Is Troy a hypocrite? Do his relationships with Alberta and Cory make his assertions regarding family responsibilities and duty ring false? In my opinion, Troy is a hypocrite. He is very confident that he is better than many of the people around him and also believes he is better than most major league baseball players but couldn’t make it in the big leagues because he is black. He is often drunk and tends to tell extremely exaggerated stories until someone calls him out, mostly Rose, his wife. His son Cory is a great football player in high school yet Troy refuses to let the recruiters come talk to him. He represents a theme in the play of a parent being worried that their children will out do them. Troy also gets very angry and disrespectful when he doesn’t get his way. He asked Rose what time she was going to be home one day and when she didn’t know he said, “I just asked you a question, woman. What’s that the matter… can’t I ask you a question?” (2.2.31). He is also a hypocrite because he had just refused to tell Rose when he was coming home. This is also seen in Act 2, Scene 3. "She's my daughter, Rose. My own flesh and blood. I can't deny her no more than I can deny them boys." (2.3.16). this shows both Troy's responsibility and irresponsibility; instead of running away or denying that he fathered the baby, he accepts the reality. Of course, this quote is ironic and shows Troy as a hypocrite. Although Troy says he cannot "deny his boys," he denies Cory a chance to become a successful athlete. He is not responsible to his family, particularly to his wife, when he goes off to spend time with Alberta and says that he has gone to Taylor's to watch the ball game.

1. When Cory returns after Troy’s death, he tells Rose, “I can’t drag Papa with me everywhere I go. I’ve got to say no to him”(Act 2.5.110). What finally convinces Cory to attend Troy’s funeral? What does his attending the funeral suggest about what Cory’s future might hold and what kind of home and family he will have? Has he said “no” to his father? After his father's death, Cory refuses to attend the funeral. When asked why, he replies, "I can't drag Papa with me everywhere I go. I've got to say no to him." (2.5.111). For his whole life Cory has been patronized and disrespected by his father. His first attempt at rebellion was to play football, but his father called the coach and made him quit the team. Now Cory realizes he doesn't want to always be forced to comply with what his father wants him to do. He needs to be independent from his father. Rose realizes this too, after Troy comes home with a baby that isn't hers. Rose agrees to care for it, but tells Troy, "From right now...you a womanless man." (2.3.24). Rose also realizes that she can't spend her life serving a man who doesn't respect her, and decides at that moment that she is through with him. Both major characters in Troy's life shut him out after they realize they can't handle it anymore. Cory hopes to finally become his own man by not going to his father's funeral. He thinks this will somehow symbolically distinguish him from the man that still overshadows his life. Rose sees this as outright disrespect. She lectures her son, saying that it won't help make Cory into his own man.

1. What do you think is the climax of Fences? Explain your reasoning. The climax of Fences, in my opinion is when Troy and Cory’s reaches the breaking point as Cory is given  a strike after he makes a mistake of not keeping up with his chores and getting a job at the A&P according to Troy. Cory wants to play football, but Troy talked to his Coach to kick him off the team and not let him play anymore.  Instead of getting a real reason what he did wrong Troy responds was that “...you (Cory) swung at the ball and didn’t hit it/” (1.4.344) meaning he had his chance to do something with his life and he blew it.

1. Wilson has described Fences as having a “blues aesthetic.” Songs, and particularly the blues, play an important role in Wilson’s plays. Where do you see the influence of the blues on Fences? Is it in the diction? The syntax? The themes? The structure? Or does it show itself in some other way? In the play Fences, it is structured somewhat like a blues song. The play all takes place in one place like a key of music and the characters each have their own rhythm and melody that Wilson riffs off of around the common locale. Characters repeat phrases, or pass phrases around, like a blues band with a line of melody. Similar to the role of repeated lyrics and melody of a blues song, Wilson's characters display changes in their life and a changed attitude toward life by repeating scenarios in which they act. For instance, Friday, Troy's payday, is the setting of three scenes. By mirroring the situation in which events in the play take place, we can observe the change that occurs from one instance to the next. For instance in Act One, Scene one, Troy and Bono come home after payday as best friends worried about Troy's future. In Act One, Scene Four, Troy and Bono celebrate after payday because Troy won his discrimination case, but Bono is more concerned that Troy will ruin his life with his extramarital affair. Troy comes home after payday in Act Two, Scene Four, estranged from Bono and his family. He drinks and sings to comfort himself. By now, the good days of the play's first scene seem far-gone. This is a way playwrights manipulate the sense of time in a play, but for Wilson in particular, the repeated events and language of the play are in keeping what he calls a "blues aesthetic."

1. The character of Gabriel has puzzled readers, audiences, and even directors; on even suggested that he be dropped from the script to keep from confusing audiences. Some see him as a spiritual presence with a visible link to the African past. What elements of plot and character depend on him? Explain how you do or do not see Gabriel as essential to Fences. Include the final scene in your interpretation.   Despite Gabriel not being around for most of the play, he plays a bigger role than we could all imagine. Gabriel suffered a head wound during World War II and now has a metal plate in his head. The man thinks he is the archangel Gabriel. Throughout the play he's gone around talking about judgment day. Gabriel always carries around a trumpet and says St. Peter told him to blow the horn when it's time to open heaven's gates for the Day of Judgment. When he talks to his brother Troy in riddles about hellhounds and St. Peter in Act One, Scene Two, Gabe seems to observe Troy's fates with clarity. He tries, in his playful language, to warn Troy of his tragic fate. So Gabriel decides that the day of his brother's funeral is the Day of Judgment for everybody. He triumphantly raises the trumpet to his mouth and blows as hard as he can. Sadly, nothing comes out. Stage directions tell us that "There is a weight of impossible description that falls away and leaves him bare and exposed to a frightful realization" (2.5.217). We're not told exactly what this realization might be, but we suspect Gabriel may have just realized that he's not actually an angel.

1. How do biblical allusions, mythological allusions and cultural allusions develop characterization and the meaning of the work as a whole?At Troy’s funeral, when Gabriel's trumpet fails to make a sound; you could interpret it as Christianity itself failing him. When Gabriel begins his dance, he reaches within himself and finds a dance hidden inside him, a dance buried by centuries of white oppression. This idea that African Americans should reach beyond the Christian tradition they grew up in and find the strength of their African-ness is found in many of Wilson's plays. Gabriel caps off his tribal dance with a wild and howling song. By the time he's finished, we're told that the "the gates of heaven stand open as wide as God's closet" (1.5.222). It looks like Gabriel has opened the way for his brother by finding the place in him that's still connected in some instinctual way to Africa. It's quite powerful that Wilson chooses to end his mostly realistic play with this moment of magic. In the play's final seconds, the characters reach beyond their hard-scrabble lives and briefly touch the divine.

Part 3: Essential Questions

1.      What makes a house a home?

When you first move into a house, it’s empty and missing, which could say memories and personality. A house doesn’t have to be extravagant just make it a home. All you need are friends and family to help make memories. A home is like a job for an invisible person. It provides shelter from the elements, heat/cold air, and to let people settle down and take care of it. As long as you care about the house, it’s a home.

2.      In what ways does the suffering or success of one family member affect the others? If the breadwinner of the family like Troy for example, actually succeeded, his family would be affected positively and life would probably improve for them. Unfortunately, he’s black and opportunity didn’t come knocking at his door for a new future. Being the provider of the family can be just as stressful as the job, even if Troy was just a garbage man.

3.      How do traditions help define family

They help us move emotionally from one place to another; they ease pain, acknowledge growth, and create connection. Most parents discover early on that traditions like bedtime stories and goodbye hugs make separations easier and provide security. Or taking a picture on the first day of school and carving pumpkins together at Halloween help children integrate the changes of the year. Families not only have treasured traditions, they constantly evolve new ones that help them find their way through the inevitable changes of growing up, but you aren't consciously "creating" traditions.  Your family is naturally developing them. The way you celebrate birthdays or mark anniversaries, the way you say goodbye to each other every morning or shop for fall clothes each school year; anything repeated is a tradition, the stuff of which memories are made. You don't need anything fancy, just love.  What creates a tradition is revisiting it year after year, updating as your child gets older.

A. Your Questions

1. We're told that Gabriel begins "A slow, strange dance, eerie, and life-giving. A dance of atavistic signature and ritual" (2.5.219). What do you think makes this strange dance so atavistic? And how would this compare to the theme of Langston Hughes “When I Grew Older”.  In case you didn't know, "atavistic" means "reverting to or suggesting the characteristics of a remote ancestor or primitive type". The word "primitive," and even "atavistic," can have offensive or racist meanings when it refers to race. But I don't think Wilson means anything like that; we think he means something closer to "the return of a trait or recurrence of a previous behavior after a period of absence"

2. Cory hopes to finally become his own man by not going to his father's funeral. He thinks this will somehow symbolically distinguish him from the man that still overshadows his life. Rose sees this as outright disrespect. She lectures her son, saying that it won't help make Cory into his own man. What do you think? Does Cory owe it to his father to attend the funeral? Does he owe it to himself? Which choice might best help Cory to become his own man?

3. Discuss the significance of the title, Fences, as it relates to characters and themes of the play.

Bono explains to Cory and Troy the reason for Rose's request for them to build a fence as an outside observer. Bono observes that Rose wants them to build the fence because she wants her loved ones kept close to her. Bono also explains that some people build fences to push people away. Bono is the only one who knows about Troy's affair with Alberta, which he believes will destroy the bonds of the Maxson family. Bono turns the action of building the fence into a metaphor of behavior that defines the central conflict of the play. Troy pushes Cory and Rose away while Rose and Cory try to live up to Troy's expectations and meet his demands. Wilson's writing emphasizes the Maxson family's roots in slavery with symbols, themes and storytelling. Wilson's title, Fences stands for larger boundaries than the ones created physically and emotionally in the Maxson household. The symbol of the fence also alludes to geographical boundaries and legal boundaries. Troy's last name attests to this as an amalgamation of the Mason-Dixon Line that, starting in 1820 was the term used to describe the imaginary line separating the slave states from the Free states. The title, Fences refers to the choices Wilson's characters make with their lives in their fair or unfair treatment of others.