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Article on Maus

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-86386340/forced-confessions-case-art.html

For this blog post, I chose to use the article "Forced confessions: the case of Art Spiegelman's Maus" by Emily Budick. Budick writes about how both Maus: A Survivor's Tale Part I: "My Father Bleeds History" and Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began don't center only on the biography of Art Spiegelman's father, Vladek, but also on Spiegelman's relationship with with his father.

She concludes in her article that "by the end of the narrative, Art, the author, in part by portraying himself through his less successful, less reliable alter ego Artie, has transformed his role from implicated, even aggressive, narrator-participant into a sort of detached psychic medium who consents, despite his own discomfort and self-endangerment, to let the voice of the past speak directly and unmediated not so much to hims, as through him; furthermore, he permits that voice to speak not only to us, the reader of the text, but to the many ghosts that constitute this past." Budick also points out that Spiegelman avoids the distance and objectivity associated with the historian's role by making it clear that he is not a historian at the beginning of the book and that the "historical veracity of the story... is not its only justification or goal." She further notes that the first book expresses the "intimate and likely fraught relationship between the narrator and his protagonist". It also identifies the father's pain as not only his; it is also shared by his son Art. By the end of the books, Vladek's story can only be kept alive by someone else, but his survivor son cannot escape the burden of historical narrative and as a survivor of the inherited trauma, "struggles to survive what is not only the bleeding away of the father's life but the flow of his already hemorrhaging life's blood into that of the son." As a result, Art experiences his inheritance of his father's history as nothing less than an assault, however unintentional, on the part of the father - a demand as it were".

In short, Art Spiegleman writes about his father's story because he feels that he is obligated by a pain that is inherited.

How Cat's Cradle is Postmodern

Cat's Cradle is a completely postmodern text. Vonnegut covered many postmodern subjects like religion and science.

I think the largest aspect of postmodern religion in Cat's Cradle is Bokononism. In the novel, Bokononism's creators, Bokonon and Earl McCabe, created the religion to control the island nation of San Lorenzo as a utopian project. In order to do this, the two had to recreate reality for the citizens. The religion was banned soon after by the next ruler of the island, Papa Monzano, to give its followers more reason to practice it. Bokonon was labeled an outlaw and is "pursued" by the San Lorenzan government for heresy. The religion of San Lorenzo is postmodern because it centers on the idea of objectivism. In objectivism, the only reality is what one has accepted to be the truth, even if it has been based on lies. Bokononism tells its followers to "'Live by the foma that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy'" (Bokonon, 5) For San Lorenzans, poverty will never improve, but it is by the manufacturing of reality that the government can create hope and maintain a productive nation.

The other postmodern subject in Cat's Cradle is the neutrality of science. Felix Hoenikker was the man responsible for developing the atomic bomb. It killed hundreds of thousands of people in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan. Hoenikker also created ice-nine, the doomsday compound in the novel. Vonnegut centers on a key concept of science by using Hoenikker's characterization. His character was socially awkward, and cared little for his family life. The only discernible thing he truly cared for was science. This did not include its motives; it was all a game to Hoenikker. Vonnegut shows through the innocent scientist that technological developments are fundamentally impartial. It is only by human motivation that it is labeled good or evil.

Late Sir Ken Robinson

In the video lecture "Changing Education Paradigms," Sir Ken Robinson presents his view on modern education. He points out that education is too standardized, that academic ability is "making brilliant people think they are not". Robinson goes on to say that ADHD is not a medical epidemic. Rather, it is merely a result of standardized education. Like Brave New World, students are being given drugs to control their capacity to focus. Ritalin and soma are comparable because they are "anesthetizing" students.

Standardization has also created the conformity and standardization of the students. Schools' curriculum are divided into certain subjects and facilities; their standardized testing is producing students that are subject to conformity to this model of education. This is extremely similar to how the World Controllers of Brave New World "decant [their] babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers or future ... Directors of Hatcheries" (Huxley, 13).

The lecture also shows that in a study, 98% of a large group of children were deemed geniuses in divergent thinking. But as they aged, more of the subjects of the testing lost their genius level intellect of divergent thinking. This is because they were conditioned to think a certain way; they were educated. His evidence of conditioning children to conform with standardized information parallels what the general population of Brave New World believes. They are conditioned, starting at childhood to accept death and the caste system. By the time they are adults, they all live by the guidelines the World Controllers have laid for them. They only know promiscuity, happiness, and soma.

Brave New World Topic

Brave New World was much more interesting and entertaining than 1984 and The Tempest. I'm not completely sure what to write about, mostly because I don't have a clear idea about the prompt. Anyways, I think Brave New World illustrates the argument between totalitarianism and individual expression.

People in Huxley's book are prompted and conditioned to seek immediate satisfaction for their every little want. They are created artificially on assembly lines. Promiscuity is highly encouraged and the basic family structure is shunned from society. The World Controllers like Mustapha Mond prioritize economic stability and citizen productivity over individual humanity. To accomplish complete stability and productivity, people are kept happy by living by what are the complete opposite of today's morals. If they are still not content, the World State distributes soma to help them cope with life.

Two outside works that could work with Brave New World are 1984 and the video by Sir Ken Robinson.

1984 parallels Brave New World because of how the Party controls its populace. It does the opposite things with the same goal in mind. Big Brother keeps the people run down and tired as compared to the happy and satisfied citizens of Brave New World. They are controlled psychologically by Big Brother and the Inner Party's constant streaming of propaganda and hate. Sexuality is suppressed since it is a product of free expression. In Brave New World, the people are raised so they will live to seek happiness in its most primal form.

Robinson's "Changing Education Paradigms" shows the flaws of modern education and how it is made to streamline learning. He makes the point that "people are becoming educated", and are thinking too much in a linear form. He stresses that we need to restructure learning to encompass teaching about how children think, with divergent thinking, rather than instructing them about what to think.

Values in Brave New World

                Mond’s quote explains why the people in Brave New World are created. They are organized into the five different castes: Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. The Alphas are bred as the most intellectually inclined group, and the Epsilons are the least developed. These Epsilons are bred only for the purpose of manual labor, and they have no objection to it. They are manipulated in the fetal stage to be born dumb and be content with their lower grade of work. This ties into how Mund describes the men that watch the wheels. They don’t know any better than what they were bred for.

                Mond addresses the students on the topic of stability by relating it to water in a pipe. He explains that strong emotion inspired by old views of families, sex, and delayed gratification of desires contradicts stability in society. In their world, words relating to family are dirty (e.g. mother, father). The people have no need for family structures since they are all test tube babies. Only the savages still retain their family structures. Their society also lacks the basic family structures because the people are supposed to adhere to promiscuous lifestyles, thus eliminating monogamy. Children are introduced to it at a young age, as two children discover “a rudimentary sexual game” (31). This follows through into adulthood as Lenina is urged by her peers to not stay with Henry Foster because long-term relationships are not favorable. Happiness is key in their society’s stability, and it is kept intact by these non-marital relationships. Without long-term relationships, people are free to fulfill their sexual desires and calm their impulses so they can remain productive citizens. The society they live in allows people to live without inhibitions so they only need to worry about the economy and their own consumerism.

Tempest Prep Write

Aime Cesaire’s A Tempest highlights the imperialist notions found in The Tempest. In discussions of postcolonial undertones, a controversial issue has been about how these messages should be interpreted. On one hand, political commentator George Will argues that works of literature should be enjoyed for its aesthetic value rather than the context that they were written in. On the other hand, professor Stephen Greenblatt disagrees because of the plethora of evidence that spells out an author’s intended purpose. Others even maintain that only the authors can tell us the real meanings of their works. However, this is impossible in Shakespeare’s case, and I believe that people need to be able to draw their own conclusions on The Tempest based on prior knowledge of the political undertones in the play.

George Will wants readers to enjoy and understand literature for what they think it is, not what the MLA says is right. To him, people should be able to interpret works the way they understand them, and political messages in readings are becoming all too apparent thanks to the educated elite. But Stephen Greenblatt defends his views and argues that it’s impossible to not take note of the imperialist messages in The Tempest. He stresses the value of the cultural heritage found in the play. In order to fully understand Shakespeare and other writers, it is important for the student to understand that Shakespeare drew upon the politics of his time to write.

I have to agree with Greenblatt on the issue. Writers are influenced by their surroundings and culture, and we should acknowledge the fact. Our interpretations just can’t be so far reaching that they alienate the reader with their ambiguity.  Nevertheless, people need to be able to base their conclusions of a work on what they understand, not what they are told to understand, like Will wants.