The End

Kyle Petras

5/15/16

Blog #5

Gubanich

The End

      Reading the final chapters of Margret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, was an interesting end. I expected it a bit, but who cares, it was an interesting book. For this week’s blog, I have been tasked to unpack a quote. In this setting, Offred and all the other handmaids have been summoned to a meeting beyond the wall. When they get there, everything is set up as if a graduation was taking place. Aunt Lydia is set to speak and talks about three women who have been committed of crimes. In the past, they have told them what crimes they have done, but this time, they have chosen not to.

      After hearing what Aunt Lydia says, Offred says in the text, "The crimes of others are a secret language among us. Through them we show ourselves what we might be capable of, after all"(275 Atwood). Offred is saying that the crimes other people commit are a complete mystery to us, but the government knows everything. Knowing this makes us want to commit a crime.

      This quote also foreshadows the fate of Offred. In the end, the Eyes catch Offred. When going for a walk with “Ofglen”, Offred realizes that it is not she. Everything is the same, but it is a different woman. Offred attempts to use “Mayday” to see if it is actually Ofglen, but the only response that she get is “You ought to make an effort…to clear your mind of such…echoes”(284 Atwood). This is a definite sign that it is not Ofglen. If it was, she would have never of said that. This frightens Offred that she might have just been caught. In the end, she is captured and taken away. This also foreshadows the death of the real Ofglen. “After the salvaging” she said, “She saw the vans coming for her”, so, “She hung herself”(285 Atwood).

      To end this blog, I realized that this quote really had a lot to it. I really didn’t think it had that much meat to it. When a crime is committed in Gilead, no one is informed about it. It is a secret to the rest of society. This can easily be seen when Ofglen was replaced. The thing to take from this quote is that people always end up getting caught. It’s a trigger for us to follow after them out of human nature.

Creating Gilead

Kyle Petras

5/9/16

Gubanich

Blog #4

Creating Gilead

      While Offred and the Commander are sitting down for one of their evening mingles, The commander explains how Gilead came to be. He tells Offred that "The problem wasn't only with the women... The main problem was with the men. There was nothing for them anymore"(210 Atwood). At this point, man was nothing. Since women could do anything and everything man could do, what was the point. There was no more higher status for men.
     

      As man began to become more and more equal, sex did as well. Sex had become so easily accessible that it wasn’t “that good” anymore. Knowing this, men felt useless. They didn’t want any relationships or even marriage. They wanted a role, and that is where Gilead comes in. The whole point of Gilead was to create a society where men gained back the power they once had. In the process, people ended up losing privileges, men and women, such as having no recreational freedom.
      

      In the article we read called Teaching Men to be Emotionally Honest, by Andrew Reiner, he explains how men don’t show emotion due to how society views men. We should be seen as tough and never to cry, but in studies, it shows that male toddler cry more that female toddlers. Men teach their sons to “be manly” and to “take it like a man”. Andrew says in his articles that people say that it’s “Better to earn your man card than to succeed like a girl”(3 Reiner). This is said because there is such a stereotype for guys to be tough. This is why the Commander thinks that men didn’t have a purpose. If maybe they didn’t have the stereotype to be seen as the dominant person or the man of the house, things might have turned out differently.

Power

Kyle Petras

5/3/16

Blog

Gubanich

      In the Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Attwood, Things have begun to go a bit astray. Offred, our main character, has new arrangements with the Commander. These arrangements include Offred visiting the Commander in his office. Since this is forbidden and very trick to do, Offred needs to do it at specific times. The whole point of this blog is to discuss who has the power. Since this is such a forbidden act, Offred and the Commander need to be very stealthy about their meetings.

      When Offred and the Commander meet for the first time, Offred begins to worry if she has done something or if she is going to be sent somewhere. In this instance, The Commander has the scepter or the power in this situation. He has complete control to do anything he wants. If Offred denies meeting with him, he can send her away, and it is illegal if there is any interaction between the two. When she arrives, she is asked to play a game of scrabble. Doing this recreational thing is illegal as well.

      When the two meet again, the power has shifted a bit. The commander reveals something and the reason why he is having her meet with him. With his wife, he is lonely. The only reason he is having her come into his office is to be more recreational. At this time, I feel the power has shifted more towards Offred because now, she can say that the Commander is doing these things. During these meetings, she asks for things in return. An example for this is lotion and an old magazine. This only occurs after she feels they have a better relationship. She doesn’t take anything with her because she fears that someone might find it.

      As the meetings progress, Offred begins to get more and more comfortable with the Commander. In the beginning, the commander had most of the power; he could have done anything, or could have been testing her. Now that time has gone past and this arrangement is more for the Commander’s enjoyment, Offred has gained more power.

Her or Me

Kyle Petras

4/26/16

Gubanich

Western Lit.

Her or Me

      In this week’s reading, our main character has an unfortunate procedure called the Ceremony done. Offred’s job as a handmaid is to have sex with the commander and try to bear a child. The quote that is focused on for this blog says, “Which of us is it worse for, her or me?”.

      During the ceremony, Serena Joy is in the room. Not only is Offred lying on Serena’s stomach and holding her hands, but she has to endure her husband in other words raping Offred. Both Offred’s and Serena’s situations are difficult to endure. For Serena, It is not necessarily a physical trial she needs to go through, but a mental one. She has to watch her husband do this to another woman while she is holding her hands. For Offred, she is physically having something done to her.

      In my opinion, I believe Offred has it worse. Another factor of this is the amount of comfort both are feeling during this moment. Neither are comfortable, but Offred is being raped while having her hands held by the wife of the man who is doing it to her. For Offred, she has a way of coping. This involves her trying to stray her mind from what is happening. An example of this would be how she remembered “ Queen Victoria’s advice to her daughter: close your eyes and think of England”(94). For Serena, I feel she just fights on through it and doesn’t really have a coping mechanism.

      In the end, Offred states the quote, “Which of us is it worse for, her or me?”. This has a little hidden secret. Why would she even be saying this? I have an idea as to why. Offred has some sympathy for her, otherwise, she would have never said anything like that. What does this mean? I don’t think that Serena has the same affection towards Offred because she treats her very poorly. When they finish the ceremony, Serena says to Offred to “get up and get out” with disgust(95). I do think both have it pretty bad, honestly. I surely wouldn’t want to be raped while being held by a woman from behind, and I definitely wouldn’t want to see my spouse having sex with someone else while holding that person.
      

      So the wire does come down to Offred. I think because she is being physically damaged, she has it worse.

Then and Now

      In “The Handmaid’s Tale”, our main character has gone through a lot so far. Her past is vastly different than her present story. All things seem to be normal until the war happened. After, our main character and others become handmaids. They are in other words maids for the wealthy families. These two opposite sides give a view as to who “she” was and what she has become as well as the world around her.
      In the beginning of the book, our main character is describing the setting. She is in a gymnasium and telling what used to happen in there. She begins talking about the basketball games and dances that took place in there and the smell of sweat. She then speaks of how the world has changed and the gym has now become a containment facility. The handmaids are held here and around the perimeter of the facility, there are the guardians who guard everyone inside as well as the aunts who are making sure no one talks to each other. As the story goes along, our main character glimpses into the past. Before, she had a significant other named Luke. Unfortunately for her, Luke loved his previous wife more than her and began having an affair with her. She also speaks of a woman who she remembers seeing on tv when she was younger. This memory becomes very important later in the story. These things that are mentioned about the past which are very important to the reader to see what happened and how it has changed.
      Our narrator, who we learn her name is Offred, has been recruited as a handmaid by a household. When she arrives, she recognizes the woman who open the door for her. When she finally realizes who it is, she thinks to herself that it was the woman who I saw on the TV all those years. Her name was Serena Joy. She was the Commander’s wife. She is very stiff and strict. She doesn’t allow her to call her ma’am and bosses her around. Offred resides in a room that is pretty much “everything proof”. There is no glass in the picture frames to prevent her from cutting her wrists, no chandelier to stop her from hanging herself and the glass in the window is shatter proof, to stop her from escaping. When walking to town, she must walk with another handmaid. She is not allowed to talk to men and has one purpose, to have sex with the commander and have a child for the family. Most of these points are based around control. This book seems to be based around control so far.
      Getting a sight of the present and the future gives some perspective on how life worked and works for Offred. In the present, control seems to be huge. Seeing the differences of the them gives two very different perspectives of our narrator’s life.

Anthem Final Essay

Kyle Petras

4/10/16

Gubanich

Western Lit.

Anthem Final Essay

      In Ayn Rand’s Dystopian Novel, Anthem, the protagonist, Equality 7-2521, lives in a world where he is different. He is not like his brethren. Not only is he taller than all the others, but also he is smarter and more curious. His curiosity leads to him wanting to discover things. His discoveries are monumentally new to him, but in the reader’s eye, it is just an everyday object. Even though we see the things Equability find on an everyday basis, these new findings make it ever more impactful and exciting for the reader.

      In the beginning of the book, Equality 7-2521 is on his way to the theater for the daily performance. He strays from the crowd and discovers “an old iron grill over a black whole” as “the earth fell in before us”(rand 17). Equality then goes down into the hole where he finds a tunnel. This discovery is immense for Equality. No one has ever seen anything like this before, but when reading it, we already know that it is just a subway. Equality’s description of the earth falling in and the old grate makes the hole feel like an endless pit, where no one had been for many years. This makes it special for the reader.

      Further on in the novel, Equality has made regular visits down to the subway. His first discovery has led to another, which is his finding of electricity, “a new power of nature”(Rand 35). Electricity is used everyday in our lives. As I write this, I am using electricity. Equality puts into perspective this power, this unknown, and how is would be very odd not having electricity in our society. There would be no Instagram or phones in general. What kind of a society would that be?

      While searching the subway track, Equality finds things hanging from the ceiling like orbs. These things are completely foreign to him and has no idea what he is looking at. He describes it as “wires that led to little globes of glass”(Rand 36). His unknowing discovery is light. More specifically, light bulbs. In Anthem, people live off of candlelight. Never has anyone seen bulbs that produce light. This finding is one of the lesser important but still key in the story. It makes the reader feel how life would be without light and gives perspective to how Equality felt in that moment.

      Continuing the topic of light, Equality begins to experiment with wiring. He soon discovers that light is produced when the wire is heated. Equality is stunned and amazed. Light has never been created this way before. He says that “tonight, we finished building a strange thing”(Rand 41). This “strange thing” is his version of light, his own creation. His creation leads him to wanting to show others this newfound thing. This, I think people can relate to in the sense that people do discover things and want to show others to impress them. That is what this quote makes the reader feel.

      Debatably the most astounding discover in the whole story is finding Equality’s reflection. While in the woods, Equality goes to find water. He stumbles upon a stream and when he looks down, he sees his reflection. Equality says “for upon the blue of the sky below us, we saw our own face for the first time”(Rand 58). This discovery is huge. Equality not only sees himself but also finds himself in this moment. We all have mirror and cameras to see ourselves. What would we do if we could never see our own face? It gives the reader that glimpse of what Equality was feeling at that moment.

      The discoveries that Equality finds throughout the book are very effective to the reader. It truly shows them what it’s like finding these things what we have and use every day of our lives. It emphasizes how lucky we really are.

The Future has become the Past

Kyle Petras

3/4/16

Gubanich

Anthem Blog #1

The Future has become the Past

Ayn Rand’s philosophies are beyond its time. Some of her ideas model what American and the world have become today. Not only is she confident in her philosophies, but also she is accurate. Ayn Rand’s ideas may seem outlandish, but they are so interesting and some even good sounding. If our government just opened their minds, maybe they would see a new route for America and its people. Even though Rand lived many years ago, her ideas accurately show where America is heading in its future.

With her philosophy of “individualism”, Ayn Rand believes that each man’s moral purpose in life should be his happiness and that everything is fixed. Well, all I can say is that man’s main and moral purpose in life should be his happiness. I don’t know about the world enough to know whether everything is fixed, but I can say that laws and the way the government works are fixed.

The next idea is “selfishness vs. altruism”. Rand believes that people need to figure things out for themselves. I believe that this is not present in today’s society, that some of the impoverished people of America depend on the government to provide for themselves because they don’t have to work. And then the upper class ends up paying taxes to pay for them and their wellbeing. This is just not fair. The upper class work for their money and then have to end up paying half of what they earned back to the government in taxes to spend on things for the country. Look, if my tax dollars goes towards things that I use, such as roads, bridges and others things like that, I would be fine with that, but when it goes to people that are being lazy and don’t have a job and sit on the couch all day waiting for food stamps to arrive at their doorsteps, I get irritated.

The Government has become too powerful. It has taken many rights away from us and restricted things the American people should be able to do. Surveillance is a big one. Why should I have to be watched everywhere I go? There are probably cameras watching me right now as I write this blog.

Love is a little confusing topic for me. I do think people should love others for their virtues and correct their weaknesses. If you correct them, you end up being a better person.

I could cover more, but I’m going over the word limit and ranting a little, but I truly think Ayn Rand’s beliefs are truly amazing. If I could live in a society that has her beliefs, I think I would. She is a genius and I admire her philosophies a lot.

BNW vs. HB

Kyle Petras

3/6/16

Gubanich
Western Lit.

Blog #6

BNW vs. HB

Now that Brave New World is finished and we have had the chance to read Harrison Bergeron, I can analyze the similarities. Specifically, social stability is what I will be focusing on in this blog. Both stories take place in societies that are based off of making people equal. With BNW, the New World State divides everyone into classes, which are ranked. The people in the other classes don’t know that the other classes are better or worse than them. With Harrison Bergeron, everyone is no smarter or dumber than anyone else. They all must wear restraints and follow orders. BNW and HB are similar in that both have the same idea behind them. Keep everyone equal so there is social stability.

BNW’s government creates its people through engineering. This allows them to be able to create different types and levels of humans. They can create extremely smart people or really dumb ones. Each class only knows about themselves. They don’t know whether they are smarter or dumber than the others. By doing this, it creates a society of stability in which no one feels that they are better than others.

Harrison Bergeron is a story of a boy who gets thrown in jail for being rebellious against his society. The story takes place in his parent’s home while they watch TV. The society in which they live in has the goal to keep everyone equal. It says in the text that no one is smarter or dumber than anyone else. When an officer finds out about Harrison breaking out of jail and begins to influence him being an emperor, Harrison is shot and killed. If people begin to believe others are better than others, they will rebel and want to be better.

Harrison Bergeron and Brave New World share their beliefs of social stability almost identically. Both have the goal to keep people equal and get rid of people thinking they are better. The only differences are that everyone in Harrison Bergeron has restraints and in Brave New World, people have the ability to take soma. These stories are strangely similar. Their societies have the same goal in mind, Equality.

The Elites

Kyle Petras

2/27/16

Gubanich

Blog #5

The Elites

In history, there have been people that have wowed us to the extent of being put in textbooks. They have shown their science breakthroughs, their amazing journeys, and their extreme wealth. There are specific types of elites. The ones who pushed the limits and the ones that seek money for fame. These people have different in that they represent two separate ideals. In this blog, I am going to delve deeper into a quote given to us in an article. I am going to see how her “idea of the current culture mirrors the culture in Brave New World”.

Marie Curie, John F. Kennedy and Neil Armstrong were people who pushed the boundaries of mankind. From innovations to going where no man has ever gone before. These people changed the world. Marie Curie was a chemist and physicist from Poland and France. She discovered the x-ray and researched into radioactivity. She was also the first woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize, twice. John F Kennedy was president of the United States. In 1963, he was assassinated in Dallas. His presidency only lasted from 1961 to 1963. And lastly, there is Neil Armstrong. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. He gave his famous speech, “ One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. These 3 people broke the boundaries of the world. Nice people left great legacies and are remembered for what they did.

On the other hand there are three other people. Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg. These are the people that are remembered for their great achievements. Bill Gates begin a company called Microsoft. He is now known as the richest man in the world. Rupert Murdoch began The News Corporation. He also became director of Australia's news Limited. Lastly there is Mark Zuckerberg who created Facebook. All three of these people have billions of dollars. These people changed the world around them. Their wealth equals power and fame. We know Gates, Zuckerberg and Murdoch because of their great achievements.

There were some words in the article that were more sophisticated than the others. They were relevance, myopic, and narcissistic. Relevance means that there is something important to the matter at hand. Myopic means nearsighted or lacking imagination. And narcissistic means having an excessive or erotic interest in yourself. So, when the quote says “myopic success”, it means that that a person focusses on one thing to be successful. “Showers of narcissistic applause” means that someone lives for people to worship them and bawl over how good they are.

A line shot out to me as being interesting. “Results sometimes came to overshadow the deeper cause”. The author is talking about the results of the causes of Gates, Murdoch and Zuckerberg. The results of these people are large companies that bring in millions and billions of dollars. The author talks about a deeper cause and that is what Curie, Kennedy and Armstrong did. The deeper cause is that there were people who didn’t live off of billions and still did amazing things in the world. The results overshadow the causes because fame and money is everything in this day and age. People look at the Jenners and see how they have so much money, when Malala is creating a school for girls in the middle east.

“Our moral compass points towards money”. This means that humans are wired and build to love the idea of money and fame. “More rocks, less moonlight” means that the more achievements you make that are actually good for the world, the less limelight will be shown on you. This whole quote has a message and I think it is, you don’t have to have all the money in the world to be an achievable person. If people looked past the fame and beauty and saw the deeper meaning, I think this world would be a very different place.

Decisions

Kyle Petras

2/21/16

Gubanich

Western Literature

Decisions

As we read on in Brave New World, we have discovered a new place, the savage reservation. It is wildly different than the new world state. The people are different and the practices are different. All is unfamiliar to Lenina and Bernard when they arrive. Huxley must have put this in the book for a reason. To give a new view or take on what life could have looked like. Or even foreshadowing what may happen to Lenina and Bernard. So that is what I am going to investigate in the blog.

Upon arriving at the savage reservation, Lenina is confused and really doesn’t like it. A ceremony is held and after it, Lenina was truly horrified. This “new world” is a polar opposite of the new world state. The two meet a young man named John, whose mother was originally from London. This world is completely foreign to both Lenina and Bernard. Huxley, I believe included this because he wanted a glimpse of hope for Bernard, another option for his future away from London. I think he did it primarily for Bernard. Someplace where he would feel normal. Where he could feel true romantic love.

Now to switch to characters, there is connection. All four seem to be similar. Bernard and Linda were the outcasts, and Lenina and John seem to be the more outgoing and adventurous couple. I think Huxley paired these four people together was to give a side of both worlds. He wanted to show the same perspective, but from different eyes. This offers a connection from two different places and two different sets of people. He wanted to give hope and a sense of fitting in for both Lenina and John, and Linda and Bernard.

Huxley’s worlds have some people that are not so different. His “new world”, the savage reservation, treats people that are different badly and only thinks about the people that are normal. Huxley wanted to show a glimmer of hope for specific characters to feel. He wanted a connection to people that felt like true love. His attempt at creating this connection come across loud and clear in my view.

Dystopian Protagonist

Kyle Petras

2/15/16

Gubanich

Western Lit.

Blog #5

Both 1984 and Brave New World, there are dystopian connections. To go even deeper, there are dystopian protagonist connections. Both stories share a main protagonist, Winston from 1984, and Bernard from Brave New World. There are connections from their emotions to their interactions in society. Both live and take place in a futuristic society, and the cool thing is, both authors wrote them in the past. So, in both stories it is interesting to see how they interpret the future. Now, to get into more detail about the protagonists, lets talk about Winston and Bernard and their connections.

In 1984 and Brave New World, both societies take place in the future. Winston and Bernard are the main protagonists of each story. Both see their worlds differently. Winston overthinks things and is curious of things that happen behind the scenes, and Bernard seems to be annoyed and gloomy wanting to break free from his world. Both seem like they want to rebel. In both societies, there is a higher being. In 1984, there is big brother, and in Brave New World, there is Ford. The two protagonists are seen as weird in their societies. They both are the “outcast”. They are odd and in a sense rebellious.

Winston and Bernard both have a “love interest” or woman who goes along with them. Winston has Julia and Bernard has Lenina. Both ladies follow behind Winston and Bernard through the stories. There is also a loving relationship between both.

There are many connections between both characters. They both live in dystopian societies in the future. They both want to leave or rebel against their governments and break free. They are also both seen as strange and odd. These connections boil down to the definition of a dystopian protagonist.

All Over the Place

Kyle Petras

2/7/16

Gubanich

Western Lit.

Blog #2

All Over the Place

In chapter three, there are three story lines going on at the same time. The text abruptly changes to another story at random times. You will be reading a line and in the middle of the sentence, it will change to another character talking. This type of writing isn’t seen in many stories. It’s an odd choice that Huxley made. Honestly, I could see this type of text as a movie. Going back and forth between characters and all that. But this is not movie talk. This is book talk.

So, I believe Huxley did this because he wanted the reader to feel some way. He wanted the feeling of busy things happening, something looming. A lot of this happens behind the scenes in this world. The creation of life for example. When Mustapha Mond is talking to the director, the reader is suddenly cut off with another story. This creates suspense and a curiosity. When Lenina’s story is being told, it is also suddenly cut off, making the reader want to learn more. This style of writing is unique that it interests the reader to be annoyed, yet eager to read more.

The pace of the chapter is odd as well. In the beginning, the paragraphs are lengthy and explain much more. As the chapter progresses, the paragraphs get shorter and shorter. By the end, each section of story line is only a line or two. I believe that Huxley did this to create a gradually more exciting chapter. He wanted something to be anticipated by the end. By doing this, he created three storylines that all had the same pace. The reader was anticipating where the story would end up.

As each story progresses, each set of characters change. To start, Lenina and fanny begin on a good note. As they begin to talk and discuss Henry, Fanny encourages her to stop seeing Henry and see other people. Lenina mentions Bernard Marx. Fanny warns her that he has a bad reputation. The chapter ends on a darker note than it began. Switching to Mustapha Mond’s story, the director is talking to his tour group about the children in the garden when Mond starts talking to them. He talks about how what the children do in the garden used to be frowned upon back in the day. The same thing happens in this story as with Fanny’s. Henry’s is very similar in that he and Bernard begin talking and he gets mad at Henry. All end on not happy notes. So, this is why I think Huxley wrote this chapter this way.

Is the Truth True?

Kyle Petras

1/30/15

Gubanich

Western Lit.

Is the Truth True?

“Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance”. In our world today, there are many myths and legends that have been speculated whether or not they are true, like the loch ness monster, or Bigfoot, or even ufos. No one really knows the truth behind all of these “things”. It’s a complete guessing game. Now, there is a lot of evidence that makes you think these things are real, but many people debunk or have proof that they are not real. So, the big question, is the truth true?

So, honestly, I’m a believer of many things. The biggest one is ufos and aliens. Like when you watch ancient aliens on the history channel, how can you not believe that aliens helped build the pyramids? The specialists say that it took 20 years for them to be built and if this were true, each stone block, which was the average size of a train car, would have had to have been placed every five seconds. It’s just crazy to think only humans could have done that. And then with Bigfoot, people have video evidence and footprint casts, real evidence. But when people ask the government if any of this is real, they say no, or don’t even give an answer.

I honestly believe that Orwell has this one. I mean, the government wants to keep things from the greater populous so we don’t go crazy when we hear about it. If the government just said, “oh, hey, we actually have an alien ship locked up in area 51”, everyone would go mad, I mean, they probably wouldn’t have been surprised, but still. It’s happening in our country. The government is keeping secrets from us.

So, I guess my main topic of discussion has been aliens and ufos, so I'll stick with it till the end. I think they are real. There is no possible way that we are the only ones in the whole universe. There are billions of galaxies just like ours. There is true evidence that they exist. From videos of things in the sky to photographs taken back in the 50’s. It’s all there. Why would anyone conceal a military facility so securely if they say they don’t have any evidence of ufos. It boggles my mind, but its ok. My consensus is that we are not alone and that people are hiding the truth from us. Maybe we are going into a society such as 1984. Who knows.