Manipulation is Key in Ch. 2 and 3

Posted on by Matthew Hollinger

Babies screaming and scratching at the already frayed bits of the carpet the previous “participants” laid claim to is not how I thought the chapter would begin. Within any highly controlled society the earlier you start the better; having already significantly affected the children’s genetics and placing those in a class that’s determined because of the scientists tampering with their the future torturous get their first dose of reality. Since this society is highly reliant on unwitting citizens playing into their hands they start out by jamming their version of perfect into the parts of the brain that haven’t either been fried or manipulated. Now if that wasn’t enough they further their cause by subjecting the future generations to dreams full of happiness and freedom that exists as long as they take part in the dehumanization of the classes that are directly below them and the praise of the classes that abuse them from above. This is then  put into context when we read about a conversation between Fanny and Lenina who describe a boy who is a little small for his age as being the supposed victim of genetic tampering that shouldn’t have taken place for the class he was put in. Showing how the worst thing for a human to have happen to them is being a class lower which isn’t much of an exaggeration when its put into social effect which includes a worse job and life opportunities along with the constant mistreatment by an ever growing upper class. Huxley does a swell job of achieving parallels between the future society and our current one, classicism is a large factor along with the dehumanization of people by referring to them as a part of a certain group that has been constantly mistreated and abused. The book touched on the history of the world before all the bombs were dropped how the world began anew bleeding new ways of thinking into all who were close enough to its freshly opened wounds. The old ways of thinking are thought of as archaic and savage, similar to how most people today view history. On the topic of religion and major societal beliefs the government saw them as too powerful a tool to be left up to others to control as they wanted complete control of the masses and therefore saw the different institutions that fed people their beliefs as their main competitors. A government that controls the beliefs of those that it governs in every aspect of that individual’s life then becomes the belief and its rulers become its gods.

Clarification from the Author

Posted on by Matthew Hollinger

What is Huxley’s perspective on sanity?  How does this relate to participation in social order?

Huxley believes that sanity is not impossible, he believes that sanity is rare throughout human history, but requires the right factors and nurturing. This exhibits that though human sanity is possible it’s not dominant and may stay so as long as people maintain their humanity.

What is the “third option”?

The 3rd option for the ” savage ” as he describes is sanity, he also believes that the refugees demonstrate this to an extent.

Why does Huxley refer to Churchill’s use of “the iron curtain”?

He refers to the curtain that is used on the masses to divide them from facts of the actual issue, he does so by referencing the division of the opposing sides in WW11. This alludes to the government doing as it pleases as the citizens belleive they benefit from the outcome they think they chose or influenced.

Learning the Oldest Addiction

Posted on by Matthew Hollinger

I may love learning but the love of learning is not exactly the only driving force for change and progress. It’s been proven that the act of learning is addictive as the brain creates new connections it craves more needs to absorb more information, without input the mind becomes stale and stagnant. Learning inspires a vision for the future because the brain was developed to recognize patterns and there are patterns woven throughout the laws that dictate our own version of reality. Minds act as fire the fire will continue to burn at a certain level as depending on the kindling, learning is the process of adding to the fire your passion could act as gasoline and something you do not thoroughly enjoy may act as leaves a small contribution but not something that adds enough to its intensity. As the mind continues to develop and grow in its range the spectrum of intelligence because broader or narrower depending on specific focus or many. I try to be broad ranged in my learning I usually do fall back to my own passions as those do not always come easy to me but they do hold the most interest in my mind.

Throughout high school I became increasingly interested in human communication and the different ways that humans do communicate. This was probably partially due to the sensory condition that changes my perception of people, people aren’t just their visual cues which by themselves are incredibly complicated and interesting, and they were more than the sounds that they made. As I looked at people I saw and still see the colors of their voice how the different inflections and audio changes made the color change form and color s if it was a separate entity that was dancing to try and communicate something that seemed to be so obvious, people were the colors of their emotions that would bleed out from around their presence and make it obvious their state of being even past that I could see a personality that was at the base that effected how the colors moved and their decisions. All of this stemmed from my subconscious which I deemed to be more trustworthy then the more conscious side of my brain. As far as accuracy goes I’d like to think that its largely accurate since it’s an automatic response, I trust it to the extent that I trust my eyes and body to not let me stumble and predict just how far away the next step is and yes sometimes I do stumble but without mistake and continuous testing no one would learn or become more passionate about it. I’m passionate about synesthesia because it’s a continuous form of reality that is presented to me in ways that are fluid and evolving, it’s just interesting to sit back and watch and feel the colors of song play for you and know that since it’s a personal experience and that no two peoples synesthesia are exactly the same and the colors never match perfectly that  makes it you very own space, your own micro universe that fades into the reality you share with others all the while remaining invisible to them. Passion is something that can drive me to talk about a personal experience on a English blog for anyone with a signal to see and this passion arises from learning, from continuously and analytically looking at how I view reality contrary to others interpretation of it. Your reality is personal and largely based on perspective, experience, and knowledge which learning can help develop leading you to different forms that seem so foreign they border on science fiction.

Huxley liked his predictions

Posted on by Matthew Hollinger

we were asked to write about Huxley but I already published a post about his life onto my blog the day before detailing him and his life so I think it should be sufficient enough for the assignment qualifications, also I find it a little humorous that I published a post on Huxley the day before it became and assignment maybe I’ve read a little too much about him.

Huxley the ill Psychic

Posted on by Matthew Hollinger

Aldous Huxley whose name means from an old house or just old depending on the German translation was a man who constantly looked towards the future and the repercussions of human behavior as the future crept closer to his predictions. Huxley strongly regarded himself as a pacifist and a user of Vedanta which is synonymous with Hinduism, these beliefs influenced the themes that appear in his novels but that doesn’t mean all his characters embody this principle of non-aggression. Midway through his life he suffered from the illness called Keratitis that is defined as an eye illness that is localized to the cornea which then as a result of the illness becomes inflamed and irritated, symptoms include mild to extreme itchiness of the eye and if not treated properly partial blindness to full blindness occurs depending on the severity. In Huxley’s case the Keratitis left him blind for around 2 years to 3 years and when his eyesight did eventually recover he was left permanently half blind in one eye. Though he was put at a large disadvantage he never gave in and stopped learning or working he continuously studied and learned he often attended lectures as the information was presented verbally and only required Hearing. Huxley’s interest in psychedelics and the effects they had on the human mind seemed to stem from his beliefs in universalism and the connection and oneness that he thought was inherently present within everything and everyone. Even as he neared death because of Laryngeal cancer he continued his work in the research of Psychedelics and at the age of 69 around 4 pm he asked his wife Laura Huxley (someone who was equally amazing specifically regarding music) to inject him with a substantial amount of LSD to help numb the pain of the throat cancer and because of his natural curiosity, as the dose took effect and went he then received another dose and passed around 5:20. This was also the same day that author C.S. Lewis and President JFK died, interesting for a man who believed in the interconnectedness of reality. Huxley started writing at the age of 17 and finished his first novel that same year and continued doing so until his passing in 1963.

What I was doing in 4th

Posted on by Matthew Hollinger

Instead of being in English class (the wonderful and amazing learning environment that is Preston’s class) I was allowed to help out a friend in the Photography room. I was asked to help with the design elements and flow of a poster for the upcoming film fest. Basically I told Nevada and Kimmi where I thought the different elements of the posters layout should go and which order worked best for the theme that they were going for.

AP Prep Post 1: Siddhartha

Posted on by Matthew Hollinger

1.During his stay with the Samanas, Siddhartha did all of the following EXCEPT

A. grew his beard

B. aided the poor

C. went without food

D. abjured humanity

E. meditated deeply

I choose D, because I didnt think that he fully renounced humanity through his actions.

source (http://www.learnerator.com/ap-english-literature/q/1041/siddharthas-actions)

2. What was Siddhartha’s purpose for staying with the Samanas?

A. to become empty

B. to learn meditation

C. to become enlightened

D. to deprive himself of food

E. to be reincarnated

I choose C, i thought that the reason he stayed with him so that he may have a better chance of reaching enlightenment.

source (http://www.learnerator.com/ap-english-literature/q/1041/siddharthas-purpose)

3. Essay Question

“Siddhartha and Buddha both eventually attain Nirvana. However, the way that each achieves it is different. Explain the difference, relating this to the reason for Siddhartha’s not following the Buddha.”

Siddartha achieved enlightenment by studying by the river with Buddha and reaching it after many years, the difference was that Siddhartha left a promising life because he became out of sync with the material world, while Buddha was on a similiar path but he left his wife and kid in order to pursue enlightenment.

source (http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/s/siddhartha/study-help/essay-questions)

4. In the passage, Siddhartha’s primary attitude toward normal human life was that it appeared

A. out-of-reach

B. too cerebral

C. commonplace

D. commercial

E. illusory

I choose E for my answer, because I thought his attitude was that he did view it as though it might have been just another test or obstacle because of the way reality presented itself to him.

source (http://www.learnerator.com/ap-english-literature/q/1041/siddharthas-attitude)

5. If you were the river, would you be enlightenment or would you know enlightenment? In other words, what’s up with the river? What is it’s relation to enlightenment?

The river is supposed to represent the unity and flluidy and constant change of the universe and reality, I dont know whether I would know elightenment or be enlightened but the relationship to enlightenment is that through the river whithin the constant change knowing that change is a form of enlightenment.

source (http://www.shmoop.com/siddhartha/questions.html)

AP Reflection

I thought that most of the questions I as able to find were asking you to explain in immense detail or to recall a obscure fact of the story that may not be pertainable to every AP student,