Last Post

Hey sorry this is posted late. I wrote it up, but never submitted it. Since this is our final blog post, I only felt it appropriate to write about a summary of what we have learned thus far.

We started with an introduction to Culture Jam, which gave us an understanding about what we would be learning about. We learned techniques of jolting and the ways that we are being affected. Though we do not always see this attempts to "brainwash" us, we can learn how to fight this urges.

Culture Jam connected into reading a book called Feed. A book that put into perspective the question of, "if technology took over our work and our privacy, what would the world be like?" We made the connection between Violet and how she brought back to life the thought process and the term idea. She spoke in ways that allowed Titus to realize that who had his own thoughts and they mattered. Privacy was another connection we made. Connecting this is the advertisements, being blasted in their heads, allowed us to realize that we are being taken advantage of by ads. The government was another focus point of this book. The Corporate Elite decided upon the denial of a new feed.

This book leads us into 1984. The ideas in 1984 were far different, but at the same time, supported the underlying defense that we are losing our individualism. Constantly being watched, no citizen in 1984 was able to do what he or she wanted or speak upon what they thought. This created a place of fright and with this came rebellion. The rebellion lead to compromise and the government, once again, won the battle. Next, the book Fahrenheit 451 was introduced. This book shared the majority of the same societal problems, but dealt more with books. The main character, decides that he has had enough, and does what he thinks is best. He finds a group of people, who share the same views, and they plan their plans to rebuild the literature population.

The underlying lesson that we must all learn is that we are being taken advantage of and we do not even know it. We are being used as ads and as marketing campaigns. Technology is being used against us and has now turned into a device that can take away our freedoms. We are losing our ability to create individuals and are following the footprints of the government in creating a controlled society. The scary part is, that we may never get back our freedom, if we allow this to happen. By building this knowledge and creating awareness, we as citizens of our society, fight this urge to make a "cult" of people. There urge to learn from books, express my thoughts, and keep my freedoms has allowed me to instill a desire to fight against these events working against us.

Fahrenheit 451 4/16

This book has been getting more interesting as it goes on. I am on page 130 and I had to stop right in the middle of the climax. I personally think that Beatty is crazy for his actions and I am glad that he died. I am interested in seeing what happens with the hiding of the books in the fireman's house. I have only heard about good things about this book and I am interested in reading the end.

In class we were asked to do in-class writing. The writing was based off of books that have been banned out of several schools. We were asked if we knew any of these books and why we thought they were being banned. I responded by saying that I have seen and read many of these books, most of which where during my schooling experience. I think that these books were banned because of they controversial issues and make people face ideas that they fear. I think that a lot of people are afraid of change and are unwilling to see other peoples view points. Majority of them contradict what they say about their own personalities. "I am a well rounded person" is a commonly heard phrase. I think that majority of these people are only considered to be well rounded in their own cultures. If we do not see other people’s views than we are only considered what has been passed down upon our generations. Reading books allows us to capture what has happened through the past and recap on what people have learned through their experiences.

This leads to the next question that has been asked, “Do we really value books today?” I think that some people do value books today, but some of us do not. Being an inspiring educator, I often frown upon myself for not reading more books. I sometimes question why I am even here if I am not going to read the given material. To me college is no just about getting a degree, but to be the most qualified in your field. An educator, who is uneducated, is basically a person who is passing on his or her beliefs. If we do not value other people’s thoughts, which are written in books, we do not fully grasp the idea of mankind, humanity, and unity.

The book supports a society without books is a society in which people are unhappy. I am interesting in seeing how the book ends, so that I can see what other connections this book makes with our society.

Fahrenheit 451 4/9

This book is a lot more interesting then 1984. When I first started reading the book I did not know what to expect, but as it went along the plot became more intense. Montag has been chosen to be a fireman by his family’s history. He meets a high school girl named Clarisse who opens his eyes to what the world used to be like. He begins to find out what a firemen did back before houses used to be fireproof. He comes across a job where he must burn a house full of books, but there is lady inside that says she wants die with her them. Montag tries to convince her to leave, but as soon as he exits she lights a match and the books go up in flames.

Ray Bradbury creates this futuristic world to compare it to the one that we live into today. Where books are seen as uncensical and that each one contradicts another. We are not necessarily burning these books, but literature is not what it used to be. We rarely read books any more and if we do read, it is online. Another aspect of this book is that literature is being produced at an overwhelming rate and that by burning these books we are cutting down on that. This futuristic view says that we will become disinterested in books and that is why they are being burned.

The book this far is very interesting and I am interested to see what comes of this and if Montag continues to be a fireman. I am also interested in seeing what happens between him and Mildred because they only seem to become more distant.

1984 3/26

I did my take-home quiz on how the language in 1984 is completely different than the language we just today. In 1984 they constantly try to make words smaller by cutting out the subsidiary words that go along with them. "Don't you se that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thought-crime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed will be express by EXACTLY one word" (1984 p.52). The thought of just using one word to describe many different events in our lives seems to cut back on many of thing that we enjoy. An example that comes to mind is the description of nature. By just saying that our natural world around us is just "good" leaves out so much of the real beauty that it really holds.

The other thing that really stuck out to me was the way George Orwell brings love into this novel. Julia and Winston make covert plans in order for the to meet in secrete places, away from the eyes of the "Inner Party." I do not understand how people could possibly be happy in a place were marriage is controlled. Also, the idea of how she must express her love to Winston and the fact that he becomes stimulated by that fact that she has been with many people strikes me as interesting. That scary part is that the world that we live in today, is very comparable to the world portrayed in 1984.

The end of the book really brings out the truth of the what it really is about. In the end Winston gives into the Party. This strikes me as scary because Orwell is predicting that is what we will do ourselves to our government. When you really think about the book those who rebel against either die or become brainwashed. There is only one individual in that society and that is The Party.

1984

The beginning of this book seems to be really boring and I am having a hard time getting into it. I have hard from others that it is a good book, so hopefully it will pick up. On page 41 of the book there is a quote that really seemed to portray what the book will be about. "Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which , finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain. Winston seems to be one of the only one that really thinks for himself. He is forced to hide this for the Thought-Police and the telescreens. It makes me think about how much we use our own personal thoughts to determine what we do and how we feel. If our generation was asked to give up our thought process it would create a very bland and uninteresting world. This book seems like it will also tie into the other topics in class.

Thoreau's Challenge #2

I forgot to post half way through the week because stopping myself from using technology was hard. In all honesty I ended up using my cell phone 2 days into it. Once I started using my cell phone I began to use other technology mindlessly. This was a great experience for me because it opened my mind even more. I thought that I would be able to do something like this, but found out it is harder than I imagined. If I were to succeed at this challenge next time, I would put myself in a different environment. Being in a college atmosphere makes it harder to stop using technology. I think a cell phone, if you have one, is the hardest thing to give up. I constantly use mine for everything from waking up in the morning to keeping my schedule. Technology is a strong part of my life and I give props to anyone who can successfully complete this challenge.

Thoreau's Challenge #1

This is my first day of the challenge and I hoping this is going to be the worst one. I am having a great deal of trouble adapting to life without my cell phone. I thought Facebook would be a lot harder to give up, but it actually isn't that bad. I actually enjoy not being able to check my facebook because it relieves some stress like responding to peoples comments, checking it constantly, and creeping on people instead of doing my homework. The cell phone is by far the worst thing to give up thus far. I use my cellphone for multiple uses and would need many other technological objects to take its place. My withdraw is taking its tole, but highlighting my addiction.