Sunday, March 29, 2015

Brave New World Essay

Conforming outwardly while questioning inwards can be causes because they are afraid of loss; loss of oneself; loss of something you are accustomed to,or the loss of losing someone else. In "The Awakening" the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, struggles to find herself while trying to accommodate to her normal social life. Edna as well as Bernard from "Brave New World", tries to conform to an ignorant society that sets aside those who may think differently. Which is why its hard for someone to step outside of societies boundaries and try to free themselves from conformity.

Society can have a very tight grip on how it influences us and in what to believe, but  these two characters find themselves questioning the social norms. The author uses juxtaposition to compare the type of characters in the book and the protagonist in order to see the difference between those character and the ideas. For example Bernard wants to build an actual relationship between himself and  Lenina , instead of just a "fun" sexual pastime. The author uses tone to set his own opinion about that type of utopian society, he uses irony to make fun of a certain way of thinking that's those that are conformed, live by. The author seems to be saying that the majority my not always be right and are rather blind of their humanity.

As we grow up we seem to be finding ourselves more and more but as mentioned before those around us influence and it takes time and maybe a little distance in order to figure out what we truly believe and who we are. Personally I have always found it difficult to try to set aside societies of what is right and what is wrong but sometimes you just feel like you want to be accepted which may require you sometimes to set aside your own beliefs. In "Brave New World" that would mean having to abandon your emotions which is what makes you humane. 

Stepping out of societies thoughts of right and wrong can be  really difficult, and only a few are able to escape those ideas but those that do, don't leave unscathed. Sometimes its just easier to lie to yourself rather than those around you.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Lit Terms #2

Circumlocution - noun an indirect way of expressing something; a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things
Classicism - noun a movement in literature and art during the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe that favored rationality and restraint and strict forms
Cliché- an over used phrase
Climax - noun the decisive moment in a novel or play;arrangement of clauses in ascending order of forcefulness; the highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding; the most severe stage of a disease; the moment of most intense pleasure in sexual intercourse; verb end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage
Colloquialism - noun a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
Comedy - noun light and humorous drama with a happy ending; a comic incident or series of incidents
Conflict - noun an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals); an incompatibility of dates or events; opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings; opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot); a state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests; a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war; a disagreement or argument about something important; verb go against, as of rules and laws; be in conflict
Connotation - noun an idea that is implied or suggested; what you must know in order to determine the reference of an expression
Contrast - noun the act of distinguishing by comparing differences;the range of optical density and tone on a photographic negative or print (or the extent to which adjacent areas on a television screen differ in brightness); the perceptual effect of the juxtaposition of very different colors; the opposition or dissimilarity of things that are compared; a conceptual separation or distinction; verb put in opposition to show or emphasize differences; to show differences when compared; be different
Denotation - noun the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to; the act of indicating or pointing out by name
Denouement - noun the final resolution of the main complication of a literary or dramatic work; the outcome of a complex sequence of events
Dialect - noun the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people
Dialectics - noun a rationale for dialectical materialism based on change through the conflict of opposing forces
Dichotomy - noun being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses
Diction - noun the manner in which something is expressed in words; the articulation of speech regarded from the point of view of its intelligibility to the audience
Didactic - adj. instructive (especially excessively)
Dogmatic - adj. characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles; relating to or involving dogma; of or pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative
Elegy - noun a mournful poem; a lament for the dead
Epic - adj. very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale); constituting or having to do with or suggestive of a literary epic; noun a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
Epigram - noun a witty saying