Thursday, July 29, 2010 . 11:09 AM
QUOTES
“Feelings are not supposed to be logical. Dangerous is the man who has rationalized his emotions.”
Jonas' society has rationalized their emotions.
“It is the mind which creates the world around us, and even though we stand side by side in the same meadow, my eyes will never see what is beheld by yours, my heart will never stir to the emotions with which yours is touched.”
--George Gissing
--George Gissing
This is what the people in Jonas' society would say to him if they were aware that they did not feel real emotions.
"Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain"--William Faulkner
I think Jonas felt the same way, as he decided on the more painful option instead of staying in his community and experiencing nothing.
Jonas probably felt that the emotionless society he escaped from was painful to live in he felt an obligation to do something to change it, even though he would feel the pain of hard work for while, but the hard work be worth it in order to get rid of the pain forever.
Rachel: Memories
The Handmaid's Tale is set in the near future, where war rages across the fictional Republic of Gilead and pollution has rendered 99 percent of the female population sterile. In the opening scenes of the movie, Kate, the protagonist of the story, sees her husband killed and her daughter kidnapped while trying to escape across the border to Canada. She is then forced into being a Handmaid a concubine for one of the privileged but barren couples who run the country as she is not sterile. Although she resists being indoctrinated into this bizarre cult, Kate obeys the orders in order to survive.
After watching a part of The Handmaid's Tale in class, I felt extremely traumatised, and I think many of my classmates were too. It came as quite shock, as I was not used to the drastic-ness of how morbid and unfair the Republic of Gilead was, in comparison to The Giver. After watching the film, society in The Giver, while still an appalling one, seems mild. The amount of violence as well as how merciless the dictators were in classifying the people of Gilead into castes were what agitated and frightened me the most.
Even in the opening scenes of the movie, a man was shot because he tried to escape from this country by not one, but multiple machine guns to make sure he was dead.
The degree of violence in that scene really disgusted me. I felt very sorry for the man as it was a 'lose-lose' situation. If he went back, he would have probably been sent for execution for disobeying the law and he absolutely did not stand a chance when he ran forward, trying to cross the border anyway.
Right after, we saw how the women were taken to a facility where racial and sterile/not sterile segregation took place. Those who were not "ideal" handmaid candidates were either executed or sent away to carry out manual labour.
As the movie went on, we watched how handmaids lived and were treated. Hundreds of them slept together in a huge room, in their own sleeping-bag-like beds, which were arranged neatly and orderly.
I still shiver at the thought of such a controlled and dictatorial society and I cannot imagine how I could stay alive in such a morbid and bizzare place.
Disobedience was not tolerated and those who disregarded the rules were punished by getting their feet beaten and whipped, probably because this method of punishment did not affect their ability to reproduce.
Abortion was also frowned upon. One of the handmaids in training told the rest of the her counterparts and their trainers that she had been raped in the past and aborted the baby as she was not ready to handle it. They all chanted negative words and even used curse words which were directed at her, instead of the people who raped her.
I feel that the punishment is extremely cruel. They abused the people who they expected help from and extorted them to the highest level. I also think that the brainwashing done by the handmaid trainers was very inhumane. I feel that they should have a choice to abort their child if they were not able to provide for it and they were not able to handle it at that point of their lives. Of course, there is always the option of putting the baby up for adoption. Still, I feel that freedom of choice is a human right.
Kate was sent to be a handmaid in the Commander(Fred) and his wife's(Serena Joy's) home. Her name was no longer Kate and was "Offred"(of Fred) instead, which made her a possession of the Commander.
After her first encounter with what her job really required her to do, she was so distressed that she threw a glass of milk across her own room. I cannot believe she managed to live through that chapter of her life. I really admire her bravery and her determination which enabled her to survive.
CAN A UTOPIA EXIST?According to Wikipedia, the word 'utopia' comes from the Greek words : οὐ, "not", and τόπος, "place", which suggests that a utopia cannot exist. The Giver as well as the movies The Handmaid's Tale and 1984 are examples of a failed utopias. In past class discussions, we have also concluded that it cannot exist on this earth. I agree with this statement to a large extent. Firstly, not everybody will agree on whether a element is utopian or dystopian. Secondly, there is an infinite number of views on which features a utopian society should have. Last but not least, it is impossible to co-ordinate every single one of the extremely large group of people that live in this world successfully. However, I think that we could live in our own utopia.
First, not everybody will agree on whether an element is utopian or dystopian. Let's look at a definition of "utopia" from the Merriam-Webster dictionary: "a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions". This definition, as well as many others are pretty much unclear. There are many views on what "perfection" is. For example, pain is a element which can be both dystopian and utopian. On one hand, it causes suffering. On the other, without pain or suffering, there is no way to learn and progress as a society. Therefore, whether an element is utopian or dystopian, is always open for debate.
Second, the number of views on which features a utopian society should have is countless. I feel that it is not possible to co-ordinate the viewpoints of every single person as there are just too many. Thus those whose views have not been heard would find that the utopia created is a dystopia to them. I therefore think that the infinite number of viewpoints cannot be succesfully combined to form a utopia that is pleasing to everyone.
Finally, I think that the co-ordination of every single one of the 6.6 Billion people on earth to form a Utopia would be beyond the bounds of possibility. With all the contrasting religions, philosophies and beliefs in the world, everyone has different thoughts, practices and rituals. Even in these groups, there might already be disputes. Furthermore, if one rule of the utopia upsets one group and they decide to change it, the other groups would be unhappy and the utopia would then be a dystopia. Hence I think that the co-ordination of everyone on earth would be unattainable.
However, I do think it is possible to live in our own utopias, if we choose to do so. When I took a close look at my life, I could not really find anything to complain about. Sure, my grades could be better. Yes, I've spent many late nights on homework and projects because I have too many commitments and am tired all the time as a result. Of course, I would like to be smarter, more sporty, and so on just like everyone else on the face of the earth. I'm definitely not perfect, but sometimes, I think being perfect is a dystopian element in itself. Everything would be so predictable and uninteresting. I think if we changed our definition of "utopia" and looked at all of our challenges, set-backs and imperfections as a way of helping us to learn and grow, and therefore utopian elements, we would definitely be able to live in our own personal utopia.
In conclusion, I agree that a large-scale utopia is impossible as not everybody will agree on whether a element is utopian or dystopian, there is an infinite number of views on which features a utopian society should have and it is impossible to co-ordinate every single one of the extremely large group of people that live in this world successfully. However, I think that if we change our definition of "utopia", so that we look at everything that happens to us as a utopian element, we can live in our own personal utopia.