Huxley’s Brave New World and its Accuracy

Brave New World, a novel by Aldous Huxley, is in my personal opinion, one of the greatest works of the 20th century. It shows us the future, or at least as Huxley imagined it. Brave New World contains some surprisingly accurate predictions about our modern-day society. Aldous Huxley’s work is often regarded as science fiction or fantasy, but in many aspects, it seems to be more non-fiction than anything.

Margaret Atwood recently wrote an article comparing both Brave New World and the George Orwell novel, 1984, and how they compared to modern times. She explains that Huxley’s work shows many similarities to the present. I think that her most interesting connection, something that I had not really thought about before, is the use of sex for recreational purposes. As explained in her article, Margaret Atwood states, “Huxley wrote before the pill, but its advent brought his imagined sexual free-for-all a few steps closer” (Atwood 6). I think that Huxley hit the nail on the head when he wrote about recreational sex. This was a concept that did not exist when the novel was written in 1932. Such a bold, yet accurate, prediction was made when Huxley eloquently wrote of the dystopia that he dreamt about; possibly while under the influence of drugs himself.

Huxley wrote about many of the flaws of the future, such as its meaningless nature; Atwood states, “in a world in which everything is available, nothing has any meaning” (Atwood 6). This is a message that could definitely be applied to our current society. Everything is becoming so available; it is almost pointless to leave the house, other than for a job or a social event. Fruits, vegetables, car parts, school supplies, nearly anything can be shipped to your house. Why even socialize? Our modern society is turning its population into recluses, a topic mildly discussed in Brave New World.

Overall, Atwood has articulately explained her stance on how Brave New World has stood up to its original risqué predictions. She implements a well-written summary of some of the more bizarre aspects of the novel.

Parents Should be “Video Ashamed” of Themselves

Exposure to violent video games in youth has led to a lot of controversy, especially in light of the recent school shootings. Parental backlash has been extreme, and many parents want violent video games to be nixed all together. Others think that the virtual violence benefits youth, in that young children can express their anger in a way that does not have any real-world consequences.

I think that the video game industry is not really to blame for the recent increase of violence in American society; I think that parents are at fault. critics of violent video games are right when they say that “playing violent video games causes the development of aggressive behavioral scripts [in youth]” (“Do Violent Video Games”). This is why parents should not buy violent video games for their children. If a title of a popular video game has the name of a fellony in the title, then it is probably not a good idea to buy it for a young child. And I know what you are thinking, “kids have friends who probably play violent video games too, so it is not all the parent’s fault.” And to you I say, you are wrong. Unless your child is friends with a 20-year-old (in which case you should probably rethink you parenting method), then your child’s friend had to have had an adult buy the game for him.

Violent video games are more of a passage into a fictional world than a violence emulator. “Violent video games provide healthy and safe opportunities for children to virtually explore rules and consequences of violent actions” (“Do Violent Video Games”). This is a very good point, as children would not have experienced the consequences for violence otherwise.

Video games are not the issue here. The issue is irresponsible parents who buy their children violent video games, and then blame video game developers for making violent games. The games are not made for children, which is why we have a rating system in the US. Parents should reconsider their actions when they purchase violent video games for their children.

A Not-so-Hungry Artist

In Franz Kafka’s “A Hunger Artist,” a story is told of a man who fasts for the entertainment of others. Near the beginning of the story, large groups of people would visit the hunger artist in amazement as he fasted for more than a month at a time. The hunger artist’s point of view is interesting, because he lives in the “modern-day” (not really our modern-day, but what is considered to be modern to the artist himself), and looks back to a time when people were more interested in him.

The hunger artist could symbolize Kafka’s life as a writer. His works may have been adored by readers from all over for a period of time, and then the interest may have declined, just like the citizens of Kafka’s “A Hunger Artist.”

The idea of hunger in the story, and the fact that the hunger artist does not really feel hunger as a physical thing like we do interests me. I think that what the hunger artist lacks in hunger for food, he makes up for in “hunger” to be the greatest hunger artist ever. He looks back at the days when the public would stand around his cage and talk to him and trade jokes. The days near the end of his career are not as pleasant, and barely anyone even notices him. One man even wonders why such a nice cage would be just sitting arround, as the hunger artist was not even noticed.

I really enjoyed Kafka’s “A Hunger Artist.” It really got my mind working, and I have thought about it a lot. I only wish that I have read another of Kafka’s works, Metamorphasis, so I could have compare the two.

“The Swimmer” Surrenders to Surrealism

“The Swimmer” is obviously a work of surrealism. This being said, “The Swimmer” uses many realistic elements to describe some of the surrealistic elements. The vivid details of the autumn leaves hint at a more unrealistic tone that is evident in the story (Cheever 103). Many of the symbolic elements do not actually occur. Clearly, four seasons do not go by in a mere day. This is more symbolic of the change that occurs in Neddy’s life. The story is presented in a very “dream-like” way, which is one of the many ways that “The Swimmer” could be perceived as surrealism. This is noticeable when Neddy goes to rest in the empty gazebo as the storm passes (Cheever 103). Is this more of a dream or a nightmare?

“The Swimmer” and its title character are both very complex. Neddy has an internal conflict throughout the entire story. Neddy’s struggle with alcoholism is represented by the various alcoholic beverages that he has throughout the reading. This also may symbolize Cheever’s own struggle with alcoholism, a struggle that never really ended until his death in 1982.

Another conflict that occurs in the later part of the story is the confrontation between Neddy and his former mistress. The tension is high as the Neddy’s innocence becomes more and more transparent. The woman is very unkind to him and uses harsh words to insult Neddy. This conflict only lasts for a few lines and ends when Neddy swims in her pool regardless of the prior conversation.

Concealed Handguns? Not if I have Anything to Say About it!

The idea that civilians should be able to carry concealed handguns on them has been around for ages. Many people believe that the Second Amendment grants them the right to carry a concealed weapon, as the article states. Opponents of concealed carry believe that it will just provoke more violence.

I believe that citizens should not have the right to carry concealed handguns. It does indeed just provoke more violence.

People say that if concealed carry is nixed, then criminals will still carry guns. This may be true, but if concealed carry is allowed, what will criminals do? Get bigger guns!

The article states that someone carrying a gun is 4.5 times more likely to be shot during an assault than someone who is not carrying a gun. The article also states that the Second Amendment does indeed grant the right to bear arms, but for military and militia purposes only, not for concealed carry.

The article brings up school shootings like the Columbine massacre and the Virginia Tech shooting. The article states that the criminals did the shootings because the victims could not shoot back. These murderers were mentally unstable. They all had mental problems.

According to a study stated in the article, 50 people are shot unintentionally each day, and one child is killed every other day from an accidental shooting. These are all people who could be saved if concealed carry was nixed.

If firearms are used to be a self-defense tool, then why not use a less lethal weapon such as mace or a taser. Just because other people may be killers, doesn’t mean citizens should be too.

My final point against concealed carry is that suicide is often impulsive. If a person is in public and decides to commit suicide AND has a handgun, they are a lot more likely to kill themselves. 53% of suicides involve firearms. They are also more likely to be fatal if a firearm is involved.

Winimum Mage

Minimum wage laws have been implemented in the US to regulate pay for workers. I believe that they are completely necessary. Supporters of minimum wage laws say that everyone who works a full and honest work week should go home with a proper pay check. Critics say that minimum wage laws cause jobs to be lost, as companies will hire fewer people, and fire people more frequently when minimum wage laws are enforced.

Although minimum wages may cause some people to lose jobs, I still believe that they are vital to our nation, and the strong work system that we have here in the U.S. Without minimum wage laws, our nation might start to turn into a nation with poor labor laws like Mexico. Our laws provide a proper structure for our labor system, one of the strongest in the world. Without labor laws that enforce minimum wage, our nation might fall behind and not be a leader in labor ethics.

Arts Education

On an average day at most given schools you would be able to find a group of kids happily tooting away on some sort of instrument or painting on a fresh pallet with vibrant colors.  These activities and more are being challenged in the modern school system.  With the economy being as unsound as it is, some schools are looking to make economic drawbacks in the curriculum.  First in line to receive these budget cuts are art programs.  Should such programs really be getting cut?

Art is considered one of the 10 core subjects according to George Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (258).  This is all fine and dandy, but schools are mostly assessed based on math, science, and reading test scores.  This encourages administrators to provide more time in the aforementioned subjects rather than art or music courses.

Art is in fact a very important subject.  But so is history.  And philosophy.  And countless others.  The point is that there are a lot of very important courses that are all necessary to understand the beauty and concept of most things.  In the world of education there is only so much that can fit into an allotted amount of time.  Some times it is a matter of importance, and in the eyes of some financially unstable schools and their administrators, art is not very important.