A Tale of Two Cities

PART A

Near the end of the novel, I found that Carton seemed to take on the properties of a Christ figure. He doomed himself by delivered himself to the guillotine in order to make sure that the person he cared for- Lucie- was able to stay happy, even though this cost him his own life. Christ also delivered himself to death in order for the people he and his father cared for were able to stay happy.

PART B

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way...(page 1)

This quote, for me, was a great example of foreshadowing for the rest of the novel. There are so many parallels drawn throughout the novel- Darnay and Carton, London and Paris, blood and wine, just to name a few- that the first half of the first sentence having seven parallels (repitition!) really set the tone for the rest of the novel, and let me know to look for more parallels in the future.

PART C

I liked A Tale of Two Cities. It was dense and difficult to get through at times, but it was interesting and my attention was held to the very end. I especially liked the opening paragraph, where all the contrasting forces were compared. Even though it was a sentence to rival Hawthorne's, it gave me a good idea of the overall feelings of the books- positives and negatives, all wrapped up together.

The Importance of Being Earnest

PART A

In The Importance of Being Earnest, the title holds great significance. "Earnest" is defined as serious in intention, purpose, or effort. The characters believe that they are earnest, but in truth they are the opposite. They believe themselves to be so serious that they become comically ridiculous. At the end, when Jack claims he has learned the importance of being earnest, he really has learned nothing- throughout the novel, he and the other characters are perfectly silly.

PART B

LADY BRACKNELL: I am pleased to hear it. I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. (page 13)

This quote shows just how ignorant the characters are- specifically, in this case, Lady Bracknell. Education is always better than ignorance, for innumerable reasons. However, Lady Bracknell seems convinced that ignorance is better, likely because she herself is ignorant. Her own stupidity leaves her convinced that she is perfect and everyone else should remain unintelligent so that they can be ‘perfect’ too.

PART C

I enjoyed The Importance of Being Earnest. It was entertaining, and the characters were a never-ending source of amusement. They took themselves so seriously, but the things that came out of their mouths were absolute nonsense. They didn’t see their own ridiculousness, which it made it even more hilarious.

Cat's Cradle

PART A

One major theme throughout Cat's Cradle was the war between science and religion and the negative impacts of that fight on humanity as a whole. Science, in an effort to be 'better' than religion, came up with ice-9, a super-weapon cabable of destroying the world. And religion, in an attempt to one-up science, encouraged the survivors of science's weapon to kill themselves. In Cat's Cradle, the race between science and relgion harmed many and helped none.

PART B

And I remembered The Fourteenth Book of Bokonon, which I had read in its entirety the night before. The Fourteenth Book is entitled, "What Can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years?"

It doesn't take long to read The Fourteenth Book. It consists of one word and a period.

This is it:

"Nothing." (page 164)

This is an example of how loyal Bokonists are. Bokononism is illegal in San Lorenzo, but almost every single citizen practices Bokononism anyway. Bokonon tells his followers that they essentially have no hope, that, based on the experience of the last million years, mankind will never receive anything while on Earth, but the Bokononists follow him faithfully to their end, when Bokonon himself suggests that they kill themselves and they all faithfully comply.

PART C

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the style of Cat’s Cradle- the short little anecdotes were amusing and easily held my interest. It also made it easy to read the book- I could stop or start almost anywhere, and if I got confused I could just read the last anecdote and be perfectly fine again, unlike some books where I would have to read a few dozen pages to accomplish the same thing. Cat’s Cradle was interesting and thought-provoking, contained a fascinating mix of science and religion- an age old battle, but armed with new and intriguing weapons in this book- and was overall very fun and easy to read.

The Handmaid's Tale

PART A

When Offred and the Commander play Scrabble, Offred spells a series of complex and seemingly random words- larynx, valence, quince, zygote, limp, and gorge. However, to anyone who examines them closely, it becomes apparent that the words are not random after all, but extremely meaningful.

Larynx is the windpipe, where the voice box lies. In Gilead, Offred doesn't have a voice, which makes the larynx precious because it is something she wishes for but knows she will probably never have. Valence, in chemistry, refers to how many electrons the atom must gain or lose to feel stable. In other words, the valence electrons are expendable. Also, they hover around the atom's nucleus, never really on the inside but unable to leave unless the atom as a whole wills it to. Offred probably feels like the valence electrons- she is expendable (after all, she's already on her 'third chance') and she knows that, being a woman, she will never be able to gain a position of power in her society.

Quince is a pear-shaped fruit used in making preserves. This, I believe, is important for two reasons- the shape, and what it is used for. The quince is pear-shaped, just like the uterus, which is important to Offred because that is where babies develop. (The importance of this will be discussed during the next word, zygote.) Also, the quince is used in making preserves, which I think is important to Offred because she and the other Handmaids have been brainwashed to believe that it is their job to help preserve and rebuild their society. Zygote is a fertilized egg- the zygote will eventually develop into a baby. The whole society in which the book is set revolves around babies- the Handmaids' sole purpose is to have babies, so obviously they- and thereby zygotes (and the pear-shaped uterus)- would be important to Offred.

Limp is defined as "to move slowly and with great difficulty". Offred, being a woman, is denied so many opportunities in the Republic of Gilead. If she sees any opportunities at all to move up in life, she cannot run at them full speed, but must limp towards them, struggling every step of the way. Gorge means "the throat or gullet", so gorge would be important to Offred for the same reason that larynx was- it stands for her lost voice.

PART B

There's a hard little cushion on it, with a petit point cover: FAITH, in square print, surrounded by a wreath of lilies. FAITH is a faded blue, the leaves of the lilies a dingy green. This is a cushion once used elsewhere, worn but not enough to throw out. (page 57)

To me, this quote really described how religion was treated in The Handmaid's Tale. It was used and misused until it wasn't the same as it once was, then used in a different capacity, placed somewhere out of the way so you don't have to look at it all the time, but it's always there if you need it. Religion is used to justify the more extreme actions this society has taken, but religion rarely plays a role in the citizen's everyday lives.

PART C

I was lukewarm towards The Handmaid's Tale. It was interesting, but at the same time it was offensive and I didn't want to read it. It was simple, but at the same time much too complex. I wasn't ever really able to connect with the characters, and I simply didn't have any strong feelings for this book what so ever.

Anthem

PART A

In Anthem, one of the biggest symbols is the use of light. Equality 7-2521 discovers the light bulb in the underground canyon, which symbolizes his discovery of new knowledge and ideas in his oppressive society which wishes to keep all people in little boxes, cut off from knowledge and ideas, so that they do not cause problems. Equality 7-2521 secretly breaks out of his box and discovers new ideas, but it takes some time for him to openly walk around, free from his bonds, and share his discoveries with others. But the light proves too strong for the others in his society, who were not ready to break out of their boxes, and so he leaves, hoping to someday bring the light to the others.

PART B

“We have followed you,” they said, “and we shall follow you wherever you go. If danger threatens you, we shall face it also. If it be death, we shall die with you. You are damned, and we wish to share your damnation… Do as you please with us, but do not send us away from you.” (Page 82-83)

This is one of the most romantic things I’ve ever read. The traditional “I love you” is used so much in today’s world that it has lost a lot of its meaning, so hearing Liberty 5-300 say this to Equality 7-2521 is so much more romantic because you know that she means every word of it. In a world where love really doesn’t exist, loving someone becomes that much more intense because you know you stand to lose everything just for loving them. True love… is knowing that you have to be with someone, even if you might get hurt in the process. True love- real, sincere love- is what Liberty 5-3000 and Equality 7-2521 have. And, through it all, true love prevails.

PART C

I really enjoyed Anthem. Even if it was a little odd at first, it was such a unique and interesting book that it quickly became one of my all-time favorites. It had familiar themes, which was a comfort, but a totally unique setting, which was intriguing. The laws of the society were odd and often seemed counter-productive, but they were fascinating at the same time. It was the perfect mix of known and unknown, and I really liked it.

Fahrenheit 451

PART A

On page 163, Granger refers to the phoenix, talking about how it kept repeating the same cycle of birth and death. Granger compares the phoenix to the people of Earth and how they keep repeating the cycle of destruction and reconstruction. I believe that, in this instance, the phoenix is a symbol for history and its repetitious nature. However, while the phoenix cannot remember his past mistake of burning himself, people know what they have done, and how foolish it was. Slowly, people may learn to stop the cycle. They will remember the destruction that happened last time and help prevent it.

PART B

“…Did you know that once billboards were only twenty feet long? But cars started rushing by so quickly they had to stretch the advertising out so it would last.”

“I didn’t know that!” Montag laughed abruptly.

“Bet I know something else you don’t. There’s dew on the grass in the morning.”

He suddenly couldn’t remember if he had known this or not, and it made him quite irritable.

“And if you look”-she nodded at the sky-“there’s a man in the moon.”

He hadn’t looked for a long time. (Page 9)

This passage shows how this society has brainwashed all its citizens into doing exactly what it wants them to do, and nothing else. The society keeps people’s minds frozen in childhood- obedient and easy to control. But Clarisse, with the help of her ‘peculiar’ family, has resisted the society’s control and grown up. She’s roughly half of Montag’s age, but she is so much wiser than he is. She has seen so many more things just because she pays attention, and by seeing them, realizes that there are ordinary miracles surrounding her every day. Montag has been acting like the cars Clarisse refers to- rushing through life so fast that he can no longer recognize what’s around him. Either life has to be stretched out- ‘so it [will] last’- or Montag has to slow down, recognize what’s around him, and help change what needs to be changed.

PART C

I did not like Fahrenheit 451. It seemed too implausible- for example, the government was too controlling, which I can't see happening, given the current system of checks and balances in our national government- and there seemed to be only two types of people, those who seemed like ‘zombies’ (like Mildred) and those who fought against the society (like Montag). There were no moderates, and that just seemed unreal to me.

There is a second factor in my dislike for Fahrenheit 451. I'm strongly against censorship, and I love books for the different kinds of knowledge and ideas that they contain. Reading about the book burnings in the past never fails to make me angry, because I simply can't imagine the huge amount of knowledge lost because of some people's short-sightedness. Seeing book-burnings so prevalent so early in the story made it difficult for me even read the book. Curiosity won out, however, and when I finally reached the end, I realized that I had ended up liking Montag. However, I still could not make myself truly enjoy the book. I applaud Ray Bradbury for his anti-censorship writings, but I’m simply not willing to be in his audience.