Annotated Bibliography
1. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. Toronto: Randomhouse, 2007. Print.2.
"Lenina Crowne?" said Henry Foster, echoing the Assistant Predestinator's question as he zipped up his trousers. "Oh, she's a splendid girl. Wonderfully pneumatic. I'm surprised you haven't had her."
"I can't think how it is I haven't," said the Assistant Predestinator. "I certainly will. At the first opportunity." (3.118-20)
The book "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley is about a dystopian society told through the perspectives of multiple characters such as Bernard Marx, Lenina Crowne and John. All of these characters have different attitudes toward their societies, one society being a revolutionized city and the other being a savage reservation. Bernard Marx is a man who doesn't meet the socially acceptable physical requirements, he is smaller than the others, and disagrees with his society until he gets his chance in the spotlight and he realizes that he just didn't like it because he was despised. Lenina is a very "popular" girl who has slept with many of the men of the society, she finds herself feeling lonely and yearning for a mate, one person so settle down with. She follows the laws of her society however, by being promiscuous, which doesn't play into her favour when she meets our third character John. John is from the reservation and is used to the norms of our present society, he becomes very fond of Lenina but doesn't feel good enough for her. John is disgusted by the new city's society and in the end resists Lenina's attempts to seduce him because of his moral values. In a way all three characters are misfits, Bernard is misunderstood by his peers, Lenina wants a relationship but that is forbidden and John doesn't understand the new society he is expected to live in. They are all trying to fit in but their societies stop them from being able to be totally happy with their lives, with all the restrictions and new social norms , it is like they are fighting their nature tendencies to pair up together. After all is said and done Bernard Marx gets banished to an island for questioning his society, Lenina never get the chance to be intimate with John and John kills himself because is moral values conflicted so much with the world he was living in that it drove him to the point of insanity.
This novel was a good example for my research because there was many comments made from men about the women of the society. The resource was helpful because even when the characters went to deal with the head of the city it was a man, many of the most powerful people in the novel were men. Since the setting was in a different type of dystopia, one based on happiness, it was interesting to hear the women talk about feeling lonely. The author had a pretty interesting outlook on a society, although it was about happiness of the people, there are still flaws. Even if the people are conditioned to believe that they are happy being who they are. This novel helped me see that even in a society where "everyone belongs to everyone" people still want to belong to someone just one person and even in a society where everyone is conditioned its the women who become weak with the longing for love.
"I can't think how it is I haven't," said the Assistant Predestinator. "I certainly will. At the first opportunity." (3.118-20)
The book "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley is about a dystopian society told through the perspectives of multiple characters such as Bernard Marx, Lenina Crowne and John. All of these characters have different attitudes toward their societies, one society being a revolutionized city and the other being a savage reservation. Bernard Marx is a man who doesn't meet the socially acceptable physical requirements, he is smaller than the others, and disagrees with his society until he gets his chance in the spotlight and he realizes that he just didn't like it because he was despised. Lenina is a very "popular" girl who has slept with many of the men of the society, she finds herself feeling lonely and yearning for a mate, one person so settle down with. She follows the laws of her society however, by being promiscuous, which doesn't play into her favour when she meets our third character John. John is from the reservation and is used to the norms of our present society, he becomes very fond of Lenina but doesn't feel good enough for her. John is disgusted by the new city's society and in the end resists Lenina's attempts to seduce him because of his moral values. In a way all three characters are misfits, Bernard is misunderstood by his peers, Lenina wants a relationship but that is forbidden and John doesn't understand the new society he is expected to live in. They are all trying to fit in but their societies stop them from being able to be totally happy with their lives, with all the restrictions and new social norms , it is like they are fighting their nature tendencies to pair up together. After all is said and done Bernard Marx gets banished to an island for questioning his society, Lenina never get the chance to be intimate with John and John kills himself because is moral values conflicted so much with the world he was living in that it drove him to the point of insanity.
This novel was a good example for my research because there was many comments made from men about the women of the society. The resource was helpful because even when the characters went to deal with the head of the city it was a man, many of the most powerful people in the novel were men. Since the setting was in a different type of dystopia, one based on happiness, it was interesting to hear the women talk about feeling lonely. The author had a pretty interesting outlook on a society, although it was about happiness of the people, there are still flaws. Even if the people are conditioned to believe that they are happy being who they are. This novel helped me see that even in a society where "everyone belongs to everyone" people still want to belong to someone just one person and even in a society where everyone is conditioned its the women who become weak with the longing for love.
2. Orwell, George. 1984: A Novel. New York, NY: Published by Signet Classic, 1977. Print.
"He thought of her naked, youthful body, as he had seen it in his dream. He had imagined her a fool like all the rest of them, her head stuffed with lies and hatred, her belly full of ice. A kind of fever seized him at the thought that he might lose her, the white youthful body might slip away from him! What he feared more than anything else was that she would simply change her mind if he did not get in touch with her quickly. (2.1.21)
The book 1948 by George Orwell is the most extreme type of dystopian novel that I've read in this course. It was full of hate, anger and repression. The people of Oceania are controlled by "Big Brother" who watches their every move, controls the past and ultimately the future. The people are only safe in their thoughts and even sometimes those betray them as though crimes are the wort type of crime. Winston Smith is a seemingly normal party member, he goes to work and participates in societal events but underneath he hates his society. In Oceania there is no such thing as protesting or standing up for what you believe in, unless what you believe in is the party. He doesn't know what to do about his thoughts until he meets Julia, who admits her love for him. They then begin an affair that will be the highlight of their lives not only because they have each other but because they have a way to defy the party. Winston is interested in a rebellion against the government (The Brotherhood) while Julia just does it for her own personal pleasure. While they were having their affair they had been discovered, the owner of the place they would stay was actually a member of the thought police. Both Winston and Julia are taken into custody and go through a tremendous amount of torture, but still stay loyal to each other. Finally the party wins by getting Winston to betray Julia by wishing that she would take his place by have the take the pain of his worst fear, rats. They then release Winston and when he sees Julia again he feels nothing for her. Winston then goes on to realize by last page that he, in fact, loves the big brother.
This novel was a good source of information for my research because it was violent and dark. It showed what women would be like if the world was terrible, they either conform or defy. The only way it seems for them to defy was with their bodies. This novel was very thorough and Orwell did not spare one detail. I think that the authors ideas are very accurate for the time that the book was written with the women's rights movement. This book helped me with my question because it represented women in a negative light, that their roles were lower then mens. In this book all of the powerful people were all males, and that is something in common with my previous novel. Women are represented as powerful at all and in fact are shown to be lower standard then males.
The book 1948 by George Orwell is the most extreme type of dystopian novel that I've read in this course. It was full of hate, anger and repression. The people of Oceania are controlled by "Big Brother" who watches their every move, controls the past and ultimately the future. The people are only safe in their thoughts and even sometimes those betray them as though crimes are the wort type of crime. Winston Smith is a seemingly normal party member, he goes to work and participates in societal events but underneath he hates his society. In Oceania there is no such thing as protesting or standing up for what you believe in, unless what you believe in is the party. He doesn't know what to do about his thoughts until he meets Julia, who admits her love for him. They then begin an affair that will be the highlight of their lives not only because they have each other but because they have a way to defy the party. Winston is interested in a rebellion against the government (The Brotherhood) while Julia just does it for her own personal pleasure. While they were having their affair they had been discovered, the owner of the place they would stay was actually a member of the thought police. Both Winston and Julia are taken into custody and go through a tremendous amount of torture, but still stay loyal to each other. Finally the party wins by getting Winston to betray Julia by wishing that she would take his place by have the take the pain of his worst fear, rats. They then release Winston and when he sees Julia again he feels nothing for her. Winston then goes on to realize by last page that he, in fact, loves the big brother.
This novel was a good source of information for my research because it was violent and dark. It showed what women would be like if the world was terrible, they either conform or defy. The only way it seems for them to defy was with their bodies. This novel was very thorough and Orwell did not spare one detail. I think that the authors ideas are very accurate for the time that the book was written with the women's rights movement. This book helped me with my question because it represented women in a negative light, that their roles were lower then mens. In this book all of the powerful people were all males, and that is something in common with my previous novel. Women are represented as powerful at all and in fact are shown to be lower standard then males.
3. Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. Print.
“The fact is that I’m his mistress. Men at the top have always had mistresses, why should things be different now? The arrangements aren’t the same, granted.”(153)
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood is a dystopian novel about a society who has taken such control over women to the point where they are now just existent to carry the children of the higher class individuals. Due to alarmingly low birthrates at the results of chemical spills the handmaids are distributed to those in power. They are constantly watched and have little to no rights, Offred is the narrator of the novel, her life is repetitive and depressing. Many Handmaids commit suicide and for that reason they are always being watched and can only be given certain things and privileges. Offred is a woman to keeps sane by thinking about the way things were in the past, although she does say once in a while "I do not want to be telling this story". Offred becomes friends of Ofglen who informs her that there is a underground operation that is going to try and overthrow the government. The story takes an unexpected turn when Offred finds out that the commander's wife, Serena Joy, knows the whereabouts of her daughter. Offred then has to sleep with a younger man who works at the house in order to try and get pregnant. Offred wants so badly for things to be the way they used to be, just when Ofglen gives her that hope she hangs herself when she hears the eyes are coming after her. Offred then loses any hope she had of becoming apart of this underground operation as Ofglen was her only link. The only thing that helps her tolerate her life is spending nights with Nick behind the backs of the people she was hired for. During the last few pages of the book, Nick comes into her room and asks her to go with him, he could be an eye(working for the government) or he could want to save her but either way she agrees. As a reader there is no knowing of what happens to Offred from that point.
I must admit that I liked this novel the best out of the 3 probably because it was a female lead. Offred rebelled even though she knew the rules and followed the majority. This fit into my research really well because it was strictly about discriminating women in the society. The author wanted to give the readers a chilling look into a world that was controlled by the government, and basically reducing women to the carriers of wombs. This source helped me in my research because it was narrated by a women, so it was a women's point of view of her dystopia. This novel helped me come to an answer because once I got the male perspective of women I needed to know how females seen themselves. I feel like women will rebel when they think its right but it all depends on their mentality.
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood is a dystopian novel about a society who has taken such control over women to the point where they are now just existent to carry the children of the higher class individuals. Due to alarmingly low birthrates at the results of chemical spills the handmaids are distributed to those in power. They are constantly watched and have little to no rights, Offred is the narrator of the novel, her life is repetitive and depressing. Many Handmaids commit suicide and for that reason they are always being watched and can only be given certain things and privileges. Offred is a woman to keeps sane by thinking about the way things were in the past, although she does say once in a while "I do not want to be telling this story". Offred becomes friends of Ofglen who informs her that there is a underground operation that is going to try and overthrow the government. The story takes an unexpected turn when Offred finds out that the commander's wife, Serena Joy, knows the whereabouts of her daughter. Offred then has to sleep with a younger man who works at the house in order to try and get pregnant. Offred wants so badly for things to be the way they used to be, just when Ofglen gives her that hope she hangs herself when she hears the eyes are coming after her. Offred then loses any hope she had of becoming apart of this underground operation as Ofglen was her only link. The only thing that helps her tolerate her life is spending nights with Nick behind the backs of the people she was hired for. During the last few pages of the book, Nick comes into her room and asks her to go with him, he could be an eye(working for the government) or he could want to save her but either way she agrees. As a reader there is no knowing of what happens to Offred from that point.
I must admit that I liked this novel the best out of the 3 probably because it was a female lead. Offred rebelled even though she knew the rules and followed the majority. This fit into my research really well because it was strictly about discriminating women in the society. The author wanted to give the readers a chilling look into a world that was controlled by the government, and basically reducing women to the carriers of wombs. This source helped me in my research because it was narrated by a women, so it was a women's point of view of her dystopia. This novel helped me come to an answer because once I got the male perspective of women I needed to know how females seen themselves. I feel like women will rebel when they think its right but it all depends on their mentality.