During class discussion, we pondered over the question of "would we put in all the effort Lauren does to survive if you resided in the world featured in 'The Parable of the Sower?'" My first reaction to this question was, "absolutely not, thats way too much effort!" But then, I thought about the environment Lauren has been raised in. She doesn't know anything other than the hard, survival lifestyle she lives. Given that we are a product of the environment we are raised in, it is hard to imagine a scenario in with Lauren would just give up fighting for her life - just as it is hard for us to imagine ourselves in her position.
This thought stayed with me throughout the day, and I began to think about the implications of this in other texts. For example, in the handmaids tale, if we were raised in that society would we become complacent with the way that society works? Would we allow women to be marginalized and our freedoms to be taken away? I think that the fundamental different between the environment in "The Parable of the Sower" and "The Handmaid's Tale" is that the people in "The Handmaid's Tale" we not raised in that type of society. There was a radical change that occurred fairly recently - so recently that Offred often refers to her prior life. They can acknowledge a different type of lifestyle, thus spawning the resistance which has the sole purpose of gaining their past lives back. In "The Handmaid's Tale," the people are not completely complacent.
Reflecting on the "Brave New World," maybe the society never needed genetic modifications in order to create a caste system. What if the government suppressed the population until their society became "the norm." That way, people would still retain the ingenuity and innovation they should, whilst also being complacent in society. This would create a population that could innovate more and further technology and sciences, creating an overall better society. What do you guys think? Could you see yourself in Lauren's position / what would you do if you can? Do you think that "Brave New World" could have constructed a better society? Let me know!
I also initially thought that I wouldn't really want to fight to survive in a world like Lauren's. However, after reading your blog post I'm unsure. It's a very good point that you bring up about Lauren only knowing the world she is in. She doesn't really have much to compare it with, so it might only make sense for her to fight since her life might just be normal for her.
ReplyDeleteThat's very true, we are a product of our own environment. You made a really interesting point about the Handmaid's Tale. I think that in Parable of the Sower, Lauren does not know of any other way of life, she is used to this lifestyle which is why its so "normal" for her. For us, that type of survival is out of the ordinary which is why we wouldn't do the things she did. It all depends on what a person's environment is like.
ReplyDeleteI think Brave New World's society makes sense. They produced their classes through artificial means so that they could purposefully inhibit the potentials of some. This was done so that some people would HAVE to work the necessary but less appealing jobs for society to funtion, while others would be able to focus on more complex tasks. This seems like a hastle-free way to maintain social structure without any of the downsides of the typical financially-set barriers. While their system my be immoral, I think it serves its purpose.
ReplyDeleteI also thought something similar regarding Lauren's fight to survive. Lauren environment shapes her to be the person she is and her willingness to fight to survive stems from the fact that she doesn't have any other choices. I think it would be difficult to imagine myself fighting to survive in a world like Lauren's because of how different our world actually is and how it shaped me to react differently from how Lauren reacts.
ReplyDeleteI also though that I wouldn't put too much effort into surviving like Lauren because who would really want to live in a world like that. After reading this, its most likely because of the environment I've lived in. I wouldn't want to live in Lauren's world because I like ours so much more but Lauren doesn't really have anything better to compare her world to.
ReplyDeleteI think that I might put effort into survival, but be nowhere near as prepared as Lauren is. Because Lauren has grown up in this world, she's seen firsthand that you can't fully count on anyone and the cruelty of her world. While my inclination might be towards survival, I would probably trust other people way too much and be very disturbed by what is going on and that would hinder my ability to survive.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that whenever we consider a character's actions, we need to consider the environment in which they have been raised and the standards by which they have lived. As such, the actions of characters in all the novels we have read so far are rather aligned with how they have been taught, perhaps with the exception of Winston and Julia.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure most people's survival instincts would kick in if they found themselves in Lauren's situation. And if they didn't--well, it's eat or be eaten.
ReplyDeleteI think we sometimes underestimate the way our bodies and brains work to ensure survival, I think in the actual moment it would be difficult to say ok I give up Im just gonna let this person kill me without putting up a fight. However, Lauren has found a purpose, earthseed, and she has people and I think this keeps her fighting.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, people's resilience and determination are amazing. I think many of us would fight because I don't think many are willing to submit themselves to a gruesome death. Lauren's father made a transition from a minister and average college teacher to leader and survival teacher so I think many of us have the capability too.
DeleteAnd we can't even imagine a world without the ideas of freedom, justice, and equality that have been baked into us. The worldviews are changed in Brave New World and Parable because the change was gradual, or people accept the world the way it is. 1984 and Handmaid's Tale face hesitation because people remember a time when it was better.
ReplyDeleteIf I live a life like Lauren, I think I'd fight for my life as well. Maybe I wouldn't come up with a new religion or have some kind of epiphany, but I think I hope I would be a decent person and do the best I can in what situation I'm in. We all want to live for the most part, and its human instinct to protect yourself and try not to die.
ReplyDeleteWe are all definitely products of our environments, and I can only imagine that the vast majority of people born into Lauren's situation would have more of a desire to fight to survive than most of us can imagine. I think that it would be really, really difficult to rebel against an evil society which was the norm and has been established for a long time. For example, in 1984, I think that had Winston not had memories of a life before the Party, he never would have had rebellious thoughts, or at least would have been more inclined to accept the way things are.
ReplyDeleteI think that for BNW, they could have very well skipped genetically modifying people to create castes. Specifically, I feel like through propaganda alone they could have achieved the same result. In my mind if they took the time to create some deep-rooted stereotypes within the society it could work. For example they could convince the population that people with glasses were so smart that they didn’t need perfect vision because their brain capacity was 5 times greater or something along those lines. They could do the same thing for any number of general characteristics and create the same social stratification.
ReplyDeleteWhen you ask whether or not you would do what Lauren does to survive, I believe that we 100% would do what she does because of human nature. Whatever it takes, you do what is required to do for you and your love ones to survive.
ReplyDeletePersonally, if I was put in Lauren's situation, I probably wouldn't try to do very much, and if I'm killed, so be it. It seems like life is mostly poverty-filled and miserable, even for comparatively better off gated communities like Lauren's', at the beginning of the book.
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