Sex in the Small Town

The year is 2008, it is the summer before college for many of my friends and I. It is the summer of work, sex, break-ups, and more. Who knew life could be so difficult? If I had to realte this life to one person it would be Carrey from "Sex in the City." Torn between two men, one being weet and charming but flighty, the other not willing to commit in the smallest of ways. (The being a simple boyfriend) It is tragic really. Life seems to be that way though. First I have a great relationship with my mom, tons of friends, and an amazing boyfriend. Then all of a sudden my mom kicks me out, I move away to a place where I have no friends, and my boyfriend of two years dumps me in the middle of Sunday service. Life really has a way with kicking a woman when she is down. However, it is when I try to pick up the pieces and rebuild my life that the really wierd stuff begins to happen. I finally get a job that I love, my friends visit, and I meet a really great guy. Life looks like it is finally coming together. OH NO!! That cannot happen! The EX come back or in a way he does, he keeps calling, texting, contantly wanting to know what your doing and who you are with. You find out from his friend that he still likes you! >(>( BUT HE DUMPED YOU!! Why is this happening? Things were finally looking up. None of it makes sense. What do I do? Do I run and hide? Do I stick around and see where things go? NO, I PUT MY FOOT DOWN! And Hard! I tell that EX of mine that I AM NOT JUST SOME THING OR TOY, THAT HE CAN JUST PICK UP WHENEVER HE WANTS, then he GETS BORED WITH ME AND JUST LEAVES! AND I AM DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO BE HERE FOR HIM TO PICK BACK UP WHEN HE FEELS LIKE IT!!! NO, it just does not work that way. sorry but NO!! But after that what do I do?? I just.....

BNW and 1984 similarities

• The first thing I noticed that was similar was that in BNW there is Henry Ford and in 1984 there is Big Brother. They are both looking out for you, Ford is more of a god though.
• Another similarity is the family situation. In BNW families are non-existent for the most part, they are frowned upon. In 1984 there are families but parents in that time do not want their children, those evil snot nosed things grown up to be literally be the death of their parents.
• The hiding of historical facts and other such things is also a similarity. In BNW they hide great works of literature, and in 1984 they hide anything that doesn't put the government in a good light.
• The governmental control over the people. In BNW they condition the people from birth and in 1984 they are always watching the citizens and if they mess up it is kaput.
• In both books sex is controlled. In one way that is good in another is absolutely horrible.

BNW vs. Our World Today

Similarities between BNW and America today are amazing. The fact that a man who wrote about the future in the 1930's and made so many real connections is astounding. In BNW the people travel by helicopter, have sex with multiple partners, buying products just to own them, and live in total ignorance. They act like children, point taken that they are supposed to but it is still aggravating. In America today, not everyone travels by helicopter. However, the wealthy do travel by private jet or vehicles that use up so much gasoline that they might as well be a helicopter. The subject of sex in America and how people choice of sexual partners comes up often, the fact that one person is having sex with up to 3 people at a time and each of those people are having sex with 3 people and so on, it is as bad as BNW and how everyone belongs to everyone. Sex in America has just become a habit, as it is in BNW, and it is out of hand. Although in BNW, people are much more capable of refraining from becoming pregnant, there method of birth control should be taught to grade school girls in America before they drop out to raise a family they do not need. Another similar factor is the want to buy meaningless merchandise just because it looks cool or fun. The fact that both BNW inhabitants and Americans buy merchandise, break it and then go out and buy a new one instead of repairing it is just wasteful. The last similarity is the complete ignorance in which people live their lives. BNW people are raised to be that way; they are raised like babies their entire lives. However, Americans should be able to mature and grow into responsible adults that can make proper decisions instead of ruining their lives. It is simply amazing how dense people can really be when making a decision that will affect them for many years to come.

John vs. Lenina *hypnopaedia*

John and Lenina are both alike in that they both recite phrases without even thinking. Lenina's were practically programmed into her, being repeated since birth. And John's come from reading Shakespeare so often that lines from the plays pop into his head and he just spits them out like it is nothing. The fact that Bernard even points out when exactly Lenina learned the phrase and how often it was repeated but it does not even faze her. However, the way each of them memorized their phrases was different. Lenina's was through a quiet voice repeating the phrases over and over again while she slept. John's was really from reading the stories so often that it just stuck.

The difference in their teachings keeps them apart. Lenina was trained to believe that John is a savage and that he is dirty. Every time she is around him the different phrases that a etched in her brain come up and remind her that he is not worthy to be with her. John on the other hand has been reading Shakespeare and believes in romance and tragedies are a pair, you cannot have one with out the other. Another part of John's problem is that he seems to suffer the Oedipus complex far more than the average man, obviously in Lenina's world where there are no mothers that is not a problem, but for John it has to be terrible. The fact that he gets angry every time his mother is with a guy and how he hates all men just furthers to prove his problem.

Brave New World

The main connection I caught between Utopia and Brave New World was all the rules. It is all extremely rule oriented. Everything has to be exactly right.

The good thing I found about A Brave New World was that there is no disease, it is all taken care of during the "pregnancy". No STDs no crippling diseases, that is one thing I could get used to.

The no family part of a Brave New World is the part that bothers me the most. Yeah family causes tons of stress but they are an important part of who you become. Nature vs. Nurture comes into play here, if you do not have a real person to nurture you than what kind of person are you really going to become. Where is your personality going to come from, a box whispering under your pillow. I would have an annoying family any day.

Utopia Book 3

• The Senate decides the law
• No one is distinguished
• They are very open to different religions
• When an authority advises a person to choose death and the person agrees, they receive and honorable death. However, if they should choose death without the authority's approval then their body is thrown in a ditch without an honorable funeral.
• Polygamy and divorces are not allowed except in the case of adultery and perverseness. Then the victim can remarry but the adulterer cannot.
• The sick are kept isolated and comfortable
• Girls have to be 18 and men have to be 22 before they are allowed to marry.
• A bride and groom have to see each other naked before they get married.

The senate deciding the law is the way it should be, you do not want the entire village or city deciding, then everything would be greatly distorted. The fact that they do not have any one person appearing better than anyone else is excellent; no one wants to feel like they are not good enough. The fact that all religions are accepted is amazing, different beliefs often cause controversy. The whole ordeal with honorable and non-honorable deaths is a little strange, it seems to me that if a person commits suicide without authority figures okay then it is bad, but how does that work. In the Catholic Church suicide is a selfish sin, no matter what, so why is it okay in Utopia if a priest tells you you can commit suicide. I agree with the fact that polygamy and adultery are frowned upon, and remarriage after being cheated on is okay. I really think they have that one down. Keeping the sick away from the healthy is smart, and then the illness does not spread to the rest of the village. For women to wait until they are 18 to get married is the smartest thing I have ever heard. Girls are not prepared to make the decision of long-term commitment any earlier than that. Men being 22 is even smarter; man's maturity level compared to woman's is far lower. However, the seeing of your soon to be spouse naked before the wedding is a little hard for me to grasp. I understand the no surprised there. Although some religions forbid that and if the society if fully accepting of the different religions should they not also be accepting of the rules that are put down by those religions. It is just a little too hypocritical for me.

Utopia Book 2

• 10-16 people for the family size


• Honor and respect for elders


• Everyone has a love for learning


• 30-40 cities on the island and they all have the same laws


• Any man can freely walk into any house whatsoever


• Uniforms for everyone, the only distinction is between male and female and married and unmarried.

Regulating family size is ridiculous, plus who wants a house with up to 16 people living in it. Too many people can make a person go mad. Of course respecting one's elders is important and learning is a loveable thing. Having the same laws in every city is important because then there is no confusion on rule breaking. Personally, I would hate to have people just entering my house at random, just too weird. Uniforms I can understand, they make life less of a hassle. However there should be some room for individualism.

Utopia Book 1 Reading Notes

• A country should not have a reserve of soldiers during a time of peace


• Stealing is over punished


• The death penalty is unjust


• Killing people and controlling their death is divine action


• People with great wisdom should help and serve the king and the people


• Thieves should be made slaves for the person that catches them

Personally the perfect society in my mind seems stuffy and full of death. I mean for every crime it seems the death penalty is accepted. I can see that they believe that people will not want to commit a crime if death is the consequence. However, it is just a little too much for one to handle. I do however agree that those with great wisdom should help the king and the people. Many great minds working together is better than one dim mind trying to get everything done. A country should always have soldiers in reserve; you never know when you're going to be attacked. And slavery should never be the answer. It is far too barbaric for this supposed perfect society.

IDK

Okay I'm just putting this on here to make sure it works first. Hope that my group gets my invite. Well thats all!

Later