The Road: Part 1

AP Lit. HW, 8/30/2011

Begin reading Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Read approx. pgs. 1-35 (up until the passage that ends “If you break little promises you’ll break big ones…”).

Look on Wikipedia and read the entire entry for “Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Literature.” Follow some of the links at the bottom and read about this subgenre in other media.

Read the entire Wikipedia entry for “Cormac McCarthy.”

Blog a response to The Road and the Wikipedia entries. In your entry answer the following questions:

1.  How could this novel be considered a work of post-apocalyptic literature? What are some other films or novels you’ve seen/read that come to mind after reading the Wikipedia entry?
2. How is this subgenre of sci-fi similar to dystopian fiction? How is it different? Can you think of any films or novels that combine the two subgenres? Are there particular comments/values/philosophies/politics that one could address better than the other? Explain.
3. McCarthy is both celebrated and derided (and sometimes even ridiculed) for employing a VERY distinctive prose style. How would you describe the style in which The Road is written? Why do you think it’s written this way? Do you like this style of writing? Why or why not?

 This novel is considered a work of post-apocalyptic literature because it is set after an event that left the world in a desolate and cold state where even the sun is unable to shine and leaves a lackluster sky. Everything is described as monochromatic. Ash and dust is ubiquitous and there is almost no sign of life. After reading the Wikipedia entry, I'm reminded of the following films/novels: Resident Evil, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Daybreakers, Legion, 2012, Dawn of the Dead, The Core, The Day After Tomorrow, Dreamcatcher, I Am Legend, Terminator, Wall-E, War of the Worlds, Zombieland, Ender's Game, and Alas, Babylon,.

Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic and Dystopian are similar in that they take place in a time ahead of our's. It seems like they provide scenarios for what might happen in our future and what becomes of it. Dystopian novels can also be seen as apocalyptic because they have taken over our sense of human civilization. Maybe the government will be the cause of our doom. After all, look at the history of nuclear warfare. The novel seems to take place after an extreme nuclear warfare.  They're different because apocalyptic fiction lacks a society unlike dystopian fiction. There's an absence of a populace unlike the other. I think AEon Flux would be a good representation of both genres. It features a main character who questions her environment and discovers that all is not what it seems to be. The city is closed off from nature and a giant wall is built to separate them because it threatened their survival. Both subgenres can address certain issues better. Because there is a lack of society, there is no law to keep the people from doing what they want. They do not get punished for the crimes they commit. Without society, the moral and ethic codes are broken. Some will honor it and some won't. In novel, many people resort to cannibalism whereas the father and son doesn't. It puts into question the meaning and the lack thereof of life. The father explicitly states that the only thing that separates him form death is his son. They are each other's world. The father could easily use the revolver to kill both himself and his son (resembles "Beloved") if they continue to live this rather meaningless and cumbersome lifestyle. Oh, but what if it only has one bullet? The survivor could also easily surrender himself to the cannibals  or surrender both himself and his son if their death could be made use of (what would be so cruel). As for dystopian fiction, it's forte is more inclined towards our stance on ethics and morals, conformity, and individualism. In general, dystopian fiction caters to society's questions where apocalyptic fiction, the individual. 

The Road is written with a serious lack of punctuation and probably grammar. I think it's written that way to represent our thoughts. I doubt many of us think with punctuation and grammar (Oh, I need to stop for a period or quote what I'm thinking). If we put our thoughts on paper it would seem similar to McCarthy's writing. I am rather piqued at his writing because he is the only author I'm aware of who writes like he does. It certainly gives you a new way to read a novel albeit that it is a bit difficult with the lack of punctuation. It also gives the novel a sense of breathlessness (which I certainly would have if I've read out loud) which actuates the novel's setting; it's very lonely and desolate. I certainly do not mind reading like this despite it may violate what I have learned as a student, but it's unconventional and unique. 

BNW Ending

BNW was a very enjoyable novel to read. It shows the problems we face in society and reminds us from time to time to celebrate being an individual. Though ignorance can be bliss, it isn't always best to run away from your problems. When Bernard, Hemholtz, and John and sent to the island, it seems that their characters have been in vain and that it's impossible to retrograde to the world before it, where freedom was respected and conformity frowned upon. Huxley shows the what humans are capable of that because of our capacity to think we will always have differences and difficulties.

BNW and "Can Science be Ethical?" Comparison

Having read both, there's a lot of correlation between the two that question the moral and ethics of society. Ultimately, I believe that our ethic and moral codes change with that of society's. Therefore, moral and ethics are not stoic and are subjective. It is safe to say, that the general consensus that BNW is considered unethical with their practice of mass producing humans, purposefully depleting oxygen to retard mental and physical development. This also raises with ethical concerns of today's world in animal testing and genetic engineering, specifically stem cell research. Is the use of human embryos ethical? They're humans after all. Is the cost of few  human deaths to benefit the good of society ethical? John and the Director can be seen as extremists in the the ethical values they hold (how ironic, considering John is his son, which will be his downfall to his "empire.") John values the traditional "american" ideology while the Director prefers adult infants, ignorance, and lust. The director seems to represent vice itself. Dyson makes a point that technology that helps the general people are "good" technology. We can argue that the Director's use of technology is therefore "good" technology.

Brave New World Entry 2

Please read chapters 6-10 (approx. pgs. 58-98) of Brave New World tonight.
If you have not done so already, set up a blog on Blogger and e-mail me
the URL so that I can find it. This is a non-negotiable expectation. All
blog entries will need to be posted by 7AM the day on which they're due.
If I do not receive a URL by tomorrow morning AND find TWO blog posts by
tomorrow morning (Dajana excepted), then you will be penalized.

Also, for tonight's blog entry you should try and connect BNW to the
dystopian genre and a film that exemplifies that genre. Try to think of
films you've already see, but if nothing comes to mind you should do some
googling and some viewing. Ask yourself, what do these films have in
common? What sets them apart? What comments about society/people do these
films appear to be making? Why did the filmmakers choose the dystopian
genre to make this comment?

These questions are only suggestions to guide your blogging. Even better
if you come up with you own. Remember, now that we are several weeks into
this class we need to begin moving away from plot summary and toward
persuasive scholarly arguments. Your blog posts should have ideas with
which I, or anyone, could agree or disagree. They should not be merely a
summary of what happened chapter to chapter and to whom it happened. In
making your argument, either look for patterns or key scenes...ultimately
your writing should follow the format of:

"While reading I noticed _________________________. This is significant to
the novel because ________________".

As always, I am very available by e-mail if you have any questions. Feel
free to contact me.


(aeon flux, matrix, equilibrium, v for vendetta, ultraviolet, daybreakers, the fifth element, resident evil, wall-e)


Because BNW is a dystopian genre, it is already considered science fiction since dystopia is a subgenre (or subcategory) of science fiction. The novel seems to take place in alternative future because it doesn't correlate with our's. It takes place after the death of Ford, which is probably going to be set somewhere in the year 2500(?). The mass production of humans and artificial mediums in which humans can grow are not yet possible. At first, this appears to be a utopia but it actually has quite a lot of problems with Bernard's antisocial behavior and the exile to Iceland. He is also the protagonist that seems self-aware and starts questioning the world aroudn him. BNW features the same conventions as dystopian novels.


Equilibrium (E) exemplifies BNW because of their caste systems and repressive doctrine. In E, citizens are forced to inject themselves with a daily dose that suppresses emotion, there is a high level of conformity, and the caste system is represented in the stratification of police. In BNW, the people are inclined to take soma to make themselves happy, there is also a high level of conformity within each class, and the caste system is formed by the their physical traits which are intently genetically engineered. What sets them apart would be the use of the drug, human production, and in BNW, the people are allowed to feel emotion.

Brave New World Chapters 1-5

AP Literature & Composition, 8/23/2011, HW:

Look up the following terms/people on Wikipedia and read the ENTIRE entries:

1.    Aldous Huxley (advocating/taking psychedelics; grandson to Thomas Henry Huxley (zoologist, agnostic, controversialist); father had botanical laboratory)

2.    Henry Ford (assembly line; mass production; model T; "Fordism"; 

3.    Dystopia (pay particular attention to the characteristics of dystopia. Which of these are already identifiable in Brave New World?) (society in repressive, controlled state; under guise of being utopian; social groups; nature; caste systems; hero; conflict) 

Read the first 5 chapters of Brave New World (approx. pgs. 1-58)

Blog a response to the novel or any connections you see between the novel and the Wikipedia entries you read. Please do NOT regurgitate SparkNotes or Cliff Notes take on the novel. I read it already.

Note: If you find it at all difficult to comment on the novel, then try to apply Marxist theory.

The first five chapters' main points: artificial human production, (factory) tour, caste system (Alpha, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, Epsilons), Pavlovian (fear) conditioning, oxygen deprivation, Lenina, and Benard. The novel seems quite misleading at first, describing what seems to be normal assembly production and artificial growth for plants. The vivid description that resembles botany may stem from Huxley's father's botanical laboratory. We soon find out that humans are being mass productions and the concept of family and maternal/paternal lineage is extinct. The author, Huxley, inputs quite a lot of references to his interests and Henry Ford. Huxley was known for advocating the use of psychedelics and has even taken some himself. This is evident in the book by the use of "soma" which are essentially "happy pills." Psychedelics are known to be euphoric and the use of soma in the "orgy-porgy" scene reflects this. 

Henry Ford, famous for being the founder of the assembly line and mass production, is also referenced throughout the novel. The generation in seem to revere Ford as a God. Statements that refer to god today e.g. "Oh my god" or "God!" are replaced with Ford. God does not exist in the novel because Ford is the God. Christian crosses are replaced with "Ts" which could be a reference to Ford's model T automobiles. The mass production of humans itself is reminiscent of an assembly line. 

This is a dystopian novel because it has the characteristics of one. The society is artificial; that is, the people are trained and conditioned to be what they are and therefore they are hindered in both mind and body. The social stratification of humans are also controlled and social groups are formed: the alphas, betas, gammas, deltas, and epsilons. It also seems to foreshadow that there is a hero (Bernard?) that seems cognizant of the controlled state he is in and feels conflicted. He doesn't seem to hold the same ideology and "brain-washing" most people do (most because I don't beliave Bernard is the only one, Helmholtz seems to be also aware) which is obvious when he acts as if "he" is coming during the "orgy-porgy" scene. The soma doesn't seem to affect him either (or he refuses to take it, not sure ("orgy-porgy" scene). Bernard seems to be on the few true, unique individuals. 

That being said, I would like to make references to other novels and movies that are dystopian such as the Giver (conformity all the way though. If I remember correctly, there is no or the lack of a caste system), Equilibrium (starring Christian Bale, who stops taking the pills that allows one to feel no emotion), and the Matrix (the production of humans for the survival of the machines that rely on bio-electricity generation).