Shakespeare
In this project we watched Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet, talked about them for a while and discussed meaning, and then started on the Midsummer Night’s Dream play. I got the role of Egeus who is Hermia’s dad in the play. He wants her to marry Demetrius or he will have her executed. Around the same time as we started getting the play together, we started working on our final essay. There was a choice to either write it about authority figures in the plays (or Brave New World/North Korea) or to write it about love in the plays. I chose to write mine about authority figures in MSND vs authority figure in BNW.
I really liked the Pyramus and Thisbe seminar because it was interesting to learn about and then find out how other people thought about it and other ideas about it. I also liked the challenge of having a seminar on it without talking. We were only allowed to write on whiteboards which made it hard to describe your opinion and thoughts about the play.
The most challenging part of this project was the play. I’ve never acted or done anything like this before so it was a difficult thing to do. I had a hard time being angry on cue so I had to persevere and practice outside of class and have my friends help me with blocking to make it look more like I was angry onstage.
I learned that finding deeper meanings in writing (or really anything) is not as hard as I first thought. I learned that I need to just read the text over and really think about it and ask friends what their thoughts are. For example, I was writing my final essay about MSND and as I was thinking about the text, all these new meanings and ideas started popping up all over the place.
I think people still celebrate the works of Shakespeare 400 years later because there are so many ways to interpret his works. Almost everyone who reads his work takes something unique away from it and thinks about it in their own way. It could also be that Shakespeare was the first to do this kind of work. His plays have a lot of emotion from comedy to tragedy which stays fresh even now.
I really liked the Pyramus and Thisbe seminar because it was interesting to learn about and then find out how other people thought about it and other ideas about it. I also liked the challenge of having a seminar on it without talking. We were only allowed to write on whiteboards which made it hard to describe your opinion and thoughts about the play.
The most challenging part of this project was the play. I’ve never acted or done anything like this before so it was a difficult thing to do. I had a hard time being angry on cue so I had to persevere and practice outside of class and have my friends help me with blocking to make it look more like I was angry onstage.
I learned that finding deeper meanings in writing (or really anything) is not as hard as I first thought. I learned that I need to just read the text over and really think about it and ask friends what their thoughts are. For example, I was writing my final essay about MSND and as I was thinking about the text, all these new meanings and ideas started popping up all over the place.
I think people still celebrate the works of Shakespeare 400 years later because there are so many ways to interpret his works. Almost everyone who reads his work takes something unique away from it and thinks about it in their own way. It could also be that Shakespeare was the first to do this kind of work. His plays have a lot of emotion from comedy to tragedy which stays fresh even now.
Final Humanities Essay
Authority Figures and Deeper Meanings
Kai Henriksen
Humanities
4/17/15
Period 1-2
The figures of authority in Brave New World and Midsummer Night’s Dream are from very different times, and were socialized to believe very contrasting ideas. They both handle certain situations that threaten their society in varying ways. Throughout the book Brave New World, the DHC and Mustapha Mond neutralize threats to their society by sending Bernard and Helmholtz to Iceland when they think outside the norm and want to do something that no one has done before. In contrast, Theseus handled Hermia and Lysander loving each other very carefully and wisely. There are many reasons for these differences that are hidden to people who don’t go looking for them. Both writers had major historical events influencing them while they wrote their pieces.
Brave New World and Midsummer Night’s Dream were both written by two very different people in two very different times, but a lot of the themes in both MSND and BNW can be related. My first impression when I read Brave New World was that it was about a world where all the people were like robots. They were made in a factory, did the same thing every day, had basically one emotion (with some exceptions), and never asked questions (again with some exceptions). The exceptions were Bernard, John, and Helmholtz. Bernard and Helmholtz were Alpha Plus’ which meant they were exceptionally smart. Because of this, they never felt like they fit in and they were always looking for better, more interesting things to do. John was born on the reservation which was a place where christianity and marriage were common practices. The society of Brave New World has barely touched it. The only thing different about John was that his mom was from the Brave New World society which means she wasn’t allowed to have kids. Then John was created when she was on vacation in the reservation. Everyone in the reservation never liked John and never included him in anything because he had white skin and hair and was born from someone who was not part of the reservation. As John was about to join a ceremony where he transitions from a boy to a man one of the men mistreated him. “This time the man struck him, pulled his hair. ‘Not for you, white-hair!’ ‘Not for the son of the she-dog,’ said one of the other men” (Huxley, page 148). John tried to not care about this but deep down it was always getting at him and making him feel abnormal.
When I first read Midsummer Night’s Dream, I focused on the lovers and the characters that were right in front of me at first. After analyzing it and digging deeper, I found a whole new world with new meanings and new characters. At first the only thing the play was about for me was the lovers and their struggle to be free and together. As we started performing the play, I got the role of Egeus. After this I looked at the play in a whole new way. Suddenly there were characters that I had never noticed before that played a big role if you thought about it. Theseus was one of these characters. There are a lot of metaphors that can be made out of Theseus and a lot of interpretations of what he represents. As I researched the time period for the play I quickly made my own opinion of what Theseus represents as well as a lot of other characters like Oberon for example. I always thought of him as a good king that was playful and fair but now I think of him as a dark and corrupt king because he is playing malicious tricks on his wife and always seems to be lurking in the shadows. Oberon says “Having once this juice I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep, and drop the liquor of it in her eyes. The next thing then she waking looks upon be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull, she shall pursue it with the soul of love and thus be chastened for disobeying me.” I think it’s more interesting to think of Oberon as an evil character because it adds more variety and allows deeper meanings to be found. Both of these pieces were interesting to learn about and find deeper meanings in since they both had a lot.
One key component that separates the behavior of the figures of authority in Brave New World from Midsummer Night’s Dream is the time when they were written, and when they took place in the story. Brave New World was published in 1932 while a lot of extreme events were happening in the world. The Dust Bowl was starting and WWII was also close to starting. Communism was also a subject that was being talked about in America and England where Aldous Huxley was living. Huxley was inspired by these events as you can see by him adding the ideas into his book. I think the figures of authority in Brave New World were such harsh rulers because Huxley incorporated communism and maybe some of the things Hitler was doing at the time into the book and into the DHC and Mustapha Mond. “Everyone belongs to everyone else” was the phrase that was the recurring theme of the society that all the citizens untiringly repeated; but in my opinion “everyone belongs to the DHC and World Controllers” would be more accurate. Midsummer Night’s Dream was created in 1596 when some incidents were happening that affected Shakespeare quite a bit but they weren’t as extreme as what was happening during the creation of Brave New World. One event that strongly impacted Shakespeare was the “War of the Theatres”. There was a ban on satire in theaters which impacted Shakespeare since he was creating Midsummer Night’s Dream at the time which was a comedy and had a large amount of satire in it. I think Shakespeare made this play full of satire to disobey the ban and show that he didn’t endorse it. I also think the character Egeus was a way for Shakespeare to show his anger that there would be a ban on satire in the first place. Egeus says to Theseus “As she is mine, I may dispose of her, which shall be, either to this gentlemen or to her death!” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 1). This quote represents Egeus’ mood throughout the whole play because Theseus wasn’t letting him do what he wants. I think in some ways Egeus represents Shakespeare and Theseus represents the satire ban enforcers (although the ban was lifted and in the play Theseus never allows Egeus do do what he would like to do). Even though Theseus wasn’t very sympathetic to Egeus, he was the exact opposite to the lovers. At first when he was confronted by Egeus he accepts his desire because Egeus has some power as a politician. After Theseus sees how much the lovers truly want to be together, he accepts their desires over Egeus’. I think the rule in Brave New World was a lot harsher than in Midsummer Night’s Dream because of when the two books were written and what was happening at that time.
The people with sovereignty and authority in Brave New World use their power in extremely different ways than the rulers in Midsummer Night’s Dream. BNW was controlled with a lot more harshness and strict rules than MSND which was controlled with less tyrannous rule and loose control. In Brave New World when Bernard wants to discover what life holds and do something different than everyone else, he was immediately punished for it. The DHC can tell that Bernard will start making other people in the society question ideas and rules so he doesn’t hesitate to threaten him. After Bernard goes and does the same kind of thing, Mustapha and the DHC just decide to get rid of the problem all together and send him away. In contrast, when Theseus was presented with the problem of Hermia loving Demetrius instead of Lysander, he takes it on with an open mind and a level head. At first it may not seem this way because Theseus agrees with Egeus right after he hears his about his intentions. Theseus says to Hermia “Either to die the death, or to abjure forever the society of men… To you, your father should be as a god… Whether, if you yield not to your father’s choice, you can endure the livery of a nun” (Shakespeare, act 1 scene 1). At first Theseus seems as harsh if not more than the DHC by this quote. He was basically letting Egeus force Hermia to marry Demetrius, be a nun, or be killed. Unlike the DHC, when Theseus sees that the lovers don’t want to be forced to marry (when Bernard shows he really doesn’t want to be sent away in the DHC’s case), he agrees to allow them to do what they want and overrules Egeus. Overall, I think Theseus was more fair, wise, and practical than the DHC because he lives in a calmer world.
In both the Brave New World society and the Midsummer Night’s Dream society there were people that were “second in command” or just didn’t have as much power (in some cases almost the opposite) over the people as the monarch. People like Henry Foster in Brave New World and like Hippolyta in Midsummer Night’s Dream didn’t have as much power as the DHC (in BNW) and the duke (in MSND). Henry Foster was a factory worker that strives to be the best he can be to impress the DHC. He may think he has power over people like Bernard because of his high ranking in the factory and how smart he was but in reality, he was just another grain of sand in the desert. “‘Give them a few figures, Mr. Foster,’ said the Director, who was tired of talking.Mr. Foster was only too happy to give them a few figures. ‘Two hundred and twenty metres long, two hundred wide, ten high...We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers or future …’ He was going to say “future World Controllers,” but correcting himself, said “future Directors of Hatcheries,” instead” (Huxley, page 10,11,13) This quote shows that in the eyes of the DHC, Henry Foster wasn’t any more special than every other worker in the factory. Only the top of the top get actual power in this society. In Midsummer Night’s Dream it’s a whole different story. Theseus was a duke which means he has overall power over everyone. Sometimes he needs the help of his wife to make decisions. This was not typical at all for this time period. Women were usually just supposed to sit behind their husbands and look pretty. The same thing goes for Titania and Oberon. Usually in that time period the wife of the marriage would never be allowed to fight with the husband and do the things that Titania did in the play because they were considered to be the weaker sex. In Brave New World the “second in command” had almost no power at all and were basically just an average citizen; but in Midsummer Night’s Dream the “second in command” were given a lot more power than they would have gotten in that time. I think this makes the books more interesting and makes the reader think about and compare the books to other people and situations like these in the world.
Throughout Brave New World and Midsummer Night’s Dream, the monarchs of both societies handle situations that could jeopardize the society in very different ways and with different levels of help from other people. Brave New World’s rulers seem to like handling those kinds of situations without any help and they would preferably just get rid of the problem right away. On the other hand, the ruler of the Midsummer Night’s Dream society likes to handle those problems with a level head and with everyone’s best interest in mind. I think both of these reactions to problems in the stories come from something that was happening in the author’s life while the story was being written.
Kai’s Self Assesment:
Structure: (75 points)
The introduction and thesis summarizes your upcoming argument in a clear and concise manner (0, 10, 20, or 25 points): ____25___/25
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
The figures of authority in Brave New World and Midsummer Night’s Dream are from very different times, and were socialized to believe very contrasting ideas. They both handle certain situations that threaten their society in varying ways...Both writers had major historical events influencing them while they wrote their pieces.
Each paragraph begin with clear topic sentences
(0, 10, 20, or 25 points): ____25____/25
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
Brave New World and Midsummer Night’s Dream were both written by two very different people in two very different times, but a lot of the themes in both MSND and BNW can be related
Each paragraph's evidence is relevant and clear. The analysis following the evidence
explains how the evidence proves the topic sentence.
(0, 10, 20, or 25 points): ______20___/25
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
At first it may not seem this way because Theseus agrees with Egeus right after he hears his about his intentions. Theseus says to Hermia “Either to die the death, or to abjure forever the society of men… To you, your father should be as a god… Whether, if you yield not to your father’s choice, you can endure the livery of a nun”...He was basically letting Egeus force Hermia to marry Demetrius, be a nun, or be killed. Unlike the DHC, when Theseus sees that the lovers don’t want to be forced to marry (when Bernard shows he really doesn’t want to be sent away in the DHC’s case), he agrees to allow them to do what they want and overrules Egeus
Craftsmanship: (75 points)
There are no spelling errors or punctuation errors (esp. comma splices, incomplete
sentences, incorrect semicolons)
(0, 10, 20, or 25 points): _____20____/25
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
In Brave New World the “second in command” had almost no power at all and were basically just an average citizen; but in Midsummer Night’s Dream the “second in command” were given a lot more power than they would have gotten in that time.
Evidence is cited correctly
(0, 10, 20, or 25 points): ____25_____/25
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
“Either to die the death, or to abjure forever the society of men… To you, your father should be as a god… Whether, if you yield not to your father’s choice, you can endure the livery of a nun” (Shakespeare, act 1 scene 1).
Sentences are dynamic; they vary in length and use multiple structures (especially
concessive sentences or NPA's)
(0, 10, 20, or 25 points): _____20____/25
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
Throughout Brave New World and Midsummer Night’s Dream, the monarchs of both societies handle situations that could jeopardize the society in very different ways and with different levels of help from other people.
Creativity: (50 points)
The thesis infers a hidden meaning beneath the obvious facts of the subject
(0, 10, 15 or 20 points): ____20_____/20
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
I also think the character Egeus was a way for Shakespeare to show his anger that there would be a ban on satire in the first place. Egeus says to Theseus “As she is mine, I may dispose of her, which shall be, either to this gentlemen or to her death!” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 1). This quote represents Egeus’ mood throughout the whole play because Theseus wasn’t letting him do what he wants. I think in some ways Egeus represents Shakespeare and Theseus represents the satire ban enforcers (although the ban was lifted and in the play Theseus never allows Egeus do do what he would like to do).
Each paragraph creatively interprets the meaning of the evidence to further prove the thesis: (0, 5, 10, or 15 points): ___15______/15
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
In both the Brave New World society and the Midsummer Night’s Dream society there were people that were “second in command” or just didn’t have as much power (in some cases almost the opposite) over the people as the monarch....Only the top of the top get actual power in this society. In Midsummer Night’s Dream it’s a whole different story. Theseus was a duke which means he has overall power over everyone. Sometimes he needs the help of his wife to make decisions. This was not typical at all for this time period.
The conclusion wraps the different layers of meaning into an easily summarized (yet
still complex) series of thoughts: (0, 5, 10, or 15 points): ____15_____/15
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
I think both of these reactions to problems in the stories come from something that was happening in the author’s life while the story was being written.
Final grade: _______185___________/200
Matt’s grade: 200/200
Kai, yor self-assessment showed that you met the criteria in all categories, and I agree with your self-assessment...why did you shortchange yourself? This essay is well-structured, chock-full of evidence, with adequate analysis, and dynamic sentences. It was really intriguing and interesting to discover more about the historical influences on the respective authors of these works, and you shed new light on this subject. The comparison between Egeus and Shakespeare which was really novel. Well done.
Kai Henriksen
Humanities
4/17/15
Period 1-2
The figures of authority in Brave New World and Midsummer Night’s Dream are from very different times, and were socialized to believe very contrasting ideas. They both handle certain situations that threaten their society in varying ways. Throughout the book Brave New World, the DHC and Mustapha Mond neutralize threats to their society by sending Bernard and Helmholtz to Iceland when they think outside the norm and want to do something that no one has done before. In contrast, Theseus handled Hermia and Lysander loving each other very carefully and wisely. There are many reasons for these differences that are hidden to people who don’t go looking for them. Both writers had major historical events influencing them while they wrote their pieces.
Brave New World and Midsummer Night’s Dream were both written by two very different people in two very different times, but a lot of the themes in both MSND and BNW can be related. My first impression when I read Brave New World was that it was about a world where all the people were like robots. They were made in a factory, did the same thing every day, had basically one emotion (with some exceptions), and never asked questions (again with some exceptions). The exceptions were Bernard, John, and Helmholtz. Bernard and Helmholtz were Alpha Plus’ which meant they were exceptionally smart. Because of this, they never felt like they fit in and they were always looking for better, more interesting things to do. John was born on the reservation which was a place where christianity and marriage were common practices. The society of Brave New World has barely touched it. The only thing different about John was that his mom was from the Brave New World society which means she wasn’t allowed to have kids. Then John was created when she was on vacation in the reservation. Everyone in the reservation never liked John and never included him in anything because he had white skin and hair and was born from someone who was not part of the reservation. As John was about to join a ceremony where he transitions from a boy to a man one of the men mistreated him. “This time the man struck him, pulled his hair. ‘Not for you, white-hair!’ ‘Not for the son of the she-dog,’ said one of the other men” (Huxley, page 148). John tried to not care about this but deep down it was always getting at him and making him feel abnormal.
When I first read Midsummer Night’s Dream, I focused on the lovers and the characters that were right in front of me at first. After analyzing it and digging deeper, I found a whole new world with new meanings and new characters. At first the only thing the play was about for me was the lovers and their struggle to be free and together. As we started performing the play, I got the role of Egeus. After this I looked at the play in a whole new way. Suddenly there were characters that I had never noticed before that played a big role if you thought about it. Theseus was one of these characters. There are a lot of metaphors that can be made out of Theseus and a lot of interpretations of what he represents. As I researched the time period for the play I quickly made my own opinion of what Theseus represents as well as a lot of other characters like Oberon for example. I always thought of him as a good king that was playful and fair but now I think of him as a dark and corrupt king because he is playing malicious tricks on his wife and always seems to be lurking in the shadows. Oberon says “Having once this juice I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep, and drop the liquor of it in her eyes. The next thing then she waking looks upon be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull, she shall pursue it with the soul of love and thus be chastened for disobeying me.” I think it’s more interesting to think of Oberon as an evil character because it adds more variety and allows deeper meanings to be found. Both of these pieces were interesting to learn about and find deeper meanings in since they both had a lot.
One key component that separates the behavior of the figures of authority in Brave New World from Midsummer Night’s Dream is the time when they were written, and when they took place in the story. Brave New World was published in 1932 while a lot of extreme events were happening in the world. The Dust Bowl was starting and WWII was also close to starting. Communism was also a subject that was being talked about in America and England where Aldous Huxley was living. Huxley was inspired by these events as you can see by him adding the ideas into his book. I think the figures of authority in Brave New World were such harsh rulers because Huxley incorporated communism and maybe some of the things Hitler was doing at the time into the book and into the DHC and Mustapha Mond. “Everyone belongs to everyone else” was the phrase that was the recurring theme of the society that all the citizens untiringly repeated; but in my opinion “everyone belongs to the DHC and World Controllers” would be more accurate. Midsummer Night’s Dream was created in 1596 when some incidents were happening that affected Shakespeare quite a bit but they weren’t as extreme as what was happening during the creation of Brave New World. One event that strongly impacted Shakespeare was the “War of the Theatres”. There was a ban on satire in theaters which impacted Shakespeare since he was creating Midsummer Night’s Dream at the time which was a comedy and had a large amount of satire in it. I think Shakespeare made this play full of satire to disobey the ban and show that he didn’t endorse it. I also think the character Egeus was a way for Shakespeare to show his anger that there would be a ban on satire in the first place. Egeus says to Theseus “As she is mine, I may dispose of her, which shall be, either to this gentlemen or to her death!” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 1). This quote represents Egeus’ mood throughout the whole play because Theseus wasn’t letting him do what he wants. I think in some ways Egeus represents Shakespeare and Theseus represents the satire ban enforcers (although the ban was lifted and in the play Theseus never allows Egeus do do what he would like to do). Even though Theseus wasn’t very sympathetic to Egeus, he was the exact opposite to the lovers. At first when he was confronted by Egeus he accepts his desire because Egeus has some power as a politician. After Theseus sees how much the lovers truly want to be together, he accepts their desires over Egeus’. I think the rule in Brave New World was a lot harsher than in Midsummer Night’s Dream because of when the two books were written and what was happening at that time.
The people with sovereignty and authority in Brave New World use their power in extremely different ways than the rulers in Midsummer Night’s Dream. BNW was controlled with a lot more harshness and strict rules than MSND which was controlled with less tyrannous rule and loose control. In Brave New World when Bernard wants to discover what life holds and do something different than everyone else, he was immediately punished for it. The DHC can tell that Bernard will start making other people in the society question ideas and rules so he doesn’t hesitate to threaten him. After Bernard goes and does the same kind of thing, Mustapha and the DHC just decide to get rid of the problem all together and send him away. In contrast, when Theseus was presented with the problem of Hermia loving Demetrius instead of Lysander, he takes it on with an open mind and a level head. At first it may not seem this way because Theseus agrees with Egeus right after he hears his about his intentions. Theseus says to Hermia “Either to die the death, or to abjure forever the society of men… To you, your father should be as a god… Whether, if you yield not to your father’s choice, you can endure the livery of a nun” (Shakespeare, act 1 scene 1). At first Theseus seems as harsh if not more than the DHC by this quote. He was basically letting Egeus force Hermia to marry Demetrius, be a nun, or be killed. Unlike the DHC, when Theseus sees that the lovers don’t want to be forced to marry (when Bernard shows he really doesn’t want to be sent away in the DHC’s case), he agrees to allow them to do what they want and overrules Egeus. Overall, I think Theseus was more fair, wise, and practical than the DHC because he lives in a calmer world.
In both the Brave New World society and the Midsummer Night’s Dream society there were people that were “second in command” or just didn’t have as much power (in some cases almost the opposite) over the people as the monarch. People like Henry Foster in Brave New World and like Hippolyta in Midsummer Night’s Dream didn’t have as much power as the DHC (in BNW) and the duke (in MSND). Henry Foster was a factory worker that strives to be the best he can be to impress the DHC. He may think he has power over people like Bernard because of his high ranking in the factory and how smart he was but in reality, he was just another grain of sand in the desert. “‘Give them a few figures, Mr. Foster,’ said the Director, who was tired of talking.Mr. Foster was only too happy to give them a few figures. ‘Two hundred and twenty metres long, two hundred wide, ten high...We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers or future …’ He was going to say “future World Controllers,” but correcting himself, said “future Directors of Hatcheries,” instead” (Huxley, page 10,11,13) This quote shows that in the eyes of the DHC, Henry Foster wasn’t any more special than every other worker in the factory. Only the top of the top get actual power in this society. In Midsummer Night’s Dream it’s a whole different story. Theseus was a duke which means he has overall power over everyone. Sometimes he needs the help of his wife to make decisions. This was not typical at all for this time period. Women were usually just supposed to sit behind their husbands and look pretty. The same thing goes for Titania and Oberon. Usually in that time period the wife of the marriage would never be allowed to fight with the husband and do the things that Titania did in the play because they were considered to be the weaker sex. In Brave New World the “second in command” had almost no power at all and were basically just an average citizen; but in Midsummer Night’s Dream the “second in command” were given a lot more power than they would have gotten in that time. I think this makes the books more interesting and makes the reader think about and compare the books to other people and situations like these in the world.
Throughout Brave New World and Midsummer Night’s Dream, the monarchs of both societies handle situations that could jeopardize the society in very different ways and with different levels of help from other people. Brave New World’s rulers seem to like handling those kinds of situations without any help and they would preferably just get rid of the problem right away. On the other hand, the ruler of the Midsummer Night’s Dream society likes to handle those problems with a level head and with everyone’s best interest in mind. I think both of these reactions to problems in the stories come from something that was happening in the author’s life while the story was being written.
Kai’s Self Assesment:
Structure: (75 points)
The introduction and thesis summarizes your upcoming argument in a clear and concise manner (0, 10, 20, or 25 points): ____25___/25
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
The figures of authority in Brave New World and Midsummer Night’s Dream are from very different times, and were socialized to believe very contrasting ideas. They both handle certain situations that threaten their society in varying ways...Both writers had major historical events influencing them while they wrote their pieces.
Each paragraph begin with clear topic sentences
(0, 10, 20, or 25 points): ____25____/25
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
Brave New World and Midsummer Night’s Dream were both written by two very different people in two very different times, but a lot of the themes in both MSND and BNW can be related
Each paragraph's evidence is relevant and clear. The analysis following the evidence
explains how the evidence proves the topic sentence.
(0, 10, 20, or 25 points): ______20___/25
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
At first it may not seem this way because Theseus agrees with Egeus right after he hears his about his intentions. Theseus says to Hermia “Either to die the death, or to abjure forever the society of men… To you, your father should be as a god… Whether, if you yield not to your father’s choice, you can endure the livery of a nun”...He was basically letting Egeus force Hermia to marry Demetrius, be a nun, or be killed. Unlike the DHC, when Theseus sees that the lovers don’t want to be forced to marry (when Bernard shows he really doesn’t want to be sent away in the DHC’s case), he agrees to allow them to do what they want and overrules Egeus
Craftsmanship: (75 points)
There are no spelling errors or punctuation errors (esp. comma splices, incomplete
sentences, incorrect semicolons)
(0, 10, 20, or 25 points): _____20____/25
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
In Brave New World the “second in command” had almost no power at all and were basically just an average citizen; but in Midsummer Night’s Dream the “second in command” were given a lot more power than they would have gotten in that time.
Evidence is cited correctly
(0, 10, 20, or 25 points): ____25_____/25
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
“Either to die the death, or to abjure forever the society of men… To you, your father should be as a god… Whether, if you yield not to your father’s choice, you can endure the livery of a nun” (Shakespeare, act 1 scene 1).
Sentences are dynamic; they vary in length and use multiple structures (especially
concessive sentences or NPA's)
(0, 10, 20, or 25 points): _____20____/25
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
Throughout Brave New World and Midsummer Night’s Dream, the monarchs of both societies handle situations that could jeopardize the society in very different ways and with different levels of help from other people.
Creativity: (50 points)
The thesis infers a hidden meaning beneath the obvious facts of the subject
(0, 10, 15 or 20 points): ____20_____/20
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
I also think the character Egeus was a way for Shakespeare to show his anger that there would be a ban on satire in the first place. Egeus says to Theseus “As she is mine, I may dispose of her, which shall be, either to this gentlemen or to her death!” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 1). This quote represents Egeus’ mood throughout the whole play because Theseus wasn’t letting him do what he wants. I think in some ways Egeus represents Shakespeare and Theseus represents the satire ban enforcers (although the ban was lifted and in the play Theseus never allows Egeus do do what he would like to do).
Each paragraph creatively interprets the meaning of the evidence to further prove the thesis: (0, 5, 10, or 15 points): ___15______/15
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
In both the Brave New World society and the Midsummer Night’s Dream society there were people that were “second in command” or just didn’t have as much power (in some cases almost the opposite) over the people as the monarch....Only the top of the top get actual power in this society. In Midsummer Night’s Dream it’s a whole different story. Theseus was a duke which means he has overall power over everyone. Sometimes he needs the help of his wife to make decisions. This was not typical at all for this time period.
The conclusion wraps the different layers of meaning into an easily summarized (yet
still complex) series of thoughts: (0, 5, 10, or 15 points): ____15_____/15
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
I think both of these reactions to problems in the stories come from something that was happening in the author’s life while the story was being written.
Final grade: _______185___________/200
Matt’s grade: 200/200
Kai, yor self-assessment showed that you met the criteria in all categories, and I agree with your self-assessment...why did you shortchange yourself? This essay is well-structured, chock-full of evidence, with adequate analysis, and dynamic sentences. It was really intriguing and interesting to discover more about the historical influences on the respective authors of these works, and you shed new light on this subject. The comparison between Egeus and Shakespeare which was really novel. Well done.
Brave New World
Our task in this project was to recreate a scene from the book Brave New World in a graphic novel form. Most students were paired into teams of authors and artists, though several worked alone and handled both aspects of the task. The authors wrote a paper analyzing one of the main characters in the novel and used noun-phrase apposites and concessive theses to make their arguments. Artists focused on key choices of moment, frame, image, word, and flow in creating a graphic novel about the chosen scene. Our exhibition featured both an art show of our graphic novels, and a seminar discussion about Brave New World.
Kai Henriksen
Humanities
Period 1-2
1/30/15
Brave New World, a utopian society that brainwashes citizens to make them happy, uses immoral methods and still does not achieve the expected results. John was born in the reservation where everything is very different from Brave New World. He was blessed with religion, literature, and family. Lenina was born in a test tube in Brave New World. The people of Brave New World discourage almost everything that people like John do. John and Lenina are foils for these reasons. Almost everything John does is the opposite of Lenina does and vice versa. While Lenina takes soma to block her feelings of love and sadness, I argue that John’s literary and religious escape is a healthier and better approach to feel and intensify emotions, and that John is therefore more human.
When Bernard, an Alpha Plus, and Lenina, a Beta, go to the reservation, they find a whole new world full of completely different people than they’re used to. The people in the reservation have problems to deal with, have families, and have religion. There they meet a boy named John. “Lenina felt herself entitled, after this day of queerness and horror, to a complete and absolute holiday. As soon as they got back to the rest-house, she swallowed six half-gramme tablets of soma” (Huxley 140). In Brave New World all the citizens take soma to deal with their problems and stay happy; but the people in the reservation use different methods like religion, literature, and other things that are banned where Lenina comes from. In my opinion, the techniques that the population of the reservation uses to stay happy are much more healthy and effective. Yes, John is sometimes sad, furious, or afraid, but without anything like that, you have nothing to compare happiness to which makes it a sort of neutral happiness. I also think that things like literature are considerably better for making you feel a different way than excessive use of drugs. A natural happiness like the people in the reservation have is much better than what Brave New World has.
Unlike John, Lenina has no real family members to grieve for; she very rarely feels sadness or any other bad emotions. When she does feel emotions that are foreign to her, she hides under a blanket of soma. It would almost be like she was a robot if she didn’t feel the neutral happiness that soma gives her. She was born into her role as a Beta factory worker and nothing ever changes for her. She wakes up, goes to work, and then plays a game that she was pre-programmed to play. There are many things in John’s life that make him experience powerful emotions like getting excluded from everything in his town, and Pope (a man in the town) having a relationship with his mom. “Anger suddenly boiled up in him… the passion of his grief had found another outlet, was transformed into a passion of agonized rage.” (Huxley, 204). These intense feelings that John has may not be prefered by most but they’re what makes him human; they’re how he is able to feel happy. “Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous… Like drums, like the men singing for the corn, like magic, the words repeated and repeated themselves in his head. From being cold he was suddenly hot. His cheeks burnt with the rush of blood, the room swam and darkened before his eyes. He ground his teeth. ‘I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him,’ he kept saying. And suddenly there were more words. When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed…” (Huxley, 133). I believe John’s love of Shakespeare is what made him able to feel these intense emotions in the first place. Since Shakespeare’s plays have a lot of extreme feelings in them, John was “conditioned” by the book to feel them where Lenina seems totally unaware that they even exist.
As I have shown, John and Lenina are foils for each other; Lenina doesn’t feel extreme emotions, doesn’t like negative emotions, and doesn’t seem to have much free will while John is exactly the opposite. Throughout the book John shows that he is capable of doing all the things Lenina can’t or won’t do while not taking soma. While Lenina takes soma to block her feelings of love and sadness, I argue that John’s literary and religious escape is a healthier and better approach to feel and intensify emotions, and that John is therefore more human.
Humanities
Period 1-2
1/30/15
Brave New World, a utopian society that brainwashes citizens to make them happy, uses immoral methods and still does not achieve the expected results. John was born in the reservation where everything is very different from Brave New World. He was blessed with religion, literature, and family. Lenina was born in a test tube in Brave New World. The people of Brave New World discourage almost everything that people like John do. John and Lenina are foils for these reasons. Almost everything John does is the opposite of Lenina does and vice versa. While Lenina takes soma to block her feelings of love and sadness, I argue that John’s literary and religious escape is a healthier and better approach to feel and intensify emotions, and that John is therefore more human.
When Bernard, an Alpha Plus, and Lenina, a Beta, go to the reservation, they find a whole new world full of completely different people than they’re used to. The people in the reservation have problems to deal with, have families, and have religion. There they meet a boy named John. “Lenina felt herself entitled, after this day of queerness and horror, to a complete and absolute holiday. As soon as they got back to the rest-house, she swallowed six half-gramme tablets of soma” (Huxley 140). In Brave New World all the citizens take soma to deal with their problems and stay happy; but the people in the reservation use different methods like religion, literature, and other things that are banned where Lenina comes from. In my opinion, the techniques that the population of the reservation uses to stay happy are much more healthy and effective. Yes, John is sometimes sad, furious, or afraid, but without anything like that, you have nothing to compare happiness to which makes it a sort of neutral happiness. I also think that things like literature are considerably better for making you feel a different way than excessive use of drugs. A natural happiness like the people in the reservation have is much better than what Brave New World has.
Unlike John, Lenina has no real family members to grieve for; she very rarely feels sadness or any other bad emotions. When she does feel emotions that are foreign to her, she hides under a blanket of soma. It would almost be like she was a robot if she didn’t feel the neutral happiness that soma gives her. She was born into her role as a Beta factory worker and nothing ever changes for her. She wakes up, goes to work, and then plays a game that she was pre-programmed to play. There are many things in John’s life that make him experience powerful emotions like getting excluded from everything in his town, and Pope (a man in the town) having a relationship with his mom. “Anger suddenly boiled up in him… the passion of his grief had found another outlet, was transformed into a passion of agonized rage.” (Huxley, 204). These intense feelings that John has may not be prefered by most but they’re what makes him human; they’re how he is able to feel happy. “Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous… Like drums, like the men singing for the corn, like magic, the words repeated and repeated themselves in his head. From being cold he was suddenly hot. His cheeks burnt with the rush of blood, the room swam and darkened before his eyes. He ground his teeth. ‘I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him,’ he kept saying. And suddenly there were more words. When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed…” (Huxley, 133). I believe John’s love of Shakespeare is what made him able to feel these intense emotions in the first place. Since Shakespeare’s plays have a lot of extreme feelings in them, John was “conditioned” by the book to feel them where Lenina seems totally unaware that they even exist.
As I have shown, John and Lenina are foils for each other; Lenina doesn’t feel extreme emotions, doesn’t like negative emotions, and doesn’t seem to have much free will while John is exactly the opposite. Throughout the book John shows that he is capable of doing all the things Lenina can’t or won’t do while not taking soma. While Lenina takes soma to block her feelings of love and sadness, I argue that John’s literary and religious escape is a healthier and better approach to feel and intensify emotions, and that John is therefore more human.
Mask Project
Socialization is the power that society has over you and how it affects you and shapes you as a person. If enough people are doing something, most of the time it will convince you to do it or think that it’s the normal thing to do. For example, if the majority of colorado started making root beer in their backyard, that would become the “cool” or “normal” thing to do.
First we learned about all different scenarios where socialization was exhibited or studied like the Stanford Prison Experiment where they put normal college students in a fake prison and saw how it affected them. We also learned about the cycle of socialization (the steps that are taken for you to be socialized throughout your life) and conflict theorist and functionalist views. Conflict theorists believe that everything in society is always clashing and nothing will ever be equal. Functionalists believe that everything in society is working together to achieve equality. Then, we started to write essays about how we have been socialized positively or negatively in some way. We also made masks with symbols on them that had something to do with our essay.
The first thing we learned about writing essays was TEA paragraphs. TEA stands for Topic sentence, Evidence, and Analysis. We had to read a couple paragraphs from someone else's paper and highlight their topic sentences, evidence (which backs up your topic sentence) and analysis (which answers “So what?” about your evidence). Later on, we learned about how we shouldn’t put conversational words in our essay because it makes it unprofessional.
I am proud that I finished everything in this project by the due dates. I’m also proud I didn’t get too stressed out so far. I’m looking to improve some of my B’s to A’s and make them stay that way.
First we learned about all different scenarios where socialization was exhibited or studied like the Stanford Prison Experiment where they put normal college students in a fake prison and saw how it affected them. We also learned about the cycle of socialization (the steps that are taken for you to be socialized throughout your life) and conflict theorist and functionalist views. Conflict theorists believe that everything in society is always clashing and nothing will ever be equal. Functionalists believe that everything in society is working together to achieve equality. Then, we started to write essays about how we have been socialized positively or negatively in some way. We also made masks with symbols on them that had something to do with our essay.
The first thing we learned about writing essays was TEA paragraphs. TEA stands for Topic sentence, Evidence, and Analysis. We had to read a couple paragraphs from someone else's paper and highlight their topic sentences, evidence (which backs up your topic sentence) and analysis (which answers “So what?” about your evidence). Later on, we learned about how we shouldn’t put conversational words in our essay because it makes it unprofessional.
I am proud that I finished everything in this project by the due dates. I’m also proud I didn’t get too stressed out so far. I’m looking to improve some of my B’s to A’s and make them stay that way.
Class Essay
Kai Henriksen
Matt Dooley
Humanities
Period 1
9/17/14
The Rich and the Poor
Happy music played as the millionaire walked down the street. He seemed full of joy as he smoked his cigar; but as the camera panned over the homeless man in the alley, the music suddenly changed to a lone violin playing a sad tune.When I was little, I always wanted to be like that rich guy in cartoons that has tuxedos, cigars, and always seems happy. I never wanted to be like the poor person with ripped clothing, sitting in the alley with sad background music. It always seemed to me that the rich man was the king of the kingdom and was happy because of his vast fortune, and the poor man was the peasant who was sad because of his lack of money. “That poor guy must be really lazy if he doesn’t have lots of money.” I thought to myself as I continued to eat my breakfast. As I have gotten older I have learned that this is entirely untrue and most lower class and upper class people are not as the cartoons depicted them. I was socialized as a kid positively and negatively living in a middle class family.
I was socialized as a kid by the media to think that the wealthy people worked harder to get their money and the reason poor people didn't have as much was because they didn't work as hard. After we played a game about wealth in Humanities, that idea was washed away by reality. In the game, we found out that most wealthy people of America are just born into their wealth and didn’t do much to get it. Also, most poor people just had bad luck or didn't have the same opportunities as the rich people growing up. There are some exceptions for people who had groundbreaking ideas and got filthy rich because of them, but it’s getting harder and harder to find jobs in this modern society. “About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor's degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years.” (Jordan Weissmann, The Atlantic). This quote states that the rate for college grads getting good (above minimum wage) jobs is going down. This most likely isn't a big problem for the grads who were born into wealth because they probably have good connections. However, grads who were born into poor families might not have better options than minimum wage jobs or unemployment. This socialization might not have been all bad after all. It did teach me a stereotype, but it also taught me to save money and work hard so I can be successful.
Society also socialized me to think that to be happy and have a good life, I have to make lots of money. This is very untrue. “The "basic goods" that compose a happy life include health, education, leisure, friendship and harmony with nature, according to the book, which was written by Skidelsky, an emeritus professor of political economy at the University of Warwick, and his son, philosopher Edward Skidelsky.” (Skidelsky, CNBC). This quote by CNBC helps explain my point by mentioning the everyday things in life that you need to be happy. As you can see, money is not one of them. “Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants” (Benjamin Franklin). This quote by Benjamin Franklin is very insightful and I think it explains a lot about how you don’t need billions of dollars to be happy, but everyone seems to think you do and wants more. Daniel Suelo is a man who stopped using money in 2000. He doesn’t accept any help from the government, lives in a cave, and scavenges food from dumpsters and the wild. He is perfectly happy living without money. “This is why I live the way I do – I don’t like to be tied down. I feel more free to travel now than when I had money even though it’s harder to get places. I just get up and go when I want to. I like the sense of freedom that travel offers. Especially when the travel is random. Sometimes I don’t know where I’m going. I have no idea what’s around the next corner. And I like that.” (Daniel Suelo). Daniel is a very good example of how money doesn’t make a person happy. It’s the small and important things in life like friends, the outdoors, and freedom that make him happy. Some people in America have more money than they can spend in a lifetime, but are still not satisfied. Others in the middle and lower class (not exclusively) are happy not because the amount of money in their bank account, but because of the people in their life and what is going on around them.
Middle class citizens are almost as bad off money wise as the lower class. 1% of America has 40% of the nations’ wealth, and the middle and lower class share 7% between them. The other 53% is in the pockets of the upper class. 5,000 citizens thought only the upper class people should have only 20% of America’s wealth and the rest should be spread out between the other classes, but the reality is harsh. Many of the lower class citizens are in poverty and the majority of the middle class are just scraping by (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBwAPs9wfHw). This could all change if society wasn’t hooked on the idea of power and everyone wasn’t playing a metaphorical game of king of the hill to get as much as they could. In the society we live in only one group of people can have power at a time. Power will never be distributed equally. This is what conflict theorists believe. Everyone is struggling for power but someone always has to have more and someone always has to have less. In this case the wealthy or upper class have much more power than the poor or lower class.
The cycle of sociology is a powerful part of society. There are six parts of the cycle. First is the beginning. This is when you’re first born and you feel no guilt or shame. Second is first socialization. In this stage, you are being socialized usually by your parents and their very close friends. They might tell you things like “If you don’t work hard, you’ll be poor.” Third in the cycle is first cultural and institutional socialization. This is where you are being socialized for the first time by your church, teachers, coaches etc. Fourth is enforcements. In this stage you find out that if you think the way everyone else does and follow the norm, you get rewarded. If you rebel or think differently, you get punished. One example of this stage is when Galileo came up with the heliocentric theory (the sun is in the middle of the solar system) when everyone else was hooked on the geocentric theory (the earth is in the middle of the solar system). Galileo was severely punished by thinking this way even though he was right. Next in the cycle is results. Results are the feelings that occur when you think about what is going on within the cycle or what you have done to go against it or help it. Last in the cycle of socialization are directions for change. In this stage you are given the choice to try to break or alter the cycle for the better, or not do anything and give up. “It is easiest to do nothing, and simply to allow the perpetuation of the status quo. We may choose not to make waves, to stay in our familiar patterns. We may say, “Oh well, it’s been that was for hundreds of years. What can I do to change it? It is a huge phenomenon, and my small efforts won’t count for much.””. (Bobbie Harro, 20). This is not true. The least you can do is spread awareness and hope to other people. Then, before you know it, hundreds of people are on board and everyone making small efforts makes a big change.
Society doesn’t relay all bad messages to the population; but some can be harmful. I was socialized into thinking some things that were wrong but as I got older, I started to learn and understand why those messages were wrong. The “peasant in the kingdom” probably wasn’t poor because he was lazy. He might have not had the same chances as the “king” or was just plain unlucky. I was socialized positively and negatively as a middle class person.
Works Cited
Weissmann, Jordan. “53% of Recent College Grads are Jobless or Underemployed--How?”. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/04/53-of-recent-college-grads-are-jobless-or-underemployed-how/256237/. Published 23 Apr 2012. Accessed 30 Sep 2014
Ellyatt, Holly. “Money Can’t Make You Happy: Here's What Can”. http://www.cnbc.com/id/101025441#. Published 11 Sep 2013. Accessed 29 Sep 2014
TheChukov. “The 1% - Stunning Facts About Wealth Inequality in America.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBwAPs9wfHw. Youtube. Youtube. 6 March 2013. Web. 3 October 2014.
Harro, Bobbie, The Cycle of Socialization. http://teaching.thenoiseofthestreet.net/dms259sp13/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/harro-cycles.pdf
Matt Dooley
Humanities
Period 1
9/17/14
The Rich and the Poor
Happy music played as the millionaire walked down the street. He seemed full of joy as he smoked his cigar; but as the camera panned over the homeless man in the alley, the music suddenly changed to a lone violin playing a sad tune.When I was little, I always wanted to be like that rich guy in cartoons that has tuxedos, cigars, and always seems happy. I never wanted to be like the poor person with ripped clothing, sitting in the alley with sad background music. It always seemed to me that the rich man was the king of the kingdom and was happy because of his vast fortune, and the poor man was the peasant who was sad because of his lack of money. “That poor guy must be really lazy if he doesn’t have lots of money.” I thought to myself as I continued to eat my breakfast. As I have gotten older I have learned that this is entirely untrue and most lower class and upper class people are not as the cartoons depicted them. I was socialized as a kid positively and negatively living in a middle class family.
I was socialized as a kid by the media to think that the wealthy people worked harder to get their money and the reason poor people didn't have as much was because they didn't work as hard. After we played a game about wealth in Humanities, that idea was washed away by reality. In the game, we found out that most wealthy people of America are just born into their wealth and didn’t do much to get it. Also, most poor people just had bad luck or didn't have the same opportunities as the rich people growing up. There are some exceptions for people who had groundbreaking ideas and got filthy rich because of them, but it’s getting harder and harder to find jobs in this modern society. “About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor's degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years.” (Jordan Weissmann, The Atlantic). This quote states that the rate for college grads getting good (above minimum wage) jobs is going down. This most likely isn't a big problem for the grads who were born into wealth because they probably have good connections. However, grads who were born into poor families might not have better options than minimum wage jobs or unemployment. This socialization might not have been all bad after all. It did teach me a stereotype, but it also taught me to save money and work hard so I can be successful.
Society also socialized me to think that to be happy and have a good life, I have to make lots of money. This is very untrue. “The "basic goods" that compose a happy life include health, education, leisure, friendship and harmony with nature, according to the book, which was written by Skidelsky, an emeritus professor of political economy at the University of Warwick, and his son, philosopher Edward Skidelsky.” (Skidelsky, CNBC). This quote by CNBC helps explain my point by mentioning the everyday things in life that you need to be happy. As you can see, money is not one of them. “Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants” (Benjamin Franklin). This quote by Benjamin Franklin is very insightful and I think it explains a lot about how you don’t need billions of dollars to be happy, but everyone seems to think you do and wants more. Daniel Suelo is a man who stopped using money in 2000. He doesn’t accept any help from the government, lives in a cave, and scavenges food from dumpsters and the wild. He is perfectly happy living without money. “This is why I live the way I do – I don’t like to be tied down. I feel more free to travel now than when I had money even though it’s harder to get places. I just get up and go when I want to. I like the sense of freedom that travel offers. Especially when the travel is random. Sometimes I don’t know where I’m going. I have no idea what’s around the next corner. And I like that.” (Daniel Suelo). Daniel is a very good example of how money doesn’t make a person happy. It’s the small and important things in life like friends, the outdoors, and freedom that make him happy. Some people in America have more money than they can spend in a lifetime, but are still not satisfied. Others in the middle and lower class (not exclusively) are happy not because the amount of money in their bank account, but because of the people in their life and what is going on around them.
Middle class citizens are almost as bad off money wise as the lower class. 1% of America has 40% of the nations’ wealth, and the middle and lower class share 7% between them. The other 53% is in the pockets of the upper class. 5,000 citizens thought only the upper class people should have only 20% of America’s wealth and the rest should be spread out between the other classes, but the reality is harsh. Many of the lower class citizens are in poverty and the majority of the middle class are just scraping by (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBwAPs9wfHw). This could all change if society wasn’t hooked on the idea of power and everyone wasn’t playing a metaphorical game of king of the hill to get as much as they could. In the society we live in only one group of people can have power at a time. Power will never be distributed equally. This is what conflict theorists believe. Everyone is struggling for power but someone always has to have more and someone always has to have less. In this case the wealthy or upper class have much more power than the poor or lower class.
The cycle of sociology is a powerful part of society. There are six parts of the cycle. First is the beginning. This is when you’re first born and you feel no guilt or shame. Second is first socialization. In this stage, you are being socialized usually by your parents and their very close friends. They might tell you things like “If you don’t work hard, you’ll be poor.” Third in the cycle is first cultural and institutional socialization. This is where you are being socialized for the first time by your church, teachers, coaches etc. Fourth is enforcements. In this stage you find out that if you think the way everyone else does and follow the norm, you get rewarded. If you rebel or think differently, you get punished. One example of this stage is when Galileo came up with the heliocentric theory (the sun is in the middle of the solar system) when everyone else was hooked on the geocentric theory (the earth is in the middle of the solar system). Galileo was severely punished by thinking this way even though he was right. Next in the cycle is results. Results are the feelings that occur when you think about what is going on within the cycle or what you have done to go against it or help it. Last in the cycle of socialization are directions for change. In this stage you are given the choice to try to break or alter the cycle for the better, or not do anything and give up. “It is easiest to do nothing, and simply to allow the perpetuation of the status quo. We may choose not to make waves, to stay in our familiar patterns. We may say, “Oh well, it’s been that was for hundreds of years. What can I do to change it? It is a huge phenomenon, and my small efforts won’t count for much.””. (Bobbie Harro, 20). This is not true. The least you can do is spread awareness and hope to other people. Then, before you know it, hundreds of people are on board and everyone making small efforts makes a big change.
Society doesn’t relay all bad messages to the population; but some can be harmful. I was socialized into thinking some things that were wrong but as I got older, I started to learn and understand why those messages were wrong. The “peasant in the kingdom” probably wasn’t poor because he was lazy. He might have not had the same chances as the “king” or was just plain unlucky. I was socialized positively and negatively as a middle class person.
Works Cited
Weissmann, Jordan. “53% of Recent College Grads are Jobless or Underemployed--How?”. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/04/53-of-recent-college-grads-are-jobless-or-underemployed-how/256237/. Published 23 Apr 2012. Accessed 30 Sep 2014
Ellyatt, Holly. “Money Can’t Make You Happy: Here's What Can”. http://www.cnbc.com/id/101025441#. Published 11 Sep 2013. Accessed 29 Sep 2014
TheChukov. “The 1% - Stunning Facts About Wealth Inequality in America.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBwAPs9wfHw. Youtube. Youtube. 6 March 2013. Web. 3 October 2014.
Harro, Bobbie, The Cycle of Socialization. http://teaching.thenoiseofthestreet.net/dms259sp13/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/harro-cycles.pdf