"In order to be irreplacable, one must always be different."-Coco Chanel

We have learned thus far that both Bernard Marx and Helmholtz Watson consider themselves "individuals". Bernard, wallows in his emotions, refusing soma and trying desperately to belong. Helmholtz, has it all-looks, intelligence, a prestigious job and women who throw themselves at him. Yet, he is not satisfied. Both men wish that being "different" was not such a bad thing. How hard is it to maintain your individuality? Is it easier to blend in and be like everyone else? Is it worth the pain, ridicule and sometimes violence that society (both ours and the one depicted in the novel) heap upon those that are different? Just how different are you really willing to be? Please comment.

O! Brave New World.....

No writer of the twentieth wrote about the future in optimistic terms. Visions of oppressive goverments, enforced conformity, the obsolecence of love and families and the obliteration of the individual are just some of the nightmare visions writers saw in their futures. Even more disturbing than their nightmares, are just how many of Orwell, Huxley and Bradbury's (just to name a few) fears became reality. How do you see the future? What do you think life will really be like in 50 or 100 years? What scares you? Excites you? What kind of life will your grand children and great grand children be living?

We are the product...

I suppose you could say my father's world was Thomas Hardy and my mother's D.H. Lawrence.
Seamus Heaney
The poet Seamus Heaney has stated that the rival worlds of his mother and father shaped him into the person he is and greatly influenced his poetry. His father was from the ancient world of farming and his mother was from the modern industrial world. Heaney has also stated that being from the country of Ireland with all its unique heritage is an inate part of him. Do where we come from and where are parents come from shape who we are? Is our heritage something to be embraced or to be overcome? What has helped you (or hindered you) become the person you are today?

The Nightmare

Just as literary fiction goes hand in hand with film, often poetry has been linked hand in with art. To explore this relationship and to celebrate the upcoming month of October (truly, the most wonderful time of the year) look at the picture below (Fuseli's The Nightmare). Explicate the painting as you would a poem. What is the painting depicting? What is significant about the title? What are the fears of the painter? What is your impression. Explicate away....

"Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary."

Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.” -Khalil Gibran

Poetry is not everyone's favorite thing to study. More than any other type of literature, poetry requires the reader to be actively involved. The reader has to pay attention to so many different elements-rhyme, meter, imagery, allusions etc. What are your feelings on poetry? Do you enjoy reading it? Analyzing it? Do you write any poetry of your own? Has any poet or poem you studied made an impact or impression on you? Talk about all your poetic experiences.

Simply heinous

Everyone (or most everyone) has a favorite book that has been made into a film. Sometimes, the film does the novel justice while other times, the movie adaptation is horribly bad and ruins a perfectly decent story. Think about a movie you went to see because you loved the book. Did the film adaptation do it justice? Did it enhance the story or ruin it entirely? Should every good book be turned into a film? Explain.

"I hope she'll be a fool-that's the best thing a girl can be in this world...

"I hope she'll be a fool-that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."
                                                                                                  -Daisy, Chapter 1

Daisy utters these words as she finds out she has just given birth to a daughter. Based on Daisy's life as it is portrayed in the novel, why would Daisy choose to adopt this philosophy? Do you agree with her idea? Do all the women in the novel play the same "beautiful fool" role as Daisy? What effects do her beliefs have on her life? (Think in terms of her relationships with Tom and Gatsby) Do you think any women of today share this philosophy? Explain.