Info About the Congo Free State

The Congo Free State was privately owned by Leopold II, the King of Belgium. Leopold was the chairman of the Congo and used the state to exploit copper, rubber, and other minerals. The people were treated brutally, all to gain capital from the resources. The colonists severely mistreated the native population to increase rubber production, which became popular after the increased use of cars. The colony was monitored by the Belgium army, called the Force Publique (FP).  In enforce the rubber quotas, the FP would cut limbs off the natives, and this practice was used throughout the Congo Free State. These severed limbs were supposed to pay back the amount of the quota that wasn’t fulfilled. Villages would occasionally attack each other in attempts to gather hands. Officers raided villages that protested Belgian rule. It is predicted that over half the native population died during the Belgian reign.

            Other international powers, especially Great Britain, protested the treatment of the locals. This pressure eventually forced the Belgian parliament to take the Congo Free State away from the king. The colony was then called the Belgian Congo, and it was put into the rule of the elected Belgian government.

            It is hard to conceptualize how harshly the natives were treated. It seems as though it was a game among the officers to see who can collect the most limbs, which were somewhat treated as currency. Logistically, it doesn’t make sense to cut off hands, because the person will no longer be able to work. No matter how much rubber they were producing prior to losing their hands, it is more than what can be produced without any hands. Overall, the situation sounds like a severe abuse of power. On the other hand, I am glad that other nations protested against the inhumane treatment of the locals and demanded that Leopold lose power of the colony.

Works Cited: http://cobweb.sfasu.edu/sbradley/Classes/homepages/Congo_Free_State/

"The Metamorphosis" Close Reading

A turning point in “The Metamorphosis” occurs when Grete announces that the family should get rid of Gregor.  Grete starts the conversation by “striking the table with her hand” (47). This contrasts from the first image of Grete, who appeared as a meek little girl crying in her bedroom. When referring to Gregor, Grete says they “have to try to get rid of it” (47). Instead of referring to Gregor as “him”, Grete chooses the pronoun “it”. Grete has now succeeded in further dehumanizing Gregor. However, this may be purposeful, because it is easier to hate Gregor when he is considered to be a bug rather than a person. Grete claims that they have “tried all that humanly possible to take care of it” (47). This word choice is very ironic, considering tried everything humanly possible to take care of Gregor, who is not human. This represents the fact that his family didn’t truly do everything they could to take care of Gregor, especially as more time continued to pass. Grete continues by saying “when people have to work as hard as all of us, they can’t stand this perpetual torment at home, as well”. Here is another instance of irony. Before his transformation, Gregor was the family member who worked endlessly and came home to an ungrateful family. Gregor was the only family member who worked, and the other members put off working for as long as possible after the transformation. Grete is complaining that they work too hard, yet she has no consideration for the fact that this used to be Gregor’s life. Even now, the family can’t appreciate how hard Gregor was working to support them.

            The father contemplates the idea that Gregor can understand them, yet Grete “shakes her hand violently to indicate that was out of the question” (47). The father happens to be correct, since Gregor can in fact understand what they are saying. Grete, on the other hand, is incorrect, even though she had designated herself to be the authority on Gregor. Grete is too self-confident to even consider that she is wrong in something concerning Gregor.  

            Overall, this passage contains irony in the family’s treatment of Gregor. The family struggles with the contradicting images as Gregor as a person and Gregor as a bug. In the end, the family decides to completely disregard Gregor’s human value, and treat him as a pest which must be removed.

Poetry Out Loud Poem Reflection

The poem I chose is “At the Vietnam Memorial” by George Bilgere. This poem conveys meaning and emotion without using challenging devices. One of the things that attracted me to the poem was its seemingly straight-forward nature, yet at the same time the poem encompasses a lot of emotion. The first two stanzas give no indication of being related to the title. The narrator describes a boy named Paul Castle, who in the students’ eyes is perfect. His name is printed in gold on the wall, which shows that he is revered and special. The narrator recalls watching Paul run, and even at his age, he would surpass all of the other runners.

            However, it is also implied that Paul is cocky, as he rarely talked to younger students or athletes who are not near his level. The narrator appears not to care, however, because he can tell that Paul is planning to do great things with his life. In the third stanza, the flashback ends and the narrator is reading his name once again. This time, he is reading Paul’s name on the Vietnam Memorial. He compares his shadow to the other students when in Paul’s presence, saying they drift obscurely without recognition. According to the narrator, once again he is left speechless while in Paul is memorialized.

            I like how this poem honors the soldiers that lost their lives in the Vietnam War, yet none of that is explicitly stated. The soldiers are described as being the ideal citizens, who all the other people look up to and strive to become. Even many years after school, the narrator can remember how Paul symbolized success.

            This poem reminded me of my grandma. He was in the Navy for many years, and he tells me stories of the friendship and respect between everyone. Whenever something went wrong, everyone was there for each other despite any possible feelings of hostility. Even though the narrator was not friends with Paul, he still mourns his death.

1984 Reflection

The ending of this novel was certainly unexpected. The first thing that shocked me was how blunt O’Brien was when stating the main goal of the Party. He admitted that the Party does not care about the citizens, and their sole purpose in life is the pursuit of power. O’Brien even says that he can live without all the luxuries he has, including plentiful amounts of food and a large home, as long as he has power. This, to me, helps explain many of my questions about the novel. It is also interesting yet not surprising how the Party believes the only way to assert power is by making people suffer. The idea of ripping the mind apart just to put it back together is an interesting idea. This relates to many historical events in which the population was brainwashed into blindly following the ruler. However, the Party does this on a larger scale, resulting in obedience on a larger scale.

            I was surprised when in Room 101, O’Brien stopped the punishment only because Winston asked him to punish Julia instead. This shows that O’Brien knew that Winston was still holding on to something from his life before the arrest, and that was keeping him back from full obedience to the Party. Winston finally breaks the ultimate promise to himself and betrays Julia.

            Winston’s encounter with Julia is also interesting. The two no longer have any kind of attraction, and Winston actually finds the idea of having sex with Julia repulsive. Julia was the last glimmer of hope for Winston, and now even she arouses no emotion. This shows that Winston has officially broken down and completely accepts the Party. The scene with him in the coffee shop shows that Winston’s life has come full circle, and now he has been tortured into obedience just like the Jones, Rutherford, and Aronson, who he saw in the same café so many years before. Just like the three men, Winston has been tortured into obedience so that he no longer poses a threat to the Party. The last four words are the most haunting in the sense that the Party won; they got inside Winston’s head and messed with his thoughts. The morale of Winston and Julia was that the Party could never changed what they think and how they feel, yet at the end of the novel, they are both proven wrong.

The Brotherhood's Book

Winston receives a mysterious book that is supposedly written by Goldstein to be the manifest of the Brotherhood. When Winston reads the book, he realizes that it merely restates everything he already knows about the Party. He was expecting to learn a lot of information about the Brotherhood and what it stands for, yet he learns nothing.

            It is then revealed that O’Brien does not work for the Brotherhood, and he instead works for the Ministry of Love. This leads me to believe that the book Winston received was written by the Party for the sole purpose of being a trap. Branching off that theory, I do not believe that the Brotherhood actually exists. I think that the Party invented the Brotherhood and Goldstein to rally a common enemy, just like the hate rallied by the war. I also believe that Goldstein was created to be a scapegoat for the Party and the people. This is shown during Hate Week, when the citizens blame Goldstein for sabotaging them by making them rally against the wrong enemy.

            This theme of invention by the Party makes me question the existence of Big Brother. I do not believe Big Brother actually exists. I think the Party created Big Brother to make the people feel protected and belonging in a community.

            However, the book does go into a great amount of detail about the purpose of the Party. I think the reason the Party goes into so much detail is because they know that Winston will never have the opportunity to share this knowledge with anyone.

            The book particularly emphasizes the class system and doublethink. I think this is because these two ideas are of the utmost importance to the Party. The Inner Party members enjoy the fact that they have a nice home and plentiful amounts of food meanwhile proles are dying of starvation. They are proud of their place in the social hierarchy, and they want to flaunt their wealth. Doublethink is also crucial to the workings of the Party because the citizens are required to think a certain way, even if they know the information is wrong. 

Explication of "The History Teacher" by Billy Collins

The poem “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins uses a series of understatements to show Collins’ belief that society undermines the seriousness of important events. The poem starts off by saying that the teacher is trying to “protect his students’ innocence” (1). While it is important to safeguard the innocence of children, Collins also believes that it is the duty of society to teach children the world’s history. The teacher tells the students that during the Ice Age people had to wear sweaters and the Stone Age was named after gravel driveways. Clearly, these are understatements that have nothing to do with those periods of time. The teacher also tells the students that the airplane dropped “one tiny atom on Japan” (12-13). This is another example of word play; transforming an atomic bomb into an understated atom, which can cause no harm. Many of the events casually mentioned by the teacher, such as the Spanish Inquisition and WWII, are important events that shaped history. Collins is criticizing the teacher for outweighing historical significance with his own preconceptions about the world.

            The next stanzas transition into the students’ lives outside the classroom. Whereas the other children are well-rounded individuals, this teacher’s students suffer from a lack of education. They tease the other children because they have not been taught the results of cruelty in the world. The children have also been taught that humans can do no wrong, and they thus feel no responsibilities for their actions. The last stanza further illustrates the naïve nature of the teacher, as he walks “past flower beds and white picket fences” (19). This stroll illustrates the teacher’s ideal society. The teacher wants to believe the world is kind and perfect. However, this is not entirely the case. This stanza ties the whole poem together, as to say that the teacher does not address hardships of the world because he does not want to face them himself. Collins believes that it is important to teach children history, so people can learn from the mistakes of others and learn respect. It angers Collins that society dismisses what can be learned from significant events in history, and he thinks that it is time for a change.

Impressions of Julia

At the plot continues, I believe that Julia is using Winston to merely fulfill her sexual desires, rather than truly loving Winston. Whereas Winston sees her numerous affairs as attractive, I think they show Julia’s flirtatious nature. Julia also blows Winston off on occasion. This is another example of the power Julia has over men. She probably knows that Winston’s life revolves around her, yet she is so quick to cancel the plans because she knows Winston won’t leave her. Another example is when Julia shows up to the room above Mr. Charrington’s shop. Winston immediately tries to embrace her, while she shrugs him off. In this instance, she is more concerned with bragging about her minor revolts against the Party; this time presenting food that is only accessible to Inner Party members. It seems that she is more eager to show off her sneakiness than to be in an actual relationship.

            Julia is also very intelligent and does not fall victim to the Party’s propaganda. Julia refuses to believe in the Brotherhood, and thinks the Party made up the organization for its own purposes. She believes the war was made up for the same purpose and to install fear in the citizens. Even though Winston is so politically against the Party, he has never thought of these ideas. For this reason, Julia appears to be even less naïve than Winston.

            However, Julia does not care about the deceit that does not apply to her own life. Since she already knows the Party is lying, she does not care about the minor lies, such as who invented the airplane, which country Oceania is at war with, or the changing of history in the papers. This frustrates Winston, because he finally thought he had a companion with which to discuss the constant revision of the past. This further illustrates Julia’s belief that it is more important to live in the present than to obsess over the past or future.