Brave New World: Soma vs. Shakespeare

It’s been a while since I’ve done a review, but I hope to get back into the swing of things before blogs become obsolete or something. Anyway, this is a book I read for school (the last one I’ll ever read for school! EVER!). I analyzed it pretty well since I had to write a paper on it. 

First Impressions: Brave New World isn’t a very deep book. I suppose, as with any book, you can analyze as deeply as you wish, but I don’t see that necessary. The characters are simple-minded, and the book is as well. The main thing I was paying attention to while reading this was how it compared to 1984 (review here). It was an interesting contrast. But more on that later. 

Short Synopsis: Bernard Marx is an outsider because he doesn’t like taking the “happy drug” soma. He likes to be angry and frustrated because it feels natural. He takes a woman, Lenina (who loves soma and everything in current society) on a vacation to see “The Savages.” There he meets John, who grew up feeling pain and struggling. Bernard takes John and John’s mother, Linda, back to the society with soma. Everyone praises Bernard for bringing Savages to them and he is no longer an outsider and, as a result, starts taking soma like everyone else and accepts how life is. John is outraged by what society has become and tries to isolates himself, but ends up drawing a crowd who persuades him to take soma. John realizes what he has done and kills himself. 

Bread and Circuses: One of the only authors John the Savage had access to as a child was Shakespeare. He grows up being articulate and curious, as any child would be. His mother, who grew up in the soma society until she was banished for becoming a mother, can’t answer any of his questions. She has no idea why the sky is blue, and she doesn’t care to find out. When John and Linda are in Bernard and Lenina’s society, Linda goes on a permanent soma holiday until she dies. No one has ever seen a middle aged woman before, so they are repulsed by her. Linda doesn’t really mind because she has craved soma ever since she was banished. John watches his mother die, and is bewildered when no one cares about her death and no one understands how upset he is regarding her death. Later, when he is talking to one of the controllers of western Europe, he is blown away by the fact that the controller is not ignorant at all. In fact, he knows more about art and culture than John does but he chose not to pursue it. John has the same reaction I have. WHAT?! How could someone be exposed to all these things and choose to live a life completely isolated from it forever?! But John can’t reason with the man. 

But really, who could have? This society was being well fed and entertained so there was no reason for them to question anything ever. Sure they were conditioned into the society by listening to recordings in their sleep as children and by taking soma, but societies today are the same way, even without drugs. There are people in this world who have never experienced squalid living conditions and are completely capable of noticing the corrupt conditions of the world they’re living in. But they don’t. Why would they need to? They have all the food they want and they have access to the extremely entertaining Internet. I’ve also met people who think that overall, mankind is good and there are just a few bad people in the world. They are wrong. So wrong. Overall, people are terrible and cruel and manipulative. But, as long as you are well fed and entertained, there’s no reason to ponder on this.

 Also, I think it is important to note that I’ve also met people who ponder a lot about the terribleness of the world. These people are very sad and negative, although everything they’re saying is true. So it seems like the only choices in life are to live happy and ignore all the badness or to live miserably and focus on the badness. I don’t agree with that statement, but I’ll talk about that another time because that topic is an immense digression from Brave New World. 

Parallels to 1984: The main parallel here is how reading about art and culture are viewed. Orwell’s idea of a dystopian society consisted of people who were afraid to read about art, culture, and science. Huxley’s idea of a dystopian society consisted of people who chose not to. 

Another similarity is that society doesn’t change in the end. There’s a character (in 1984 there’s two) who wants society to change. In 1984, the characters die trying, but don’t get close to changing anything. John the Savage isolates himself, which doesn’t help any, and people just think he’s weird. Both books end with an unchanged dystopian society. 

Really, though, could Huxley’s society even be considered a dystopian society? Everyone (at least in Western Europe) is happy and has what they want. Life is focused around pleasure. Is that such a bad thing? John the Savage thought so. I think so. What do you think? 

Final Thoughts: Again, this book isn’t very deep in my opinion. That’s one of the reason I like it so much. In both this and 1984 I didn’t have to analyze too much in order to understand how terrible their world is. 1984 was just more about realism and the darker side of dystopian societies while Brave New World is more focused on how people can be completely ok with corruption and such things as long as they’re kept happy. 

Highly recommend the book to anyone who likes dystopian novels. Personally, after I finish Fahrenheit 451, I’m done with dystopia. They’re all essentially the same, and the originals are the best, right? Unless someone else suggests a good modern one, I’m moving on to other genes after Fahrenheit 451. 

I have a lot of reading to do. I keep going to the library and picking up long books that I know I won’t get around to reading for a long time. Oh the curse of being a bookworm!

 

Graduation: It Happened, Move On

Graduation isn’t the end, it’s the beginning. I’ve heard and contemplated this so many times, that the meaning was lost. By the time it was almost graduation time, that phrase still circled my head, but it never really hit me until afterward.

As noted by my other post regarding senior year, I was already determined not to become too nostalgic or sentimental at the end of the year, and I succeeded. Sure, signing everyone’s yearbook was a little sad, especially for the people I literally had no way of contacting after the year was over, but I got over it. I actually felt sympathy for the couple friends I had that were taking graduation much too seriously. They were almost lamenting over the fact they may not see me again, and even got angry when I wasn’t sad. This was noted in my previous senior post, but it bears repeating since this irritation got a lot worse as the school year came to a close.

Another great thing about graduating is the production of good cake.

Overall, I was immensely excited and really wanted to get out. Although I love my friends and all my classes this year (most of the time), as the day grew closer, I became more antsy, as did everyone else. The hallway discussions of seniors often included the statement, “I just want to get out of here” which may or may not have had some obscenities interjected in there. We were all anxious, we were all in anticipation. Some of us were excited. 

I asked a lot of my friends if they were excited, before and immediately after graduation. Most of the girls said yes, most of the guys said no. I found this interesting. Excitement must only happen amongst the male gender when they kill everyone in their path during a video game. I’ve seen it. When I observe the guys playing Halo, it’s very loud and very hilarious watching them get mad for someone killing them, even though that’s the point of the game. Graduation produced more of a “meh” response. Most of the ones I talked to just wanted to get out. Even graduation produces different emotions between boys and girls, and no I will not refer to our demographic as men and women. We are legally men and women. Nothing in our minds and words imply anything of the sort.

Because the schedules were different practically every day, I must have said goodbye to my friends at least five times. I was always skeptical as to whether I would ever see them again, but I usually did anyway. But that was ok. The guys I hung out with were tolerant of my slight (slight) sentimentality and my insistence on writing more than just my name in their yearbook.

Oh..and presents! Graduating means getting presents!

The crossover assembly was very nice, and not as sad as I expected. My picture appeared only once in the Senior Slideshow (thank goodness). It was the day of my last serpentine and  I was being silly, and I’m usually not silly in pictures. It was weird seeing, because I hadn’t seen the picture since it was taken. My friend took the picture, and she submitted it. Still, it was a nice slideshow. The baby and primary school pictures were all very cute.

What was funny about the assembly that I particularly wanted to note was how they kept going on about how “special” this senior class was because we were the first freshmen in 25 years, and we get to witness this huge remodel of the school, and we won “Most School Spirited” two years in a row. That made me curious. What do they say to the other senior classes? Are all of them really all that great? But that’s the only thing that really stuck with me from the assembly, even though I’m supposed to remember this year of my life for a long time. I won’t. I’ll remember stress, mistakes, and maybe some friends I had. And the stabbing. That’s it. 

On the last day of my AP Lit class, it hit me that I wasn’t going to have this class anymore. It would be much more difficult to find people who enjoy Crime and Punishment as much as I do. Sure, I could friend my teacher on Facebook, but that isn’t the same. I know very few people who have read the books I have, and I don’t want that to sound conceited. I long to find those people! I want to start a Classic Literature book club but I have neither time nor the willing people. Usually, when I discuss the books I read, I either get people who have heard of it but haven’t read it or I get the look that screams “You read that?!” Only in my AP Lit class could I extensively analyze Brave New World (review here) and have people really listen to it. So, what saddened me most about leaving the class was not the fact the class was over, but now I had to make an effort to find people with similar interests. My close friends will gladly listen to me ramble on about the parallel between Lazarus and Raskolnikov. But that’s not really a discussion. But I’m over that now. I just hope that being away from AP Lit doesn't influence me to stop reading these types of books. 

The last day of school (which, for seniors, consisted of the crossover assembly, acquiring graduation tickets and going home) was full of last minute yearbook signing, hugs, and laughs and anticipation. Everyone looked happy, even though we were leaving. I suppose, technically, there was still the Senior Breakfast and the Senior Picnic, but I didn’t want to go to either of those. I had already said goodbye and had my closure, and I didn’t see any reason to make the goodbyes any harder. Besides, the Senior Picnic was at a water park, and I suspected it was going to rain that day. It did.

Graduation was almost unreal. Nothing spectacular happened, but it was weird being in a place that seemed so far off for so long. I got my diploma and blah blah blah. I said some last minute goodbyes to people and was so exhausted by that point, I wasn’t even excited anymore. I wanted to get out of there, and fast. So I came home and fell asleep until 8 or 9 at night. I didn’t eat dinner or anything. My body was almost at collapsing point and I was pretty grouchy. I feel bad now, because my parents were proud of me and wanted to go out to dinner, but I was exhausted and irritated, that I didn’t want to do anything at all. We settled for KFC. I wonder how I’ll be on my wedding day. I wonder if I’ll be so tired by the reception that I wouldn’t want to dance with my new husband and just want to sleep on the floor until everyone went home.

Now, I have way too much free time to know what to do with. I have yet to find a job, and have yet to obtain my license, and I can’t really start my life until I have both of those things. But until now, I had forgotten how long the days are and how slow time goes when you have nothing to do. I was hoping to get some more reading done…but I’ve been too lethargic to do anything. I’m still in the process of reading six or so books. My main goal is to finish Fahrenheit 451. This, I think, will be my last dystopian book that I read. They’re all the same. The main ones that were considered original in the era they were written are 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451. After that, dystopian novels are predictable and cliché. If there’s one I’m missing, let me know. But those three are the ones everyone talks about. I got many books as graduation presents, so I should be set for a while, in regards to reading. But I can never keep away. I checked out more books today and I had to use my mom’s card because mine has been blocked for a while now. I have yet to read the books I checked out on my card, but I think I’ll return them anyway. Mystery isn’t really my thing, although the Agatha Christie book I did read was very good. Just not C&P good. Besides, I want to read The Jungle next.

My high school experience hasn’t been a very significant one in regards to my peers. Frankly, I wasn’t popular enough to be remembered by a lot of people, and I doubt I’ll remember a lot of the friends I had after several years. All I’ll know is that I embraced nerdiness, and surrounded myself with nerdy people (mostly guys) when I was a senior. By that time though, I’ll probably mush junior and senior year together. I’ll probably remember all the stupid things I did, and not enough of the cool things I did. I might remember that I refused to act fully silly and weird around anyone but Hayley, because I have always had this phobia (yes, an irrational fear) of looking stupid around people smarter/cooler/better than me. I considered most of my friends cooler than me. And many of them were smarter than me because they had embraced nerdiness long before I had. I’ll probably remember how I hated sitting in the back of the Sno-Isle bus, and how stressful Sno-Isle was my senior year. But these nostalgic moments (especially after I’m pretty much settled down) will more than likely be few and far between. High school is supposed to be a faded memory because there’s so much you have to do after graduation. Being well known in high school doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll become your definition of “successful” when you’re older. Vice versa applies as well. Saying you went to high school with a celebrity isn’t as cool as it sounds because, chances are, you hardly remember them at all.

Of course, I want everyone I went to high school with (including those who have yet to graduate) to have happy lives. Just, please don’t take it personally if I unfriend you on Facebook after a couple months or years. You probably wouldn’t remember me if we weren’t friends of Facebook, and there’s really no reason to remember me anyway. You have better things to think about than high school, and as do I. So please, do not think I’m doing this because you have offended me in some way or I think you are no longer suitable for friendship of the Facebook kind. I am only moving on from the past, as you should be.

Best wishes.

The Fault in Our Stars: Not Your Average “Teen Book”

First Impressions: Well, now you all know my secret. I don’t only read Classic Literature. I went through a phase where I read “chick books.” It was all love and romance and, frankly, boring. I am familiar with John Green as a youtuber, but I also knew he was a novelist. When he read the first chapter of The Fault in Our Stars (TFiOS), I was blown away. After pre-ordering the book, I anxiously waited for my package to arrive. When it did, I promptly read the book in two days. It does not even compare to the “chick books” I read in middle school. Hazel is no Emma Bovary.

Quick Synopsis: Hazel is a sixteen-year-old with “lungs that suck at being lungs.” She has cancer. She meets Augustus (or Gus), a teenager who fears oblivion and has a prosthetic leg from a previous meeting with cancer. They end up...well...to quote Avril Lavigne: “Can I make it any more obvious?” It is somewhat of a love story...but not the love stories that Justin Bieber and Edward Cullen portray.

Deeper Meanings: There was one thing that many of the young adult novels I read was missing. That thing was substance. The entire novel was composed of words that a hopeless romantic thirteen-year-old would find deep and meaningful. TFiOS is completely different. For me, it is the type of book you could enjoy if you simply read it or analyzed it. This type is rare: a young adult novel that can be analyzed. Perhaps I am making generalizations, but the books that are discussed at my school the most often are the types of books that have pretend deeper meaning. In other words, the romantic relationships are not realistic, therefore, any “symbols” and “poetry” is all for naught, because the relationship itself is nothing more than Cuddle Time. TFiOS puts young love in a whole new perspective for me. For one thing, Hazel and Augustus have a friend Issac, who is dating a girl. He and his girlfriend whisper “always” to each other all the time. It’s their word. Frankly, if Hazel’s and Augustus’s word was “always” then I would have stopped reading. But that is not the case. Their word is “okay.” This makes so much more sense to me. Love can’t currently last forever. There, I said it. Unless there’s a scientific breakthrough or some other miracle, forever is not possible. So I’m slightly annoyed when I see my peers tell their significant other that they’ll always be together. Especially because they said the same thing to another person a month ago. Hazel and Gus have “okay.” I love it because it isn’t used to remind the reader Hazel could die soon because she has cancer, but instead to portray their love as being real. Realistically, the relationship may not work out. After reading this, I want my word with my future boyfriend to be “okay.” But since that’s taken, we’ll probably use something stupid, like “chicken.” But we’ll think it’s funny or something even though none of our friends get the joke. Kids these days...

Allusions: Another important thing to note is that there are allusions to other books that teens commonly read in school, which I loved. The title itself is a Shakespeare reference.There’s a Great Gatsby reference, which I didn’t even get until I read a forum about the book. Augustus also likes to hang an unlit cigarette out of his mouth. It’s a metaphor. He’s refusing to let the cancer kill him. However, he puts the cigarette in his mouth when he’s feeling somewhat insecure. Insecure? Catcher in the Rye? Anyone? So this is another reason why I think teens that enjoy analyzing books (and English class) should read TFiOS. There’s probably more references I’m missing. I’ve only read the book once, so I wasn’t really looking for any. Now...if John Green decides to reference Crime and Punishment in his new book, I will love him forever. I mean...until I die. Yeah, that’s sounds more realistic.

Bottom Line: Okay, to those of you who know me personally, or have read my first blog post, you know that I will never date in high school. But keep in mind that that is my personal preference. The majority of high school relationships I see end very quickly. That’s not always the case. Another thing I love about TFiOS is that, although it’s about a relationship, it doesn’t promote nor demote dating. There’s nothing about how amazing dating is, and there’s no “big fight” scene where they almost break up and a tearful reunion. It did not try and change my views on dating. Overall, it is an amazing book and John Green is an extremely talented author, and I am very happy that I got a signed copy.

To all nerdfighters: It was Hanklerfished too! DFTBA!

1984: A New Type of Bro Code

First Impressions: I’ve heard about this book a lot, so I thought it was finally time to settle down and read it. It did not disappoint. Now when someone mentions Bro Code, I think, "Big Bro is watching you. Dude."

Short Synopsis: The Party is the government. Big Brother is how it watches everything. If you try and rebel, you are vaporized. If you even think about rebelling, you are vaporized. Winston hates The Party. He starts a love affair with Julia, who also hates The Party. They eventually are tortured to the point where they both are forced to believe the government is always right.

Realism: The main thing that struck me the most about this novel is the realistic aspect. Now that I think about it, a lot of the books I enjoy have a realistic aspect. I think I like Realism. Anyway, 1984 is known for how realistic it is. It is completely possible that the government could become like this sometime in future. Although the book didn’t turn me into a conspiracy theorist, it did make me think. The children are complete savages, which is totally plausible if they are taught from an early age that going against the government is bad. There’s one part in the book where a guy is brought to prison because he said “down with Big Brother” in his sleep and his daughter caught him. The guy commended his daughter for catching him before it was too late! Winston comments that most parents are terrified of their children.

Another realistic concept is the people’s stupidity. Winston’s job is to make The Party always right. This means deleting or altering articles that would ever hint they are wrong. If anyone questions it, they are killed or tortured to the point of obedience. This makes sense because if there are only people left who wouldn’t rebel against The Party, why wouldn’t everyone believe the altered past. No one is allowed to have friendships or any sort of relationships. The only people left are the emotionless, dreary ones. Sex is only used for procreation, not pleasure. When O’Brien was speaking to Winston, he said that The Party wanted to make sex an annual event that would not be enjoyable, but necessary in order to create more humans.

Despite the extremeness of The Party, I can see this happening if the government took enough control and promised enough reward. This book is written realistically enough to be downright scary.

Julia: She played a big part in the story, but honestly, I didn’t notice her all that much. She was interesting, but she was essentially a second Winston (minus the rat phobia). I, personally, was much more interested in the acts of The Party, not the interaction of Winston and Julia, although it is an important aspect to the story and should not be overlooked.

Final Thoughts: I believe that 1984 is a novel that everyone should try reading. It was written in the fifties so the language is simple, and the plot itself is very digestible. But it gives a very interesting perspective on life and how controlling the government could hypothetically become. Even if you’re not necessarily interested in classic literature, I highly recommend it.

This is similar to Brave New World. Read that review here: Brave New World: Soma vs. Shakespeare

Madame Bovary: It's All in Your Head

First Impressions: The main character, Emma Bovary, reminds me of the a lot of teen girls that go to my high school. They're so focused on obtaining that warm and fuzzy feeling that comes with infatuation, they forget that real love (past the honeymoon phase) doesn't feel like that at all.

Short Synopsis (I'm going to try and make these as short as possible from now on): Emma marries a man names Charles Bovary, but gets tried of him due to lack of sophistication. This results in her having two love affairs. Later, she begins splurging so much that she and Charles have no way of repaying the debt she (and partially Charles) caused. The only way to solve her problems is to kill herself, which she accomplishes by consuming arsenic.

Emma's Fantasy: Emma Bovary grew up reading romantic books with no one to tell her that those books didn't accurately describe how real love works. As a result, she became obsessed with finding "love," which wasn't really love at all. Charles is clumsy and undignified. Emma becomes repulsed by him. Leon leaves her because he doesn't think he can have a physical relationship with Emma (until later when he comes back and it starts all over again) and Rodolphe ends up being a ladies man who has had several mistresses and leaves her when she becomes boring. Charles is a genuinely good husband for her. He views her as flawless and would do anything to make sure she gets what she wants. But Emma doesn't want a husband. She wants a fling. At one point the book mentions how Leon  was more of a mistress to her than vise versa. I agree, because she was the seducer and manipulator in the relationship. Not so much with Rodolphe, but he had had practice with plenty of women.

Modern Day Emmas: The reason I chose to read this book was because Emma reminds me of a lot of teen girls today. You know that whole theory that Nice Guys get stuck in the "friend zone" while the girls go and date jerks? I am now calling those girls "EBs" or "Emma Bovarys". Those girls don't want a relationship, they want the warm and fuzzy feeling. The Bad Boys are dangerous and cool.They are sometimes more attractive than Nice Guys. An EB would want to go on motorcycle rides and sneak out and feel dangerous. A non-EB would look for a boy that her parents would like (hopefully) and would treat her with respect. She would want a boy that could be a potential husband. Of course, EBs are confused as to why there are no nice guys out there. Emma was the same way. She was devastated when Rodolphe left her. In her mind, no one could beat him. She had forgotten about Leon completely. Then when he came back, she told him she was going to kill her self if she didn't get to see him again. Usually I am angered by EBs. But Madame Bovary was hilarious because Emma's thinking was exaggerated just enough to make it a little ridiculous, but still realistic.

Complete Failure: She failed, and failed hard. Everything she did went wrong because she was so stuck in her fantasy. Emma's marriage with Charles went horribly in her mind (Charles was too oblivious to know about either love affair until after she died so he thought their marriage was fine). Both love affairs ended. Being a mother wasn't all it was cracked  up to be so she left her daughter with a wet nurse almost all the time and rarely mentioned her at all. She used splurging to make herself feel better and to buy gifts for Rodolphe, but that just launched her into debt. And finally, Emma tried to die with dignity by eating arsenic. She ended up having convulsions and vomiting blood, so even that didn't go the way she wanted to. But it was all her fault. She completely failed at life.

Humor: This book is really funny. My favorite quote is "Isn't it a man's job to know everything?" Anything that emphasizes Emma's ridiculousness made me laugh. And also the part about Leon basically stalking Emma and no one seems to care. And anything about how Charles is repulsive to Emma. She is even repulsed by his teeth at one point! But then when there's the possibility of Charles doing a breakthrough surgery that could make them a lot of money, she changes her mind and says he isn't as bad as she thought he was. Then the surgery doesn't work and she goes back to hating him. I thought I'd be so irritated with Emma's behavior, but I couldn't stop cracking up!

Final Thoughts: This book was heavily criticized for the realistic aspect when it was first published. It's interesting how the most controversial books are usually the best ones to read. I don't think Catcher in the Rye would be nearly as famous if it wasn't one of the most banned books in schools. If this is the case, I think there should be more controversy in books. Maybe then kids would read more.

Frankenstein: No, Not the Green Guy

First impressions: I predicted that I would finish this book and begin hating how Frankenstein’s monster is portrayed in pop culture. I was right.

Short(ish) Synopsis: Although the story is familiar to a lot of people, there are some details that are in the movies only, and not the books. But I’ll start from the beginning. Victor Frankenstein discovers the secret to life, but he will not tell you (the reader) what it is. He creates a monster, but is immediately sickened by it, so he makes the monster leave. Shortly thereafter, Victor receives news that his youngest brother, William, has been murdered (guess who?). He rushes home and catches sight of his creation, and becomes convinced that the monster did it (Spoiler: He’s right). Justine Moritz, a girl who had been adopted into the Frankenstein household, is accused of murdering William. Victor realizes that if he tells everyone a monster did it, people won’t believe him. Justine is executed and Victor feels guilty so he goes to the mountains for a getaway, to which the monster approaches him and admits to the murder. The monster begs for a companion as grotesque as he is. Victor refuses at first, but the monster tells him what he’s been doing after Victor banished him. He found a family and began to watch their interactions with one another. From them, he learned to speak and learned what love is. He was sure that this family would accept him for who he is. But they don’t. They are mortified and immediately move out once the monster reveals himself. The monster knows that no one will ever love him, so he wants a companion who is as grotesque as he is so he will be loved. Victor is persuaded and begins work on his monster’s “bride.” One night, though, Victor catches his monster grinning at him, and is overwhelm by doubts and destroys his work. The monster is furious, and vows to be with Victor on his wedding night. The monster kills Victor’s traveling companion, Henry. Victor is accused for the crime, but is acquitted later. Eventually, Victor marries a girl named Elizabeth and, true to his word, the monster kills her. Victor vows to find the monster and get revenge. He is found by Walton, a sea captain (who has been narrating the story the whole time). Victor becomes ill while on the ship, and one day Walton finds the monster weeping over the body. The monster assumes that his creator has died (he has) and says that because his creator has died, he can also end his suffering. After he says that, he departs to the ice to die.

Differences From Movies: There are symbols and motifs in this book, but I didn’t find them as interesting as how different this story is from how the movies portray the monster. After finishing this book, I’m always careful to note the difference between Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s monster. There’s quite a list I made mentally of all the differences I made between the book and the supposedly “accurate” movie Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. Alas, I have forgotten some, but here is a list of the more obvious differences between the book and movies/TV shows (in general).

Monster’s Qualities in the Book                                Monster’s Qualities in Movies

Articulate Yellow Skin Looked more ugly than scary Committed murders on purpose Never acquired a bride Made out of several dead people’s body parts Very sad and hurt, and eventually kills himself People never accept him Kills with purpose He’s a sad creation who wants to be accepted

Can only speak in grunts and moans Green skin Looked like scary monster (with bolts?) Killed on accident (depends on movie) Eventually had a bride Made out of one guy (depends on the movie) More angry, but lives “happily ever after” (or is killed) People eventually accept him Attacks random people He’s just a zombie. Big whoop.

Victor Frankenstein is different too. He actually has a story. He isn’t some crazy scientist. He has a love interest and does not have an assistant named Igor. He actually has no assistant at all. Igor wasn’t introduced until 1931.

Final Thoughts: Frankly, if Mary Shelly were alive today, I think she wouldn’t be very happy with what her beautiful novel has become. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Well, I didn’t like the beginning because I had no idea who Walton was and thought I would immediately start out in Frankenstein’s narrative. Overall though, this is an amazing story. To think that such a young person could produce something so original is awesome. No, not “totally rad” awesome. Like, I’m-actually-in-awe-awesome.

If you come across any other differences between the “real” and “modern” Frankenstein story, let me know. I was literally yelling at the screen as I watched the movie. I strongly hope I’m not the only one.

Crime and Punishment: Not All Humans Suck

First Impressions: The book is written frankly and simply. The vocabulary, though, isn’t written as eloquently as, say, Madame Bovary. However, the reason is probably because Crime and Punishment was translated from Russian while Madame Bovary was translated from French. Still, I appreciated that I didn’t have to grab a dictionary every five seconds while trying to enjoy the book.

Simple Synopsis (Note- If you just read the synopsis and refuse to read the book itself, the analysis will not make any sense): Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov murders and old pawnbroker and her innocent sister. He is immediately struck with an illness because he feels so guilty. During recovery he runs into an old acquaintance, Razumikhin, who is eager to help out his sick friend. He also meets his sister’s fiance, Luzhin, who only wants to marry her so she can be forever submissive to him. Raskolnikov witnesses the death of Marmeladov, who spent all his family’s money on alcohol. Marmeladov’s daughter, Sonya, is the most innocent character in the entire book, but has to prostitute herself to support her family. Raskolnikov eventually takes quite a liking to Sonya, and promises to tell her who the murderer of the pawnbroker and pawnbroker’s sister is. By this time, Raskolnikov has almost confessed to Porfiry, the police inspector, twice. Meanwhile, another guy named Svidrigailov is watching him. Raskolnikov confesses to Sonya, and Svidrigailov overhears them and tries to sleep with Sonya. He fails and commits suicide. Sonya encourages Raskolnikov to confess to the police, which he eventually does and is sentenced to eight years in a Siberian prison. Sonya follows him there, and patiently waits for him so they can go off and rebuild their life. Of course, there’s much more too it than that,  but you’re going to have to read the book for the details.

Raskolnikov’s Repentance: Currently, this is my favorite book. Period. I especially love the ending. While I was reading the book, I was positive that Raskolnikov was going to either go crazy or commit suicide, but he didn’t. He genuinely repented. I found that utterly fascinating. It’s like Dostoevsky was trying to tell people that humans are capable of doing terrible things and then repenting. Take King David, for instance. He committed adultery and murder, but God still forgave him. To me, Sonya is the god-like character in this book. She is willing to sacrifice everything to help her family, including her own body. She also sees the good in Raskolnikov. When he confesses, she doesn’t freak out and leave. She wants him to do the right thing, because somehow she knows that he isn’t a monster. Sonya is the one who gets Raskolnikov to confess, and she helps him realize that he can work past this.

Raskolnikov’s “Extraordinary Man” Theory: Throughout the book the reader is introduced to Raskolnikov’s theory that an “extraordinary man” can commit a crime without feeling any guilt. Of course, Raskolnikov feels massive amounts of guilt for murdering two people. Although this is a big part of the book, this wasn’t my favorite aspect of it. I understand the irony mentioned several times. Personally, I like Raskolnikov’s interaction with the characters which helps him ultimately discover who he really is.
Svidrigailov: This character is the perfect foil for Raskolnikov. It is implied that he has killed several people (including poisoning his wife to be with Raskolnikov’s sister!) without feeling any guilt. In fact, he is the “extraordinary man” that Raskolnikov aims to be. But, Svidrigailov commits suicide when he can’t seduce Sonya. I think this is how Raskolnikov would have ended up if Sonya hadn’t been there to remind him that he’s a good person within.
Luzhin: This character wanted to marry Raskolnikov’s sister, Dunya, but didn’t (thank God!). I believe this kind of person is what girls at my school would call “a pig.” All he cares about is himself. He only wants to marry Dunya so he has someone who will be in submission to him the rest of his life. However, the line in the book that made me laugh the most was the one that says Luzhin spends a good amount of his time examining himself in the mirror. So, he had some use. He’s the guy that every “nice guy” thinks that all the girls pursue. I know that’s true in a lot of cases, but in Crime and Punishment, Luzhin does not get the girl. Razumikhin does. Razumikhin is the nice guy. That’s right folks! In this book, the nice guy gets the girl without being stuck in the friend zone first! I know! I was shocked too!

My Favorite Theme: The “alienation from society” is the most interesting theme in the book that I had the most fun researching. Pretty much, Raskolnikov thought several different times that he needed to be away from people. At one point he even told Razhumikhin to watch over his mother and sister while he was having a breakdown. But those times were when Raskolnikov needed people the most. Gradually he came to realize that. I love this theme because there’s so many people on this earth that feel like the only way they can fix their problems is by isolating themselves. Raskolnikov is the perfect example showing why that doesn’t work. He became confused and irrational when he wasn’t around people, but when he is with Sonya, she is able to help him work through the guilt. Dostoevsky makes it clear that he strongly believes that all humans need love and compassion to function properly, even if they won’t admit it themselves.

My Favorite Motif: Almost every character in the book is poor. Take the Marmeladov’s (Sonya’s family) for instance. Sonya herself is compassionate enough, but her family is the happiest in the book overall. Of course, they are deeply upset when Marmeladov dies, but the whole family has compassion toward one another. Raskolnikov’s mother and sister have also accepted that they are poor and have grown from it. The book brings out that although they are poor, they make their best efforts to dress in nice clothes. They aren’t doing so to give the impression they’re rich, rather they want to look as lady-like as they can with what they have. Dostoevsky uses poverty to bring families together and help people use what they have to their highest advantage. Once again, it is shown that money isn’t everything.

My Favorite Symbol: Any Bible references in books make me giddy. When I discovered that the story of Lazarus is used to describe Raskolnikov, I was ecstatic. It completely makes sense. When Raskolnikov commits the murders he, in a sense, “dies.” Over the course of the novel, Sonya helps “resurrect” him by getting him to confess and come back to humanity. I absolutely love it when authors subtly use the Bible to foreshadow their book. It also characterizes Sonya by giving her the role of Jesus, showing how innocent and good-hearted she is.

Overall: I definitely want to read this book again, because I’m sure I’ve missed some symbol that the research I’ve done hasn’t already uncovered. Crime and Punishment gives the point that not all humans are bad through and through. Some of them are repentant and try to do good in their lives after committing a terrible crime. After I was done reading the book I no longer thought that all humans are terrible. Some have good hearts.

Of course, further discussion of this book in the comments is strongly encouraged, as I love discussing literature with anyone. As long as you’ve read the book. All the way through.