Should we strive for a utopia that we know cannot be achieved, or should we rather avoid utopias because circumstances always end up worse than before whenever we try for one?People generally believe that we should try to achieve a utopia because it is a perfect world, and everyone wants things to be perfect. But in the books Animal farm and 1984 by George Orwell, whenever a group tries to achieve a utopia, the government ends up gaining even more control than before by making the people believe that it is for the best. So should we try for a utopia even though we know that it is actually impossible to have a perfect world so it might just be a waste of time and effort? Or should we avoid utopias altogether because whenever we try for one, the government gains even more control, lies to and tricks the people into believing that everything is just as they wanted it, and things are even worse than before with the people having even less say in things and not even realizing that it has happened? I hope to figure out which would be the better course to take throughout the rest of my study of these books.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
The Big Question- Finally
So after reading Animal Farm and half of 1984, I have finally figured out a big question:
Sunday, February 19, 2012
All Animals Are Equal
Here is my soundtrack for Animal Farm. All the songs are linked to youtube videos. I have also given my own titles to each song that fits with the book. The explanations for the songs are underneath.
All Animals Are Equal
1. Depraved by Anberlin (Major's Dream)
2. The Resistance by Anberlin (The Rebellion)
3. The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Harry McClinton (Sugarcandy Mountain)
4. Let it Burn by Red (Clover)
5. All Day by Ministry (Boxer's Requiem)
6. Feed the Machine by Red (Benjamin)
7. Hymn for the Missing by Red (The Slaughter)
8. Reclusion by Anberlin (Napoleon)
Depraved- This is the scene at the beginning when all the animals gather together in the barn for a meeting. Major begins talking to them, telling them of his dream. He begins by telling them what he has learned of life. The animals on the farm are worked all their lives with only enough of the necessities to continue living. I think the album cover that goes with this song (the first picture on the video) fits remarkably well because it is a horse falling over onto its side. This is a creature that has been beaten down. The song begins by asking 'Are you depraved? Or are you deceived?" These animals at the farm have been deceived into thinking that they must labor under the rule of humans and that humans control the world. Major tells the animals that the humans aren't needed to run the farm and it is time for the animals to start standing up for themselves. Fittingly, the song continues on to say "You're not a slave, so get off your knees." This is the beginning of the uprising that becomes the rebellion. Fittingly, the words "don't feel chained up" are repeated over and over again in the background of the song.
The Resistance- This song is all about the rebellion. I see it as the animals addressing Jones. The animals have finally taken all they can from Jones and now find it the perfect time to stand up to Jones. "Speak for yourself, you paper tigers, too late to make demands, when you've got a riot on your hands." The humans have been at the top of the food chain, always ruling the animals, but in truth, the animals are much more powerful than the humans. When the rebellion begins, the humans cannot stand against the animals. "A new united front that you will come to fear." When the animals all stand together, there is no stopping them. There is nothing Jones, or any of the other humans, can do to fight back when the animals finally decide to revolt. "We will hold together to become the change." Once the animals have decided to take matters into their own hands, they are able to completely change the order of things on the farm. The rebellion actually takes only a short amount of time in the book, so I think it is fitting that it only gets a single song. The last straw that breaks the camel's back is put in place when Jones forgets to feed them, the animals break out. When Jones tries to take control, the animals chase him off the farm. And it is over.
The Big Rock Candy Mountains- Every time Moses the raven mentioned Sugarcandy Mountain, I couldn't help but hear the Candy Mountain song from Charlie the Unicorn. I decided I had to put that song in my list, but while searching for it on youtube, I came across this one and decided it fit better. Moses was always going on about a place where there would be no work. It would be a perfect place with enough food for everyone and there would be no humans. I also decided that if fits with the animals dream of making a utopia. After the rebellion, everything should be perfect because they no longer have humans ordering them around. They dream of a place where they are the masters and where everything they do is for their own benefit. This song may not exactly be the animals' idea of a utopia, except for the barn full of hay, but it is someone's idea of a utopia. It is a place of perfection where everything is in perfect balance.
Let it Burn- In this song, I picture Clover right after the executions when she is looking out over the farm and thinking about how beautiful it looks and how life should have been after the rebellion, where every animal did what they could and everyone worked together, the strong protecting the weak. She thinks of what life on the farm has become and realizes, "it was not for this that she and the other animals had hoped and toiled." I see this as a song that she sings inside, without really realizing it. She is beginning to realize that Napoleon isn't what he pretends to be and that he isn't on their side any longer. He wants their paradise to crumble so that he can pick up the pieces and make it his own. She realizes that Napoleon is going to let all that they have worked for and dreamed of burn down. He will just stand by and let it burn. As the animals' dreams "like ashes float away," Napoleon will stay silent, playing his game. "A lesson never learned, only violence." Animals weren't supposed to be slaughtered on Animal Farm. Things were supposed to be peaceful, yet now there has been a horrible slaughter. Animal farm has faced its first show of violence within itself, and Clover is secretly asking Napoleon, "Will you just let it all burn down?"
All Day- I really thought that I needed a tribute to Boxer so I searched for songs about work and found this one. Boxer worked his life away. He had his motto 'I will work harder' and he stuck to it. Even after he split his hoof, he kept on working because that was what he believed in. When he could work no more, Napoleon, as the 'man in charge' had him taken away so he wouldn't be a problem or be using up the resources. Boxer deserves some credit for following his principles, even though it caused him to work himself to death. As the song says, "He worked hard, and he lived hard, and he breaks his back without nothing to gain." Boxer did more work than any of the other animals. Whenever something went wrong, he would put in even more hours until it was fixed again. Animal Farm would never have been as successful as it was without Boxer. Without him, the windmill would never have been finished. And when he is unable to work any longer, what does Napoleon do? He sends him away to be killed for glue. Boxer was a noble character who deserved recognition. He always gave 100% and never asked for anything in return. All he hoped for was a nice life on a nice farm where all animals were equal. He never got to see that and all his efforts went to waste.
Feed the Machine- This is Benjamin showing his scorn for what the other animals have been doing. Benjamin never followed the rebellion and now that Boxer is gone, he has no one to live for any more. He has always done just his work and will always do exactly the same, no matter who is master. He is able to see what has been going on the whole time and knows that the animals are just doing exactly what they have always been doing, which is working as slaves for some master. When Boxer is going to be slaughtered, he wants them to finally realize what is going on, but that doesn't happen. The other animals just do what they're told and Benjamin kind of scorns them for this, since it resulted in Boxer being able to be taken away. As the song says, "you never disappoint them." The animals just do what they are told, never questioning it. They "fall in line" and "live the lie." They want to believe in what they are doing so they accept what lies they are told. "Give up and feed the machine." The animals won't question Napoleon so they continue to "feed the machine" of letting one animal rule above them and they just become slaves again, just to a different master.
Hymn for the Missing- I wanted a song to go with the slaughter of all the animals convicted of treason. I believe this song fits because it can be from those who had to watch the slaughter of their friends. Watching this made them lose heart and they could no longer stand up against another master. Even when they believed things weren't quite right, they could do nothing because they would be killed. In trying to keep the songs going in order of the book, this one should be earlier in the list, but this song is also for all of the original characters who fought for the rebellion and are dead by the end of the book, never getting to see their utopia, which never ended up happening. Those who are left lost the comrades who shared their dreams of a better life for animals. This song could even fit with the loss of that dream. All that they worked for is gone. Things have actually become worse than when it started. Pretty much, this song is for everything that the animals lost under Napoleon, which is why I placed it near the end of the list.
Reclusion- This I see as going back and forth between Napoleon and the animals. The verses are Napoleon saying how horrible he is, even though he doesn't really care that he's a monster. The chorus is the animals, who have now realized that he has just become another Jones, telling him that he is 'sick'. He lied to them the whole time and became what they were trying to avoid. This is the conclusion of the book, where Napoleon has pretty much become a human and the animals finally notice, but they can't really do anything about it. " Sins like skeletons are so very hard to hide." Now that they've seen him with the humans, they realize what has happened, what Napoleon has done to their dreams. Napoleon has now won and the rest of the animals are left in an even worse position than when they had Jones as a master. They have finally lost all hope of ever realizing their dream.
All Animals Are Equal1. Depraved by Anberlin (Major's Dream)
2. The Resistance by Anberlin (The Rebellion)
3. The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Harry McClinton (Sugarcandy Mountain)
4. Let it Burn by Red (Clover)
5. All Day by Ministry (Boxer's Requiem)
6. Feed the Machine by Red (Benjamin)
7. Hymn for the Missing by Red (The Slaughter)
8. Reclusion by Anberlin (Napoleon)
Depraved- This is the scene at the beginning when all the animals gather together in the barn for a meeting. Major begins talking to them, telling them of his dream. He begins by telling them what he has learned of life. The animals on the farm are worked all their lives with only enough of the necessities to continue living. I think the album cover that goes with this song (the first picture on the video) fits remarkably well because it is a horse falling over onto its side. This is a creature that has been beaten down. The song begins by asking 'Are you depraved? Or are you deceived?" These animals at the farm have been deceived into thinking that they must labor under the rule of humans and that humans control the world. Major tells the animals that the humans aren't needed to run the farm and it is time for the animals to start standing up for themselves. Fittingly, the song continues on to say "You're not a slave, so get off your knees." This is the beginning of the uprising that becomes the rebellion. Fittingly, the words "don't feel chained up" are repeated over and over again in the background of the song.
The Resistance- This song is all about the rebellion. I see it as the animals addressing Jones. The animals have finally taken all they can from Jones and now find it the perfect time to stand up to Jones. "Speak for yourself, you paper tigers, too late to make demands, when you've got a riot on your hands." The humans have been at the top of the food chain, always ruling the animals, but in truth, the animals are much more powerful than the humans. When the rebellion begins, the humans cannot stand against the animals. "A new united front that you will come to fear." When the animals all stand together, there is no stopping them. There is nothing Jones, or any of the other humans, can do to fight back when the animals finally decide to revolt. "We will hold together to become the change." Once the animals have decided to take matters into their own hands, they are able to completely change the order of things on the farm. The rebellion actually takes only a short amount of time in the book, so I think it is fitting that it only gets a single song. The last straw that breaks the camel's back is put in place when Jones forgets to feed them, the animals break out. When Jones tries to take control, the animals chase him off the farm. And it is over.
The Big Rock Candy Mountains- Every time Moses the raven mentioned Sugarcandy Mountain, I couldn't help but hear the Candy Mountain song from Charlie the Unicorn. I decided I had to put that song in my list, but while searching for it on youtube, I came across this one and decided it fit better. Moses was always going on about a place where there would be no work. It would be a perfect place with enough food for everyone and there would be no humans. I also decided that if fits with the animals dream of making a utopia. After the rebellion, everything should be perfect because they no longer have humans ordering them around. They dream of a place where they are the masters and where everything they do is for their own benefit. This song may not exactly be the animals' idea of a utopia, except for the barn full of hay, but it is someone's idea of a utopia. It is a place of perfection where everything is in perfect balance.
Let it Burn- In this song, I picture Clover right after the executions when she is looking out over the farm and thinking about how beautiful it looks and how life should have been after the rebellion, where every animal did what they could and everyone worked together, the strong protecting the weak. She thinks of what life on the farm has become and realizes, "it was not for this that she and the other animals had hoped and toiled." I see this as a song that she sings inside, without really realizing it. She is beginning to realize that Napoleon isn't what he pretends to be and that he isn't on their side any longer. He wants their paradise to crumble so that he can pick up the pieces and make it his own. She realizes that Napoleon is going to let all that they have worked for and dreamed of burn down. He will just stand by and let it burn. As the animals' dreams "like ashes float away," Napoleon will stay silent, playing his game. "A lesson never learned, only violence." Animals weren't supposed to be slaughtered on Animal Farm. Things were supposed to be peaceful, yet now there has been a horrible slaughter. Animal farm has faced its first show of violence within itself, and Clover is secretly asking Napoleon, "Will you just let it all burn down?"
All Day- I really thought that I needed a tribute to Boxer so I searched for songs about work and found this one. Boxer worked his life away. He had his motto 'I will work harder' and he stuck to it. Even after he split his hoof, he kept on working because that was what he believed in. When he could work no more, Napoleon, as the 'man in charge' had him taken away so he wouldn't be a problem or be using up the resources. Boxer deserves some credit for following his principles, even though it caused him to work himself to death. As the song says, "He worked hard, and he lived hard, and he breaks his back without nothing to gain." Boxer did more work than any of the other animals. Whenever something went wrong, he would put in even more hours until it was fixed again. Animal Farm would never have been as successful as it was without Boxer. Without him, the windmill would never have been finished. And when he is unable to work any longer, what does Napoleon do? He sends him away to be killed for glue. Boxer was a noble character who deserved recognition. He always gave 100% and never asked for anything in return. All he hoped for was a nice life on a nice farm where all animals were equal. He never got to see that and all his efforts went to waste.
Feed the Machine- This is Benjamin showing his scorn for what the other animals have been doing. Benjamin never followed the rebellion and now that Boxer is gone, he has no one to live for any more. He has always done just his work and will always do exactly the same, no matter who is master. He is able to see what has been going on the whole time and knows that the animals are just doing exactly what they have always been doing, which is working as slaves for some master. When Boxer is going to be slaughtered, he wants them to finally realize what is going on, but that doesn't happen. The other animals just do what they're told and Benjamin kind of scorns them for this, since it resulted in Boxer being able to be taken away. As the song says, "you never disappoint them." The animals just do what they are told, never questioning it. They "fall in line" and "live the lie." They want to believe in what they are doing so they accept what lies they are told. "Give up and feed the machine." The animals won't question Napoleon so they continue to "feed the machine" of letting one animal rule above them and they just become slaves again, just to a different master.
Hymn for the Missing- I wanted a song to go with the slaughter of all the animals convicted of treason. I believe this song fits because it can be from those who had to watch the slaughter of their friends. Watching this made them lose heart and they could no longer stand up against another master. Even when they believed things weren't quite right, they could do nothing because they would be killed. In trying to keep the songs going in order of the book, this one should be earlier in the list, but this song is also for all of the original characters who fought for the rebellion and are dead by the end of the book, never getting to see their utopia, which never ended up happening. Those who are left lost the comrades who shared their dreams of a better life for animals. This song could even fit with the loss of that dream. All that they worked for is gone. Things have actually become worse than when it started. Pretty much, this song is for everything that the animals lost under Napoleon, which is why I placed it near the end of the list.
Reclusion- This I see as going back and forth between Napoleon and the animals. The verses are Napoleon saying how horrible he is, even though he doesn't really care that he's a monster. The chorus is the animals, who have now realized that he has just become another Jones, telling him that he is 'sick'. He lied to them the whole time and became what they were trying to avoid. This is the conclusion of the book, where Napoleon has pretty much become a human and the animals finally notice, but they can't really do anything about it. " Sins like skeletons are so very hard to hide." Now that they've seen him with the humans, they realize what has happened, what Napoleon has done to their dreams. Napoleon has now won and the rest of the animals are left in an even worse position than when they had Jones as a master. They have finally lost all hope of ever realizing their dream.
Utopia
What is a utopia? This is 'an ideal place or state' or 'any visionary system of political or social perfection' (dictionary.com). Pretty much, it's a place where everyone is equal, everyone does their share of the work within their own abilities, and everyone gets along. In essence, a perfect world.
So why is it impossible to achieve a utopia? You would think that if everyone just tried to get along and do their share of the work, it could be obtained, but it just can't be done. There are some aspects of human nature that just won't allow for a utopia to come about.
To be frank, humans are greedy and power-hungry. We always seem to want more and what we can't have. Generally, we want more power than others so that we can make the decisions and they will have to listen. Humans want to prove their dominance so they strive to achieve power and greatness that will set them apart. This completely goes against the idea of a utopia where everyone is equal. While some of us may be able to deal with not being better than anyone else, there will always be those who just have to be better and this ruins the utopia.
Another reason we can't achieve a utopia is that there will never be a time where everyone gets along with everyone else and accepts all people as they are. There will always be people who just aren't compatible. Everyone has people that they get along with from the start and others who they just can't stand to even be in the same room with them. Everyone's personality is different and no one can get along with everyone. We all have our own faults and there is someone out there who will hate you for yours. We judge others before we even get to know them, and then we continue to judge them even after we know their circumstances. Even if those circumstances aren't their fault, we judge them because we believe they could have made different decisions. This is just another part of human nature that ruins our dream for a perfect world.
Will there ever be any chance of our world achieving a utopia? I don't believe so. No matter how well we may raise our kids to be open-minded and accepting of others, ther will always be those pieces of human nature that will make themselves known. The only way to make sure that ever child is taught in the exact same way so that there won't be differences in ideas that could cause tension would be to restrict freedom of thought and expression. That in itself would ruin our utopia because who can call a world where everyone is exactly the same, with no creativity or freedoms, a paradise? That would be a place where everyone is just another person and there would be no true point in living. So, no, I don't believe we will ever be able to achieve a utopia because it just doesn't fit with who we are as humans.
So why is it impossible to achieve a utopia? You would think that if everyone just tried to get along and do their share of the work, it could be obtained, but it just can't be done. There are some aspects of human nature that just won't allow for a utopia to come about.
To be frank, humans are greedy and power-hungry. We always seem to want more and what we can't have. Generally, we want more power than others so that we can make the decisions and they will have to listen. Humans want to prove their dominance so they strive to achieve power and greatness that will set them apart. This completely goes against the idea of a utopia where everyone is equal. While some of us may be able to deal with not being better than anyone else, there will always be those who just have to be better and this ruins the utopia.
Another reason we can't achieve a utopia is that there will never be a time where everyone gets along with everyone else and accepts all people as they are. There will always be people who just aren't compatible. Everyone has people that they get along with from the start and others who they just can't stand to even be in the same room with them. Everyone's personality is different and no one can get along with everyone. We all have our own faults and there is someone out there who will hate you for yours. We judge others before we even get to know them, and then we continue to judge them even after we know their circumstances. Even if those circumstances aren't their fault, we judge them because we believe they could have made different decisions. This is just another part of human nature that ruins our dream for a perfect world.
Will there ever be any chance of our world achieving a utopia? I don't believe so. No matter how well we may raise our kids to be open-minded and accepting of others, ther will always be those pieces of human nature that will make themselves known. The only way to make sure that ever child is taught in the exact same way so that there won't be differences in ideas that could cause tension would be to restrict freedom of thought and expression. That in itself would ruin our utopia because who can call a world where everyone is exactly the same, with no creativity or freedoms, a paradise? That would be a place where everyone is just another person and there would be no true point in living. So, no, I don't believe we will ever be able to achieve a utopia because it just doesn't fit with who we are as humans.
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