Annihilation Blog 1L Beginning of The En d

When I was first introduced to this novel, one which I have honestly never heard of before, I immediately found myself in the comfortable position of having a surrounding background of knowledge that should be able to guide me through, utilizing certain tropes and conventions. While I may have never intentionally gone out of my way to read a work of fiction in this genre, thriller or science fiction, I have consumed massive amounts of media that have familiarized me enough with the expectations and values of the genre such that I feel well prepared to tackle the undoubtedly thick layers of Annihilation.  I am well  aware that the covers of different print books will differ greatly, but the basic premise combined with the artwork depicting a beautiful yet menacing plant on the forefront is what really drew me in. In such a manner, knowing that the genre is science fiction, and can be seen as a sort of thriller, I sought comfort in my childhood memories of Little Shop of Horrors. Much like the carnivorous plant from Little Shop of Horrors, perhaps the “great evil” did not start off as such a horrendous creature, but was through our nurturing as a species that the monster came to be. The everlasting theme of the survival of the fittest finally shone through. Perhaps it would be a tale that begins with man’s best intentions, looking to further our own well-being while making advancements that could very well benefit the world at large with agricultural industrialization, but my fore-knowledge of the genre made me much more prepared to read for subtle allegories, cautionary tales, and the like.

 

The book begins with four scientists, all of whom remain unnamed, crossing the border to a mysterious and condemned area known only as “Area X”. The name alone sounds intimidating enough, but the fact that every single other expedition team before the current one has gone missing is the real kicker here. How and why did these previous search teams vanish? Who knows, but it’s questions like this, and being in an element of the deep, dark, unknown of a world we still barely understand, that give this novel an element of thriller and, perhaps, even vibes of horror. After all, the reader may not feel incredibly connected to any of the protagonists in particular at this point in the story, but we are still able to connect with them as human beings and as cogs in the machine in which we are all expected to play our specific roles in. If nothing else, we are able to empathize with the protagonists by the specific role, or function, that they have been given in the machine before the events of the novel even took place. Specifically, we are dealing with the surveyor, anthropologist, biologist, and a psychologist. The psychologist is perhaps the most interesting wrench thrown into the story here. We come to learn as readers that it is specifically her job to subdue the rest of the crew via hypnosis whenever deemed necessary. Adding a crack further to this dynamic is that the biologist soon discovers that unknown spores she may have ingested could make her immune to this hypnosis, leading for an explosion of drama and excitement that honestly makes me not want to put this book down. That’s all we get, so far because, due to the unique way in which this particular novel was written, the paperback novel is actually meant to be a sort of collection of field journals.

Overall, it is my belief that the two most dominating controlling values for Annihilation is the never ending struggle between two opposing ideologies: should human beings use every means at their disposal to better their own lives, even at the risk of permanently changing the environment, or should we be satisfied enough in the state of technology and advancement we have now as to not risk permanent negative effects with onward pushes? The environment of Area X seems to exemplify the struggle between these values. The biologist notes a strange sound that is heard every night coming from a distance:

“All you heard was the low moaning. The effect of this cannot be understood without being there. The beauty of it cannot be understood, either, and when you see the beauty in desolation it changes something inside of you. Desolation tries to colonize you.” (Pg. 5-6)

This example illustrates the point perfectly.  For one of the sets of controlling values within the confines of this narrative, the innate desire of man to innovate. That is to say, if is it perhaps better for human beings to accept their blessings as they are to an extent, living themselves happily and comfortably in the world that they have come to know, or if the risk of pushing the boundaries for something new, and potentially far greater, would be worth the inherent risk.

Does our meddling, for all of the technological wonders and boons that it brings, ultimately lead to our downfall. The howling almost seems to call out as if nature is giving the humans a warning. This has been a longstanding fear of the human race since the day that our species was first successfully able to ignite flame. Does the flame itself harm? Possibly, yes indeed it can, but so long as it is handled correctly, the capacity to be able to wield fire brings a near-endless supply of benefits to human society. In such a case, using technology to harness the power of nature for our own benefit can and should definitely be seen as a positive thing, and as such, an example of its corresponding controlling value winning out, at least temporarily. In addition, the idea of “desolation tries to colonize you” implies nature is fighting back. That in our downfall, nature will be the one to control us, not us controlling nature.

On the other hand, what if the future depicted in Annihilation is anything but the dystopian future with possibilities of dangerous outliers that we, the readers, were first meant to believe? Early on in the book, It is clear from the very first few pages of the novel that the narrator has several misgivings about trusting the government in general, let alone the people whom she is to lead this expedition with. For example, when they first cross the border into Area X, they are informed that the psychologist must put them under a sort of hypnosis to protect them, and prevent their minds from tricking them, because “apparently hallucinations were common. At least, this is what they told us. I no longer can be sure it was the truth.” Furthermore, the exact role of the psychologist in such a limited pool of available scientists for the expeditions, combined with her description of “An imperceptible smile on her lips as she watched us struggle to adjust” (10) is evidence of far more than simple foreshadowing.

When it is revealed that the government sets up these expeditions in part to serve as a sort of distraction for the people, steering their attention away from the real issues plaguing their society. This is not stated outright, at least not so far in the novel, but the author herself makes mention of the fact that for her part, “it hardly mattered what lies I told myself because my existence back in the world had become at least as empty as Area X. With nothing left to anchor me, I needed to be here” (12) The fact that this narrator, intelligent and successful as she should be by modern standards, would feel the need to embark on such a journey along with so many others on his expedition speaks volumes about what the Southern Reach, the clandestine government agency, has set up for the world surrounding them. These explorers embark on this journey not only for a sense of freedom from that desolation they are already accustomed to, but also the possibility of freedom from a clandestine government that, as has been suggested through the text and inclusion of hypnotic psychologists, is just another illusion of freedom to keep the populace satiated.

It is here where the defining lines between the two dominating controlling values becomes clear: Following strict order and sacrificing freedom, perhaps even individuality and freedom in the sake of forward progress, or reverting back to our more instinctual bonds and values, becoming one with nature once again, even if it means that we must sacrifice some of those progressions and innovations?

However, this is not always the case and fears of what the other end of the spectrum, those who believe we should leave nature as intended, have been saying such for years. From films such as The Terminator, to simple documentaries such as An Inconvenient Truth, examples abound and prove why such a genre needs to exist in order to tackle such prominent, relevant issues. The fact that the current expedition of the novel is the 12th unsuccessful venture speaks to some of our former controlling values discussed in Cat’s Cradle (hyperlink).  In Cat’s Cradle seeking out the truth in the first place in inherently risky, because the the search of exactly how and why things went so very wrong at area X in the first place puts not only the char

acters of the story, but slso the reader, at area X puts the individuals at risk due to the potential uncomfortable truth lying beneath the surface. From the premise alone, it seems as though Annihilation, much like Cat’s Cradle, serves as a sort of cautionary tale to warn us against some sort of dire future at the cost of or repeating mistakes in our own lives, playing off both the elements of science fiction and satire.As discussed with the elements and necessity of satire and science fiction, both of these genres have a need to exist that is driven by the way in which human beings react to our civilization, and the world at large.

Much like most recurring issues that serve to spawn the works of science fiction and satire alike, our early look at this novel could perhaps point towards very relevant environmental issues concerning the way in which we treat our environment. Also, how our continued technological impacts could serve to further impact that increasingly fragile relationship. There is not only an ever increasing need for innovation and control, but also the need for control over other human beings. The first example, demonstrating a failing control over the environment itself, can be seen in the overgrown nature of Area X itself, while the latter could be evidently seen in the prominent use of hypnosis as a means to directly control the thoughts and actions of the people. In this way, with the controlling values were to be established as sort of a “back to nature/let people do as they choose” vs “controlling the people in the name of the greater good.” Then the scene where the team uncovers the writing on the wall, “Where lies the strangling fruit,” followed by the action of swallowing spores that would seemingly make one  immune to hypnosis, demonstrates a slight victory, or at least a push towards the first direction of nature. In the coming chapters from the biologist, we will have to see which side wins out.

1. The characters themselves representing different segments of this dystopian society. (Entire story told through the perspective of the biologist, so possible bias there)
2. Numerous hints that the psychologists has some sort of ulterior motives and is there for the purpose of control. The expedition is given as an illusion of freedom, but the psychologist is there to keep things in check.
3. This could introduce yet another controlling value of whether or not true freedom is even possible in such an organized and advanced society, particularly in a post-apocalyptic setting. Even “the expendables”, those sent on these trips with a 100% death record must be closely monitored by the clandestine government.
4. The fact that the author, along with her comrades, seem fully cognizant of these facts shows just how little hope that there is left in the world, and leads to a question which could pose ass another controlling value. Is it better to take the risk, to leave one’s entire life behind for the sake of just a glimmer at some sort of higher truth, or to suffer in the monotony of a future that had already, presumably, been predetermined for them back home?
5. Connected to this, it becomes evident very early on that, at least the narrator, has little to no actual faith in the government or expedition in general, as can be seen in the observation that they had been told to “return to wait ‘extraction’…no one ever explained what the form of extraction might take 11) After all… what did happen to the other expeditions? Were they truly missing, killed off some unfortunate series of events, or was it their own employers that simply decided they learned just a bit too much more about the outside world than they should have?  by some unfortunate series of incidents, or, rather, could it be because the government itself was the one willing to silence those who eventually learned “too much”. One of the first quotes in this novel is another example of the psychologist (arguably the assistant most closely related to the government for purposes of control) who asks, “Does anyone yet have even an inking of a sensation of wanting to leave?” Now, considering her abilities, via hypnosis, the message within this statement is extremely clear
6. As a last example of this distrust towards the clandestine government, and another argument either for or against some form of higher control.

                                  

Cat’s Cradle: Living by the foma.

As a reader of Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut we are interpellated, or asked to play a certain readerly role before the story even begins. The prologue craftily welcomes us with the statement, “Nothing in this book is true.” This challenges its readers to decide whether they will in fact leave their beliefs behind and submit to the text, living by the foma, or “harmless untruths” of Bokononism (prologue).

On page 1, we are introduced to the narrator who invites his readers to call him Jonah although his birth name is John. My belief is that he is referred to as Jonah modeled after the Prophet  who is sent by God to prophesy the destruction of Nineveh. In a way, Jonah is beckoning his audience to heed his warning in questioning their beliefs before it is too late. If the reader chooses to believe him, they will survive and have life through him.

Image Credit

According to James Seitz, we must “attend to the relationships that readers create between themselves and the emerging possibilities which they anticipate in the text” (148). In other words, in order to understand the rhetorical dimensions of the text we must predict the ways in which an addressee may react to the text. By examining the rhetorical dimension, we see that Jonah as the narrator is specifically addressing someone. Who could this addressee be? By presenting the book as lies, we know that the addressee is encouraged to question everything that is presented. Which heavily aligns with our network of controlling values that we created in Blog 1 (Link). Numerous times throughout the text we are introduced to characters who go about life without questioning things. For instance, on Page 25 Jonah, the bartender, and a young woman named Sandra are discussing how Dr. Hoenikker was the guest speaker at her commencement.

    He said science was going to discover the basic secret of life someday,” the bartender put in. He scratched his head and frowned. The conversation continues with the bartender stating that he read in the paper that scientists had finally worked out the answer.

“I missed that,” I murmured.

“I saw that,” said Sandra. “About two days ago.”

“That’s right,” said the bartender.

“What is the secret of life?” I asked.

“I forget,” said Sandra.

“Protein,” the bartender declared. “They found out something about protein.”

“Yeah.” said Sandra, “That’s it.”

The bartender and Sandra do not seem to question this answer even though it seems very odd. What about protein could make it the basic secret of life? If it is the great truth, then what does it mean? This reaction is making a statement about how many times we are told things in life, especially from those who hold the position of power, and we just accept them as the truth.

In conclusion the addressee that Jonah is addressing is the reader who believes everything they are told to be the truth. The narrator is almost reminding the addressee to live life for the chase of the answer and not finding the answer itself. If the answer to the great truth was truly revealed, then the search for the answer would end. Just as my group leader Laura points out that “the ruler of San Lorenzo can never get Bokonon because that would end the hunt for Bokonon.”

As a reader being introduced to this new type of religion that is based on lies, our typical way of thinking gets disturbed. It forces us to question everything that we are told and not just accept it as the truth. Also by witnessing the interaction between the narrator and addressee unfolding in front of you, you realize how believing a harmless lie could be more beneficial than facing the hard truth.

 

Cover photo image link

GIFs from Giphy.com

 

 

Religion: Truth and Lies

I took Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut to be an exaggerated tale about religion and the culture that surrounds it. Told through the lense of a born again Bokononist, the story follows a convoluted spiral to the end of days, so to speak. The book left me scratching my head thinking why.

“[T]he son of a bitch had a piece of ice-nine with him – in a thermos jug” (83).

Barthes argues that there are five codes that describe the intertextuality of a writerly text. The codes help the reader to understand the interruptions they may have missed upon a mimetic, linear reading. By stopping and revisiting Cat’s Cradle in segments, the writerly text, and the use of the codes, allows readers to find connections to the cultural frame the text exists in.

“No damn cat, and no damn cradle” (166).

The island of San Lorenzo acts as a contained Symbolic Code that reinforces the dominant cultural codes of the time. One of the main ones being the fight between science and religion, or some form of truth and lies. There are poor islanders, cruel and rich rulers, and an oppositional religion that everyone believes in (but openly denounces). These many cultural dynamics are as old as people, and are as important today as they were when the book was written. The beauty of Cat’s Cradle is that it is self-conscious and draws attention to its Symbolic Codes. Even the cruel leader “Papa” is a devout Bokononist, demanding on his deathbed to be given last rites; “I am a member of the Bokononist faith,” “Papa” wheezed. “Get out, you stinking Christian” (218).

This comes right after “Papa” demands that Jonah kill Bokonon saying, “He teaches the people lies and lies and lies” (218). Having read Philip Castle’s book on San Lorenzo, Jonah knows that the Bokonon religion is built on lies and opposition between the city and the jungle. Yet still Jonah says, “I was not eager to kill anyone” (218). This symbolic code between the oppressive government and something to believe in is what kept the San Lorenzo people going. Their secret belief in Bokononism made life on the terrible island tolerable. Bokonon continually preached; “‘Live by the foma that makes you brave and kind and healthy and happy.’ The Books of Bokonon. I: 5” (epigraph).

Yet in the end these foma (harmless untruths) lead the survivors on San Lorenzo to commit suicide. How can the foma then be harmless? How can commiting sucide make “you brave and kind and healthy and happy”? I feel that the lies of Bokononism had become dangerous by this point. They no longer served their purpose in creating a utopia as I thought Johnson and McCabe had desired.

“Maturity,” Bokonon tells us, “is bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter can be said to remedy anything” (198).

The use of religion to create happiness in this text bothers me. Instead of actually increasing the standard of living on San Lorenzo, Bokonon created a religion to relieve the people of their suffering. Yet they still suffered, and in a negative turn of events some even died on the hook for their beliefs. Vonnegut laid bare centuries of turmoil due to poor living conditions and mixed religious teachings in such a way that it was comical, and outrageous. He wrote the symbolic code as if he was explaining it to the reader, rather than only existing within it. He called attention to the frame his narrative lived in, creating an interruption to the mimetic experience of the readerly text, yet somehow still creating a mimetic experience. By creating a false religion that was aware of its lies, the reader is forced to look at their own religion (which is taught as truth) and question how truthful it really is.

“I took my hands from the wheel for an instant to show him how empty of symbols they were” (285).

I think, like Campbell’s argument in Impacts of Science on Myth, the literal interpretation of Bokononism gets in the way of the spiritual impact it can have on people. In the end the dominant cultural code prevails. People have died for both science and religion and will continue to do so until ice-nine destroys the world, and in most cases even after that too. In the end religion killed the people and science killed the world. What is left for us to believe in?

Cat’s Cradle Blog 2: Form and Genre

Cat’s Cradle proves to be an extremely complex work of fiction that manages to shed light on real, relevant social issues in a way that is entertaining, and even humorous to the reader, despite the issues that are brought to light being potentially uncomfortable to think about. While it can be argued that Cat’s Cradle falls into several different genres, due to both its unique style and execution, the aforementioned characteristic primarily points towards the genre and conventions of satire. Satire exists for this very reason, to use humor and entertainment to either insight some sort of change, or at least bring the audience to further think about and investigate societal issues that might otherwise go unattended to. One of the primary sets of controlling values that we identified in blog 1, the idea of either seeking the truth at the risk of one’s own happiness and/or comfort, and living in the comfort of a lie while accepting that it is in fact a lie, speaks as to why this genre needs to exist in the first place. Many people may be tempted to ignore issues for the sake of complacency and comfort, but satire serves as a way to effectively trick this target demographic to see through to the other side, and perhaps allow them to see the truth without sacrificing their comfort or happiness.

Aside from this element of satire, Cat’s Cradle relies heavily on the conventions of science fiction, such as a futuristic setting relative to the time period the book was produced, and the invention of new technologies, lexicon, and organizations. Science fiction is a genre that combines extremely well with the elements of satire for the very reason that science fiction exists in the first place, exploring “what if” scenarios and satisfying the innate human element of curiosity/innovation.

The conventions of both satire and science fiction is one form used in Cat’s Cradle, but another form found in the book is the qualitative progressive form. As Burke discusses in his Lexicon Rhetorica, qualitative progressive form is “the presence of one quality prepares us for the introduction of another” (125). One example would be foreshadowing, but the form calls for more than one insistance. In Cat’s Cradle, Jonah sets up a qualitative progressive form when he introduces us to the idea of his Karass (the network of people your life becomes tangled with in order to complete the tasks God meant for you). Jonah tells the reader that his karass “includes the three children of Dr. Felix Hoenikker” (6). By doing so, Jonah is establishing a mood of anticipation. The reader knows that Jonah will be tangled up with the Hoenikker children (Newt, Angela, and Frank) and they are constantly waiting for the moment where the convergence of these characters finally happen. Jonah repeatedly has close, but not full, encounters with the Hoenikker children, like Newt writing Jonah a letter or people in Ilium talking about them, which build the anticipation. Then finally when they meet on a plane ride by chance, Jonah goes to talk to them, and the reader feels a sense of completion or satisfaction. That mood would not be possible if the reader had not been placed in a state of anticipation before. Newt even happens to be drinking champagne, making the meeting feel like a celebration.

But then, Jonah says “The little son of a bitch had a crystal of ice-nine in a thermos in his luggage” (111). Oh yeah, nothing is actually resolved because  world ending ice-nine substance Jonah also warned us about is still out in the world, which Jonah on the plane doesn’t know about, and the karass hasn’t actually done anything they are suppose to. So in a sentence the reader gone from that fleeting sense of resolution back to anticipation. The qualitative progressive form created by the repeated idea of the karass takes the reader through the spectrum of anticipation and resolution. But there is another spectrum created of being given answers and then asking questions. For example, Jonah  gives us an answer in the previous quote, “The little son of a bitch had a crystal of ice-nine in a thermos in his luggage.” Repeatedly Jonah tells the reader that the Hoenikker children have ice-nine. The answer to the mystery of where is Dr. Hoenikker deadliest weapon is already given to us, but because the answer leads the reader to ask more questions. What are the Hoenikkers going to do with it? How will Jonah discover they have it? Will someone release it upon the world? The qualitative progressive form is taking the reader along the spectrum that the genre of satire wants the reader to take–to question. Satire wants to make us think, often about issues that we do not wish to. By giving the reader some of the answers, the qualitative progressive form in Cat’s Cradle is preparing the reader to ask the questions they might not have wanted to ask.

While the narrator is searching for his own truth, so is the reader. In this way, the narrator is almost meant to be a stand-in for the average reader, or target demographic for which the form is directed at. Not only does this make the narrator immediately relatable in an emotional sense for the reader, but it also means that the reader is inherently thrown into the struggle between the opposing controlling values along with the narrator. Considering the discussed intention of satire, to introduce potentially unsuspecting readers to potentially uncomfortable ideas or situations in the hopes of inciting some sort of cultural change or recognition of an issue, this means that the form serves to accomplish the goal of the genre and specific novel very well.

By Jordan

Cat’s Cradle Blog 1

 

       

         Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut  is a difficult book to explain to a person who hasn’t read it. There are so many turns and seemingly irrational plot points and deeply hidden themes that the whole story itself could be portrayed as a physical cat’s cradle.  

 

 

         What I can say is that the book follows a man who likes to call himself Jonah (whose original name was John). He tells us his failed attempt at writing an account about what important Americans were doing when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. We see him gather information from various eccentric characters, all interlocked with one another. And while all this is happening, Jonah is explaining how he was led to becoming a devout member of a religion known as Bokononism, in which all things that are told as truths are actually shameless lies.

 

         So what could this all mean?

 

         This was difficult for me to come up with because the story is “all over the place”.

 

         But then again, this is what I am reading for. I knew what I was getting myself into when I chose this book. I had already read Kurt Vonnegut’s  Slaughterhouse-Five, so I expected this story to be satirical and confusing. And those expectations have been met so far. It only raises my curiosity, and I am intrigued in learning about the meaning of Cat’s Cradle’s Story.

 

        I decided to refer to the writings of  Robert McKee, a writing expert we have read about a lot in class. One quote really stuck out to me-“A well-told story neither expresses the clockwork reasonings of a thesis nor vents raging  inchoate emotions. It triumphs. In the marriage of the rational with the irrational.”

 

        The best way to find the rational in the irrational is to come up with a network of controlling values.

 

        In every story, there is a controlling idea- the idea that is the most prominent. Every controlling idea has two parts- purpose and context. The purpose is the reasoning for the controlling idea, and the context is the reasoning for the purpose. For every controlling idea, there is a counter controlling idea, which is the former’s complete opposite. The counter idea has its own purpose and context that help to have it make sense and be understandable.

       Here’s a visual example of a network of controlling values for The Matrix:

 

         So, this is one network my group came up with from the first thirty-five chapters of Cat’s Cradle:

 

          By questioning everything, you may discover your own truths; not questioning anything will lead to ignorance and believing lies. However, being ignorant can save you from discovering hard truths; looking for truth will lead you to uncover things that will be hard to deal with.

 

         To highlight this network, I wanted to focus on this one situation from the book, when Jonah asked Marvin Breed, the owner of Avram Breed and Sons, a tombstone establishment, who paid for a particular tombstone with an angel on it. (Page 72-73)

“There’s already a name on it- on the pedestal.”

“It was never called for?” I wanted to know.

“It was never paid for…. This German immigrant…his wife…died of smallpox here in Ilium. So he ordered this angel to be put up over her…..”

“But he never came back?” I asked.

“Nope.” Marvin Breed nudged some boughs aside…There was a last name written there. “There’s a screwy name for you,” he said. “If that immigrant had any descendants, I expect they Americanized the name. They’re probably Jones or Black or Thompson now.”

“There you’re wrong,” I murmured

           …….

“You know some people by that name?”

“Yes.”

The name was my last name,too.

 

Purpose- By questioning everything, you may discover your own truths.

      Jonah, in the pursuit of finding out who had ordered the tombstone, discovered that it was his own last name written on it. This may mean that his story was always meant to be intertwined with the Hoenikker family. The German Immigrant (who may be Jonah’s ancestor), bought the tombstone from Marvin Breed’s great-grandfather. Marvin Breed is the brother of Doctor Asa Breed,  who loved Emily Hoenikker, the deceased matriarch of the family Jonah is learning about. Maybe it was his destiny to go interview them?

     Anyways, the  Immigrant couldn’t pay, but said that he would be back to pay for it and pick it up when he could. He never came back, and wasn’t part of any conversations until Jonah arrived (maybe saying that he is the descendent meant to return to pick up the tombstone).

 

      Interestingly enough, Jonah Experienced his first vin-dit around this time, a Bokononist word meaning a “sudden, very personal shove in the direction of Bokononism, in the direction of believing that God Almighty” has some elaborate plans for him. Again, this hints that Jonah was always destined to go to the town of  Iliad to meet with the Hoenikker children. Jonah says early in the book that those three children were surely included in his Karass, which Bokononists believe is a team that does God’s Will without ever discovering what it is doing.

 

Context-  Not questioning anything leads to ignorance and believing lies.

      If Jonah had never questioned Marvin Breed about the Immigrant and the tombstone, he would have just assumed that it was a personal tombstone for the Breeds themselves (which is why they refuse to sell it). He would have been ignorant to the fact that he had a possible connection with the Hoenikker family. He would have never experienced his first vin-dit, which had lead him to the path of becoming a full-on Bokononist. If he wasn’t into the religion, his whole story which he is telling us, would have played out, and been interpreted completely differently. Maybe all the events that he tells us about won’t be shameless lies anymore. Maybe we could have learned the real truth.

 

Purpose- Being ignorant can save you from uncovering hard truths.

       If Jonah had chosen not to ask questions (which wouldn’t make sense since he is interviewing people for his book), he wouldn’t have learned that he was personally tied to the story of the Hoenikkers (meaning that he could keep himself at a comfortable space from them; he doesn’t have to worry much about them).

       If he had chosen not to ask questions, Jonah  would not have been thrust into Bokononism, radically altering how he views life, and getting rid of his Christian faith.

 

Context- In the pursuit of discovering truth you may uncover things that are hard to deal with.

       Whether he liked it or not, Jonah, through asking the questions, had to deal with the fact that he was connected to the Hoenikker family. He might not enjoy their presence, but he will still be drawn to them.

       And when the actual vin-dit happens, it wasn’t exactly pleasant for Jonah:

 

“There you’re wrong,” I murmured.

The room seemed to tip, and its walls and ceiling and floor were transformed momentarily into the mouth of many tunnels- tunnels leading in all directions through time. I had a Bokononist vision of the unity in every second of all time and all wandering mankind, all wandering womankind, all wandering children.

“There you’re wrong,” I said when the vision was gone.

 

        The experience shakes him, and he can barely speak after it. Learning this possible truth was a bombshell for Jonah.

 

          Here is a value graph- a way to show the battle between the controlling idea (+) and the counter controlling idea (-) in a specific scene  (page 23):

Every class, he explained, got to pick distinctive colors colors for itself in its junior year, and then it got to wear those colors with pride.

(+)   “What colors did you pick?” I asked. *Jonah is questioning this hoping to find out some valuable information about Franklin Hoenikker, the second of the three children*

      “Orange and black.” * This is a straight answer that won’t change the graph*

(+)   “Those are good colors.” * The original controlling idea is still ruling; this is Jonah seeing how the bartender will respond*

       “ I thought so.” *I don’t see this affecting the graph*

(+)   “ Was Franklin Hoenikker on the Class Council Committee, too?”

(-)    “He wasn’t on anything,” said Sandra scornfully. (-) “He never got on any committee, never played any game, never took any girl out. I don’t think he even talked to a girl. We used to call him Secret Agent X-9.” * Sandra believes this and is ignorant of Franklin true self. She only knows him through what was observed/rumored of him. The graph is doing a  major descent*

(+)   “X-9?” *small positive*

(-)    “You know-he was always acting like he was on his way between two secret places; couldn’t ever talk to anybody.” * Minor descent because Sandra is not giving much thought on the matter*

(+)   “ Maybe he really did have a very rich secret life,” I suggested. *Rising, because this curiosity will eventually lead to truth*

(-)    “Nah.” *Descending again*

(-)   “Nah,” sneered the bartender. “He was just one of those kids who made model airplanes and jerked off all the time.” *not even considering Jonah’s words. Sharp descent*

 

      At the end of this scene, the counter controlling value won out.

 

To close out this blog, I urge you to consider that another network of controlling values might work better for the rest of the story.  In my experience, there have been a few times where the initial network evolved into something different over the course of the narrative. Of course, keep this current network in the front of your mind as you read,  “plugging in” story beats to see if it still works. Story-wise, I think Jonah will continue to ask questions and experience vin-dits, finding out more about his connection to this whole narrative.

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Don’t Put That Fish in My Ear

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Blog 4

An agreement is struck every time I pick up a book. I am saying that I will try to read the text as it was meant to be read, and if I fail in this agreement I won’t enjoy the text as much as I could. This is me accepting my readerly role. I made this agreement when I picked up The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (THGTTG), I said I would try to be this narrator’s addressee.

Following what I just said, there are two roles present in every book, right? The narrator and the addressee. But, during our discussions in class we looked deeper and said there are actually three roles present in every text, the narrator, the addressee, and the reader reading the narrator address the addressee.

 

“I like the cover,” he said. “‘Don’t Panic.’ It’s the first helpful or intelligent thing anybody’s said to me all day” (47).

To peel apart each of these roles in THGTTG, we first have to look back to our previous discussion on the book’s dominant Network of Controlling Values. As unique human beings we bring to the text our own dominant network of controlling values that may run counter to the ones my group and I found in THGTTG, as James Seitz argues “Readers who are unable, for whatever reasons, to assume the values of the implied author will find the text less satisfactory than they would otherwise” (142). (In this example the implied author is our narrator). In other words, readers who can not step into the role of the addressee and experience the text with this assumed set of controlling values, the reader will not have an enjoyable experience with the text. To enjoy a text, such as THGTTG, a reader must submit to the dominant controlling values and try to read the text for what it is, not what we want it to be. In Blog 1 we decided as a group that the values were as follows:

 

Controlling Values

Context:  If you are reluctant to adapt to the changing world, you will not survive.

Purpose: If you adapt to the changing world around you, you will survive.

Opposing Controlling Values

Purpose: If you stick to your comfort zone, you stay true to yourself.

Context: If you step out of your comfort zone, you may go against your values.

Moving forward using these values we must ask ourselves some key questions. What kind of narrator would believe these values, what kind of addressee would believe these values, and what kind of reader would I have to become to believe these values?

In Blog 3 Jordan Coughlin wrote, “maybe there is some greater force at play that wants/needs Arthur and his comrades to update the THGTTG and accomplish all that they do along the way.” Meaning, could the narrator be some higher, more advanced being, telling the ridiculous story of Arthur Dent and company to “a roving researcher for that wholly remarkable book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” (12) in hopes that the guide be updated to better serve its hitchhikers trying “to see the Marvels of the Universe for less than thirty Altairian dollars a day” (12)? Or could the narrator be an old, humorous hitchhiker that succumbed to the many pitfalls of an outdated guide and the addressee a captive guide researcher?

The reader would then need to fill the role of the addressee, who would most likely be eating up the ridiculous, improbable story of Arthur, with every aside being a possible new entry in the guide.

But what sort of values would this reading imply the reader adopt? Would it be the values my group and I found, or a different set? As Seitz pointed out, “rather, we ‘try on’ readings, envision the text through the eyes of various masks, all the while attempting to forecast what it proposes, ‘what it all adds up to’” (152). In other words, with this mask of old hitchhiker and guide researcher, the reader would want to know what it all means by reading with this frame, and would it end with a fulfilling culmination of events or the number 42? To this addressee, it wouldn’t matter. All they would want would be more information for the guide, the more outrageous and colorful the better.

I think that the narrator is actually something more, advanced. It plays its role of third-person omniscient with a kind of finesse that imbues it with a sense of character and personality. It also addresses certain events as if it has a large readership. At one point it says “Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was Oh no, not again. Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the Universe than we do now” (121). Many people have speculated it said, implying that somehow many people have knowledge of this event in the same way the reader has knowledge of it. Also, curiously enough, who thinks it’s curious? Here the narrator acts as its own character with opinions on the events of the story.

I suspect that the narrator is a newer, inuitiver, version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Also, I like to believe that, like the Earth, it was designed by the one that came before it. I can almost feel the words, “A [guide] whose merest operational parameters I am not worthy to calculate – and yet I will design it for you,” (163) in a voice similar to our narrator on the last page of the old guide. Why else would the narrator feel it important to fill the story with so many asides that feel like guide updates?

On pages 19 and 20 in our updated guide there is a comparative entry discussing alcohol which ends with, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy sells rather better than the Encyclopedia Galactia” (20). Note the italics in the quote. The whole section is in italics while talking about the two books, except for the book’s titles. To me this is the new Guide talking about how it’s better than the other book. This self-awareness is like Marvin’s prototype mind. To me, it’s almost like Marvin is a system that comes before this new kind of Guide.

To further this idea, I think this new type of Guide is improbable, like the Improbability Drive. Why would the guide have such a detailed story of a homeless Earthling? Well, it’s a huge improbability, that is also somehow helpful. Arthur’s story surrounds:

[T]he Answer!”

“The Answer?” said Deep Thought. “The Answer to what?”

“Life!” urged Fook.

“The Universe!” said Lunkwill.

“Everything!” they said in chorus, (152).

And also:

“The Ultimate Question?” (162).

The Ultimate Answer turning out to be less helpful than the Ultimate Question would have been but, I think that the stories ultimate usefulness may not yet be apparent to the reader. But it will be, when most improbable.

So, if the narrator is the new guide, who could be the addressee. Is the addressee a hitchhiker, new to jaunting through the galaxy, or, could they be an experienced vet reacquainting themselves with the Guide? Whoever they are specifically, I believe them to be someone who wants more knowledge about the vast universe, someone who stuck out their thumb while lying in the mud, and this new Guide appeared to them, towel included, ready to show them the galaxy.

So what does this mean for us, the fabled reader of the narrator addressing the addressee? The improbability of the whole story is what seems to win out in the end, and Arthur is left, homeless and adrift, but never alone. I think that we are like Arthur, swept up on this wacky, nonsensical journey. We can give ourselves over to the zany events because it is so far removed from daily life. No government official would lie in the mud in the place of someone else just because he’s already committed to waiting around all day, no one would seriously take poetry as a form of punishment (it would be a discomfort at most), and no one would really believe that mice are the most intelligent interdimensional beings on the planet. We can either take a fish in the ear and hear what’s being said, or be deaf. The story drags the reader along because it is so out there, hitchhiking among the stars.

 

Not yet!

 

 

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Blog 3

As stated on the website, we are introduced to different cultural and textual codes within the text. The primary code, and perhaps the most prominant which we will focus on for this blog entry, is known as the symbolic code. This code: “Generates unresolvable oppositions (what are called “antitheses”) that structure a given conflict, and ultimately reinforce dominant cultural codes (controlling values), for instance, between male and female subjects, between those who “know” and those who are ignorant, between those who suffer and those who inflict suffering, the rich and the poor, the clever and the stupid, the simple and the complex, the rule followers and the renegades, the responsible ones and the neer-do-wells, the cops and the robbers, etc.”

Throughout THGTTG the reader is introduced to the eternal conflict between multiple sets of controlling values, one of which is the conflict of things happening by chance, leaving all those in the universe at the mercy of pure coincidence, and the idea that there is some predetermined path for all to follow, with some sort of greater scheme laid out for the future of the universe at large.

The idea that the earth is being destroyed to make way for a bypass, along with the fact that Arthur’s house was being bulldozed for similar reasons

The fact that, in the infinite, vast nature of space, Arthur always seems to be in the right place at the right time in order to be rescued, against all odds. An example of this is when Arthur is ejected from the Vogon ship only to be rescued, and the fact that they were even able to escape the Earth’s destruction at all by hitchhiking onto the ship. The insane coincidence is discussed by Trillian and Zaphod after they pick Arthur and Ford up in space:

“Anyway,” said Trillian, turning her back to the controls, “I didn’t pick them up.”

“What do you mean? Who picked them up then?”

“The ship did.”

“Huh?”

“The ship did. All by itself.”

“Huh?”

“While we were in Improbability Drive.”

“But that’s incredible.”

“No Zaphod. Just very very improbable.” (Douglas 90).

The conversation between Trillian and Zaphod demonstrates the conflict between what seems like coincidence and what seems like a planned event. On one hand, Trillian is saying it is “very very improbable” and even turns away from the controls to as if to say she had no control in the situation. It was pure coincidence. The example could also be viewed from the point of that all things in the universe are predetermined to some extent, rather than being chaotic. Zaphod is confused that there was no one acting, repeating “Huh?” because it is mind boggling to him that no one was in control. His first reaction is “Who picked them up then” because there is always a “who.” As a reader, we are also going “Huh?” We are taught that in stories, everything happens for a reason or that the protagonist is following his fate or that someone off screen is helping him. Even though Trillian says it’s improbable, the phrase “The ship did. All by itself” implies that the ship had the control, even though as an inanimate object it doesn’t. Humans strive to believe that something is in control and that there is an order to things. And maybe there is some greater force at play that wants/needs Arthur and his comrades to update the HHGTTG and accomplish all that they do along the way. But maybe it is also just an improbable coincidence that Arthur and Ford got rescued again.No matter what, the values of order and chaos are struggling against each other, as demonstrated by this symbolic code.

Aside from the aforementioned controlling values, THHGTTG also introduces a conflict between the ways in which people react to what is happening in the universe, along with their general tendencies to embrace either the chaotic nature that they perceive, or follow the orderly, planned values established by their cultures.

The earliest example of this is established in the meeting between Ford and Mr. Prosser. Mr. Prosser firmly represents those who adhere strictly to the molds and regulations set by their society, believing the universe to be a fairly orderly place with laws that must be followed, even if they don’t make all that much sense, and even if they might be inconvenient or unpleasant for some. Ford, on the other hand, represents those who embrace and support the more chaotic nature of the universe at large, moving with the flow as they perceive it, and adapting to whatever situation presents itself without a second thought, or even the slightest hint of a need to cling to a sense of order, or a strict set of rules.

Early on in the book, for the most part, the chaotic nature of the universe appears to be the controlling value which prevails, as is seen with the destruction of the planet earth and Mr. Prosser, who would never think of leaving the earth and the comfort of his orderly rules, and the continued success of Arthur and his comrades through sheer luck and happenstance.

An excellent example of this conflict between the opposing controlling values represented by Prosser and Arthur can be found on page 13 of THHGTTG, where it states that Mr. Prosser finally “realized that he was substantially the loser after all, it was as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders: this was more like the world as he knew it.” This quote clearly demonstrates how Mr. Prosser clings to his sense of order and complacency within firmly established roles in society to such a degree that, even in instances where he comes out as the loser, he is still satisfied simply because it is in line with his values and self-worth.

Overall, the appearance and usage of the symbolic code within THHGTTG serves to strengthen the narrative by adding an interesting dynamic to the setting, and the scenario at large; a scenario that, at first glance, may seem like a relatively simple take at British humor with a setting in outer space. On the contrary, the dynamic offered by the opposition of the controling values within the narrative force the reader to question their own significance in a universe that is not only vast beyond human comprehension, but can also sometimes seem to be unfeeling, and uncaring when it comes to the daily life of a single individual.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide Blog 2

              In the first blog, it was mentioned that our group came up with a network of controlling values for the book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:

Purpose: If you adapt to the changing world around you, you will survive.

Context: If you are reluctant to adapt to the changing world, you will not survive.

Purpose: If you stick to your comfort zone, you stay true to yourself.

Context: If you step out of your comfort zone, you may go against your values.

 

               It is a way to look at the main ideas of the narrative as it progresses.

 

               But sometimes it is also good to look at other smaller ideas embedded within the text. This is a method called close reading.

 

Jane Gallop, in her text, “The Ethics of Reading: Close Encounters”, says that, “Close Reading pays attention to elements in the text which, although marginal, are nonetheless emphatic, prominent- elements in the text which out to be quietly subordinate to the main idea, but which textually call attention to themselves.”

                I re-read closely the first fourteen chapters of the book, and just as Gallop said, noticed underlying elements.

                To explain these elements, there are five

               different forms to choose from:

 

1) syllogistic progressive form

2) qualitative progressive form

3) repetitive form

4) conventional form

5) minor or incidental forms

                   The two

                    that I want to focus on are Minor or Incidental Forms, and Repetitive form.

                   Minor or Incidental Forms deal with tropes and figures of speech and thought. The main genre of Hitchhiker’s is Science Fiction, and the main trope used throughout, is satire, which is defined by dictionary.com as,

            “the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.” 

                 

 

              The specific type of satire in the book is what I like to call the Absurdity of Folly- the quality of being wildly unreasonable and lacking good sense.

 

 

       In the context of the book, a lot of it involves characters mindlessly applying rules. Here are two prominent examples:

•       When the demolition crew came to demolish Arthur’s house to make way for a bypass, he tells Mr.Prosser (the head of the crew) that he hasn’t been notified about it.

        Mr Prosser says, “But Mr. Dent, the plans have been available in the local planning office for the last nine months.” (page 8)

       These plans have been  up for nine months, but they never took the time to inform Arthur when it was relevant. Now that it is time for the house to be demolished, Arthur can’t do much to stop it. It was unreasonable.

• When the Vogons come to destroy Earth to make way for an express route and announce it to the human race, everyone on the planet panics.

         The Vogons inform them that, “…All the planning charts and demolition orders have been on display in your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for fifty of your Earth years, so you’ve had plenty of time to lodge any formal complaint…” (page 35)

         Just like the last example, it was unreasonable for the Vogons to think that humans would be able to create far-reaching space  technology and be able to find the plans in the fifty years that they were up.

         

 

         If you noticed, these two examples have a lot in common, which is where the Repetitive Form, which is the “consistent maintaining of a principle under new guises”, comes in.

In these first fourteen chapters, quite a few things repeat:

• The Earth getting demolished to make way for an express route is just like Arthur’s house getting demolished by the deconstruction crew to make way for a bypass.  The “victims” find out last minute, and the “demolishers” claim to have posted a notice sometime before ( not bothering to actually inform the “victims” in person).
• What would the book be without some hitchhiking? When the Earth is destroyed, Ford and Arthur hitchhike onto the Vogon ship.  After they listen to Vogon poetry, they are jettisoned into space, and hitchhike onto the Heart of Gold ship. Each of these events happen right before the two men are about to die.
• The idea of coincidence could also be considered a recurring form. It is a coincidence that Arthur befriends Ford. It is a coincidence that Arthur and Ford are able to be picked up by the Vogon ship at the moment the Earth was destroyed. It was a coincidence that the the Heart of Gold picked up the duo just as they were about to die in the vacuum of space. All of this was highly improbable, and yet they all happened nonetheless (especially the guys being able to hitchhike onto the second ship while it had its very quick Improbability Drive working to travel long distances in a short amount of time.  

          Another example, which is stated to be coincidence is, “Zaphod Beeblebrox was on his way from the tiny spaceport on Easter Island ( the name was an entirely meaningless coincidence..) to the Heart of Gold Island, which by another meaningless coincidence was named France” (page 37).

 

       

             

              These are only a couple of examples from the book highlighting the two forms that I chose to talk about. There are many more examples sprinkled throughout the book, making it a fun experience to find them all. And while I only focused on two forms, the other three forms can also be found if by close-reading the text.

So Don’t Panic, and Keep On Close-Reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

All GIFs are from giphy.com

URLs:
https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh-W8QDVA9s

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https://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/hitchhikers/images/e/e1/Guide.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/160?cb=20080505045130

 

 

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Grab your copy of The Hitchhiker’s guide and your towel. We have some galaxy hitchhiking to do.

What if Earth was voted so insignificant by other planets that is was decidedly to be destroyed to make way for a bypass?

via GIPHY

Arthur Dent’s morning is just like any other or so he thinks. His life takes a strange turn when he learns that his house will be demolished for a new bypass, his best friend is an alien, oh.. And did I mention? All he ever loved including his planet Earth will be destroyed. Within hours he finds himself stowed away on a Vogon’s spaceship. To make matters worse the Vogons are, according to the hitchhikers guide, the most unpleasant race in the Galaxy. With any hopes of survival he will need to stick close to his alien friend Ford Prefect and The Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy to survive this changing world.

Our Journey through space has just begun and I cannot wait to see where it take us. Let the adventure begin!

Oh, and Don’t forget your towel!

“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s a sort of electronic book. It tells you everything you need to know about anything. That’s it’s job (P.52).”

Before reading this book, I was having major anxiety that I would not be able to understand this particular genre. I have never actually read a science fiction book so I was not sure what to expect. I decided it was best if I pushed past my reluctance and dove in blindly by just accepting the text as it was. A few times throughout the text, however, I found myself projecting what I thought the text was trying to say. Being aware of this bad habit of guessing what the author is trying to achieve, helps me to stop and refocus on letting the story be told as it is. In the end, I hope to be able to understand the conventions of the science fiction genre.

I treated the first section of the book as a basis of reading for discovering the underlying network of controlling values. This is a skill that I am still developing, so this approach is really pushing me further out of my comfort zone. (Kind of like Arthur being thrusted out of the comfort of his planet and into the unknown galaxy.)

My group members and I had the opportunity to discuss possible controlling and counter ideas that are evident in this book. Here is the chart we created:

After class, I was able to play around a bit with this information and expand on it a bit. I am curious to see if this network of controlling values will still ring true in the end.

Purpose: If you adapt to the changing world around you, you will survive.

Context:  If you are reluctant to adapt to the changing world, you will not survive.

Purpose: If you stick to your comfort zone, you stay true to yourself.

Context: If you step out of your comfort zone, you may go against your values.

We were able to come up with this network of controlling ideas but referring to McKee’s definition of Controlling idea.

According to Mckee, “ A CONTROLLING IDEA may be expressed in a single sentence describing how and why life undergoes change from one condition of existence at the beginning to another at the end (McKee 115.)”

We see this “change in existence” in the text as Arthur is forced to leave behind all he has ever known when his planet is destroyed. He is now faced with the decision to either adapt to his new environment or to stay true to his ways. We see an example of this n the text:

“You just come along with me and have a good time. The Galaxy’s a fun place. You’ll need to have this fish in your ear.”

“I beg your pardon?” asked Arthur, rather politely he thought (P.55)”

We see that Arthur is struggling between deciding whether he should adapt or resist.

I predict that by the end of the book we will see a progression in Arthur’s personality. I believe he will go from someone who is used to going through life not questioning much to stepping out of his comfort zone.

Value Graph: (Chapter 5 p. 45-56)

+ Arthur learns that they are on a Vogon’s  Spaceship

– Arthur asks when he can go home and learns that Earth has been destroyed.

+Arthur joins Ford on the mattress to see the Hitchhiker’s guide.

-Arthur panics and begins to freak out

+Ford tells Arthur to look at the book and stop panicking.

-Ford asks him to join him and have fun in the Galaxy. Arthur is reluctant.

-Ford tells him to put a  fish in his ear in order to understand the Vogon’s speech but Arthur is still reluctant.

+Ford shoves the fish in Arthur’s ear. At first Arthur tried to take it out but then he stopped resisting and started listening to the Vogons.

GIFs from Giphy.com