Henry Ford's contributions to the manufacturing world are still used and talked about today. In this article, the author discusses Henry Ford's early life, inventions, and even how those specific inventions have affected our world today. After reading the article, I learned more about his invention of the assembly line. It has made our process of manufacturing and society today much more efficient and easier to use. He also invented the "Model T" which was one of the first cars of our time. No wonder that the people of Brave New World referred to him as their God. The article, "The Life of Henry Ford", states the known facts during Henry Ford's most successful time. It shows all of his background information and the history around his time, so I would definitely consider the article to be very reliable. It was also was helpful, in that it helped me fully understand the book and the reason behind making Henry Ford a very important leader figure in the novel. The connections I made between the article and Brave New World were mostly about his importance. Henry Ford was probably considered a very important character in the book because of his contributions to the assembly line, and in the novel the reproduction system used most of the same ideas and processes that his invention had started. They thought of him as "God" for his help in creating their "Utopian" society.
Black, By Edwin. "The Horrifying American Roots of Nazi Eugenics." History News Network. 24 Nov. 2003. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.
The article, "The Horrifying American Roots of Nazi Eugenics", explains the the idea of creating the perfect child that swept the world during Hitler's reign. He believed that all children and infants should be white, blond-haired, and blue-eyed. And with the use of scientific research, they could genetically mold and create this type of child so that all would be equal. The article discusses the roots of eugenics, the study of methods improving genetic quality by selective breeding, why having these appearances were so important during this time. The topic of eugenics for me however is that it is pointless, and that people should be happy with what they are blessed with. After reading this source, it seemed to me to be more of an opinion. But Edwin Black's use of historical facts further explains in detail the reasoning behind Hitler's decisions. His thinking broadened my perspective and it also gave me more of an understanding of the real meaning of Eugenics. In relation to Brave New World, the article shows the "assembly line reproduction" that is discussed in the novel. In Brave New World, the community had a set place for everyone, and everyone was the same. During Hitler's time, all the wanted was for them to have the completely perfect society, and to achieve this they had to have total control. Do you think that genetically changing a child's DNA just to fit another persons wants is right?
"Indian Reservations." Spartacus Educational - Home Page. Web. 11 Oct. 2010.
After reading the novel, and researching different topics, one topic that I was particularly interested in was Indian Reservations. I wanted to learn more about where they started and for what reason they were such a big part of history. I located an article about Indian Reservations that briefly stated the whereabouts of these strange locations. Apparently, the invention of reservations mainly began in the 1920's with Andrew Jackson who was the first political leader to suggest an area of land specifically for Indian use. "Indian Reservations" describes the push and pull of emotional and political arguments that occurred over the years before deciding on the final policy of a "reservation." Many Indian tribes were involved in the decisions of the reservation. They all had specific details that they wanted to be carried out, and so it made it difficult to come to a compromise. I read this article after finishing the novel. I wanted more insight into the background of a reservation. My evaluation of this article is that it was very helpful in my understanding of the topic that I was willing to research. It was very similar to my research about Eugenics, and it made me realize a deeper meaning in the book.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction - InfoFacts - NIDA." Understanding Drug Abuse. June-July 2004. Web. 11 Oct. 2010.
My final article that I researched that was in relation to Brave New World was about the topic of drug addiction. It discusses the reasons and the scientific reason behind drug addiction. Contrary to popular belief, drug addiction is a disease and not just a "social problem." Drug abuse and addiction are a major burden to society, and have seriously affected our future as we know it. The part of the article that I found most interesting however is the reasons why some people get addicted while others do not. This article was very helpful, in that it not only explained the mental state of drug abuse, but it also described the medical and scientific reasoning behind it. Other readers of this article should take note that it is important to understand all of the facts of a topic and not start immediately jumping to conclusions. The connection made between the "Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction" article and the novel, Brave New World, is the discussion of soma. In the book, soma is a drug that everyone in the society takes to get rid of all unhappy or horrible feelings. They take it whenever they feel like it. Is this not just another form of drug addiction, even though it is making you happy?
Observing, By. "Utopia and Dystopia." Scuola "S. Cannizzaro" Web. 10 Oct. 2010.
Quin Shuo's article, Utopia and Dystopia, gives the true definitions of the words and relates it back to the novel 1984. The definition of Utopia "describes an imaginary world in which it is effective to the social justice and the rules and principles are underlined that guarantee it." And the polar opposite of the that, a Dystopia, is "an indefinite world in which the contradictions brings to a pessimistic vision of the future." The author of this article explains what to look for in a book that contains the topic of Utopia vs. Dystopia. He shows the main points that each type of society has, and how it connects to the other. However, it is not only a recent high point in modern discussions, these types conversations and writing styles have been occurring for centuries, even since Plato. If I had to explain this article to another reader, I would describe how the two society's differ so much, but are still connected in novels in some way. Taking into consideration the overall picture of this assignment, this article gave me more insight into the meaning and definitions of Utopia and Dystopia. Since it related more to the fictional novel part of the topic, I didn't really learn too much about how it connects to our world now. Unlike the previous source, this article helped my own personal understanding instead of the modern day meaning of it. However, this article helped me make great connections to the novel, Brave New World. In the novel, the society of Brave New World is considered to be Utopic, while the Reservation is considered to be the Dystopia. But after finishing the novel, the two worlds were almost synonymous with each other.
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