All the Troubles of the World

Title: All the Troubles of the World
Author: Isaac Asimov




Biography

Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia, in 1920, however his family immigrated to the United States when he was just 3 years old. Asimov taught himself how to read before his first year of school and soon began to read science fiction pulp magazines. At the age of eleven he was writing his own stories, and at the age of nineteen he had started to sell them to science fiction magazines. Upon finishing high school, Asimov went to Columbia University where he studied chemistry and received his Master’s degree. He then worked for the U.S. Naval Air Experimental Station during the last three years of the war and eventually received his draft notice at the end of the war in 1945. He served for 8 months and 26 days as a corporal. A few years after his return he received his PhD in biochemistry. He was then hired as an associate professor of biochemistry at Boston University School of Medecine, however, he did not enjoy the research very much and focused much of his time on writing.

During his lifetime, Asimov authored nearly 500 books, including his famous collection of short robot stories titled “I, Robot” and his “Foundation” trilogy. Asimov kept writing until his death in 1992.

Symbol

If we allow our decisions and thoughts to be decided by someone or something else, we will slowly lose our own ability to think for ourselves and eventually become as useful to society as a mindless zombie who has no mouth. This symbolizes the direction the human race could have gone if they kept allowing Multivac to control everything which they do.

Response

2. What evidence from the story tells you that Ben and the other characters see Multivac as a kind of god? What effect does their view have on the story's ending?

Ben and the other characters have complete faith in Multivac, the thought of questioning the super-computer’s answers not even crossing their minds. When Joe Manners is placed under house arrest none of his own family dare say that Multivac has made a mistake. They have grown up knowing that Multivac is always right; just as one is raised to know that their god always holds the correct answer. Because nearly all the characters pour their complete faith into Multivac’s intelligence, as the readers we start to feel Multivac is nearly a god in this futuristic world. Suddenly when we learn of Multivac’s want to be a mortal and die, it catches us off guard and sticks with us.

3. What does the ending suggest about the ability of technology to bring about a perfect world?

 It suggests that technology is unable to bring about a perfect world. I agree that we should not and will not ever be able to fully rely on technology to provide us with all the answers of how to live our lives and run the world. For a computer to make conclusions on how humans operate in economics and society and ultimately find answers to how the world should be operated, it would have to understand human emotions. In order to understand these emotions it would most likely have to be able to feel these emotions to some extent. If a computer felt emotions it would most likely be or would become aware of its presence, which is often deemed as the test if something is truly a sentient, conscious being. Although, this would be an incredible feat, it would be likely the computer being would start to have its own wants, just as Multivac did, and this would conflict with its performance. On the other hand, if you restrained the computer from gaining consciousness, it would likely not be able to predict the things the conscious computer could. Therefore, there is no way of fully relying on technology for our answers; we will not be able to create anything more complex than ourselves.

4. Would you like to live in a society in which there was a computer such as Multivac? How might it help/hinder the progress of society? Discuss.

I would not like to live in a society where there is a super-computer such as Multivac because it takes away people’s ability to think for themselves, understand why things happen, and how to fix those things that are not wanted to happen. It is similar to how absolute faith in a god can cause people to not worry over why things happen or how to solve them because they know/believe that their god will take care of all problems for them as long as they remain faithful. A super-computer such as Multivac would most likely help society very much when concerning stopping crime, discovering new things in science, and running economies and politics. However, the super-computer would very much hinder the development of the human mind, faith in ourselves, and our abilities to work with one another, instead of working with computers. If the super-computer should ever fail, we would be stuck, our minds used to having logic fed to us, and we would have likely forgotten what we can do on our own. If we decided we need not rely on such computers, and continued to educate ourselves and work together, I believe we would get much farther in regards to gaining more knowledge and building a stronger safer society.

5. What do you believe the world of 2100 will be like? Write your response, using evidence from the future planning of today to support your ideas. Share your description with others.

I believe the world of 2100 will still have too much of our faith invested in technology. Instead of simply reducing our carbon emissions, our governments and corporations will have tried to develop technologies to capture the carbon and compensate for what we have been producing. We will be reactive rather than proactive. We will still be buried in our luxuries so deep that we won’t see the growing deserts which surround us and instead of making drastic changes to the way we live, we will adapt to the new climates with our technology. If it starts to get too hot, we will develop technologies to keep us cool. If the sea level rises, we will use technology to build us higher. If our resources decline, we will find a way to synthesize them. This is the way our world appears to be going. Our world leaders are non-committal to any carbon cutbacks, and if we stay on this path we will be well on our way to making the future a perfect match to the prediction in the past few sentences. 

Critical Thinking

i) Why do you think the author wrote the text?

I think the author wrote this story to remind people that complete faith in one being is dangerous. No living being is perfect, and therefore if we lay our full trust in one being, we may find ourselves blindly following one of its mistakes and this could cost us dearly. In the story “All the Troubles of the World,” nearly all of society has blind faith in Multivac, the supercomputer which runs the world’s economy, justice system, and many other things. Multivac, however, develops emotions, which impede its performance. With all the burdens of humanity on its “shoulders,” it gets tired and wants to die. Because the humans have complete faith in this super-being, they do not question its orders, and nearly aid the computer in its attempted suicide.

ii) What does the author want you to think?

The author wants us to think, because it is dangerous to have complete faith in one being, we should put more responsibility in the hands of everyone, and realize that together, with 6 billion brains contributing to ideas, we will be better than any super-computer possible.

iii) Do you belong to any of the groups in the text?

 I belong to the group of nearly everyone in the story. This group includes nearly, if not, every character, because all of them put their full trust into Multi-vac and do not know how it operates, or really what it is. Similarly, most things which I use in my life I do not understand how or why they work however, I trust my life with and base my life off of most of them. For example, I do not understand how my computer works, why most of the math equations I use work, how the car which drives me to places I need to go works, or even how my own body works. Hopefully as I gain more experiences and have more time to learn in my life, I will understand some of these things better, however, for now I must say that I am about as knowledgeable on most things in my life as most people (in the story and in real life) are about super-computers.

iv) Does the story remind you of a real-life event (your own or others)?

The story reminds me of how many people, put a large amount of faith in one media station to provide them with all their news. For example, many people receive all their national and international news from FOX News. Although FOX may cover some good stories, they are not perfect and could (and do) give misleading stories. When FOX does make a mistake, the people who rely on FOX for all their current information, will be misinformed and they could live the rest of their lives bathing in false information.

v) Does the story remind you of another book or movie on a similar topic?

They story reminds me of a novel called “A Wrinkle in Time.” This novel, similarly to “All the Troubles of the World,” has a super-computer run the whole society, however, the super-computer, in this case, purposely controls people and forces the people to have complete faith in it. Although the computer in “A Wrinkle in Time” was nearly the exact opposite of the super computer in “All the Troubles of the World,” the stories still remind me of each other because in both stories the computers develop human-like emotions and, as a result, their actions are ones that are very-human like. We know humans are capable of being kind and trying to help each other, and we know humans can be greedy and go to extreme measures for power. The computers from the stories each display one of these characteristics, and therefore, I feel because of their emotion, they are very human-like and are not much, if at all, more advanced than humans.

vi) How does the story help you think about social issues and social justice?

The story helps me think about many people’s lack of desire to question what does not make sense to them. Nearly all the characters in this story have complete faith and trust in the super-computer, Multi-vac, and they have come to believe that Multi-vac is a flawless, perfect being. Therefore, the characters do whatever Multi-vac instructs them, knowing that Multi-vac will not fail them. This reminds me of how many people in the real world follow the instructions of their religion or the news from their main media sources without question. Most of the time, there is no negative effects of blind faith in religion or the media, because most religions have very good principles and the media usually gives accurate information. However, since nothing/no being is perfect, there will always be flaws in things, and this includes religions, the media, and super-computers. If people blindly follow anything or anyone, they are bound to get caught up or lost in one of these flaws and it could end up costing them dearly, like it nearly did to Ben Manners in the story, “All the Troubles of the World.”

vii) What action might you take from what you have learned?

I will try to continue to improve on always questioning things which I do not understand, and questioning people whose ideas I do not understand. I realize that there are times that certain questions which might be floating through my head may not always be appropriate, but nevertheless, I will try to find the times which are, and question as much as I can.

viii) What big question has this text left you with?

How much of what I know, can I lay my full trust in?

North End Faust

Title: North End Faust
Author: Ed Kleiman


Biography

Born in 1932, Ed Kleiman grew up in the North End of Winnipeg. Later, he went to school at the University of Manitoba and received his Bachelor of Arts there. Six years later he received his Master’s Degree from the University of Toronto. He then returned to Winnipeg, where he worked as a lecturer and associate professor in the English department at the University of Manitoba. In his time working at the University, he wrote two books of short stories, the first one, “The Immortals,” was published in 1980 and his second, published in 1988, “A New Found Ecstasy”. After his retirement in 1996, Kleiman published his third book “The World Beaters.”

Symbol

A Formula 1 car can do extraordinary things on its own, however it still occasionally needs humans to help it rebuild some of its strength and give it a break from all the stress it’s been under. This human aid for the car symbolizes what Alex, the protagonist of the story, needed, however failed to receive.

Response

1. How early in life does Alex become a loner? What event(s) lead him to make that choice? For what other reasons might someone become a loner?

Alex starts to enjoy the ease of deeper thought, through isolation, when he is a child. His brother traps him in a closet, and after the initial shock of feeling trapped, Alex realizes he enjoys the feeling of being separated from the world and being able to focus on his thoughts. As he continues to do this, he finds he gains strength and is able to get through nearly all his problems by sitting down and analyzing his difficulties all on his lonesome. He also realizes he can tap into nearly a false world, which he creates, when he finds himself in isolation. Eventually he finds himself dependent on these moments of isolation, and this leads him to becoming a “loner.” Another reason someone might become a “loner,” is if they find social situations very difficult, they may isolate themselves because they find this easier and they, for the time being, enjoy doing this more than trying to socialize.

4. What are some similarities and differences in the characters of Miss Hancock (“The Metaphor”) and Alex? How are their experiences similar/different? Write a sentence that summarizes the central idea or theme for both “North End Faust” and “The Metaphor.”

Miss Hancock and Alex are both very passionate about their jobs and it is likely that their jobs are their passion. They both don’t have any obvious strong social ties to another human being; Alex has his wife, however, she does not seem like someone he feels he can bring any of his problems to. Both Miss Hancock and Alex seem to keep their emotions very internal, and don’t share them with others very often. A difference between the two characters is that Miss Hancock seems like she is able to be very social, and, although the novel does not specifically mention a lack of social skills from Alex, the impression I received from the story is he was not the most socially talented.

Alex and Miss Hancock both have very successful careers, and then, for their respective reasons, something in their jobs change and they both do not cope with the change very well. However, their experiences are different because I feel that the reader could tell Alex was consistently bordering on the edge of what seemed like slight psychosis throughout the whole story, whereas, it appeared Miss Hancock’s depression only begun once she moved from teaching junior high school to senior high school. I think the theme for both “North End Faust” and “The Metaphor” could be: Usually, people cannot make it out of the toughest times in their lives by themselves.

5. Why do you think the author wrote the story? What implications might the story have for someone who wants to be a scientist?

I think the author wrote the story to stress the importance of other humans in our lives and how our brains need to interact with other brains to maintain a certain level of sanity. I also feel that the author might have written this story because of an experience that he had or witnessed someone else have, which partially paralleled the story. The story might imply to someone who aspires to become a scientist that he or she should do the thinking and calculating inside their head, but not the experimenting. If you are not prepared to ask someone else to have an experiment conducted on them because you feel it would be either dangerous or harmful in any way, you probably shouldn’t conduct the experiment on yourself either.

6. Debate the morality of experiments that use human guinea pigs in the name of scientific advancement.

I think the morality of experiments that use human guinea pigs in the name of scientific advancement are perfectly fine, as long as the test has been thoroughly researched and all possible consequences have been stated to the “guinea pig.” In many cases, it is a possibility that by putting one person at risk through an experiment, many lives may be saved, lengthened, or improved. Therefore, as long as the one being experimented on is aware of the risks, they are doing it to help others, and therefore they should be praised and allowed to carry through with their courageous act.

Critical Thinking 

i) Why do you think the author wrote the text?

I think the author wrote the text because he wanted to remind his readers that we are social animals and that, although we occasionally may find it difficult to interact with one another, at certain points in our lives we need other human beings. In the story, Alex, for all his life, has solved all his problems on his own and has therefore rarely (if ever) needed to discuss his difficulties with anyone else. However, during the story, he is dealing with one of his most difficult problems yet and because he is not used to the idea of solving the problem with the aid of another person, it seems the idea simply does not come to his head. Also, because Alex has never spoken to anyone about the vivid images he can create in his mind, these images start to well up inside him because he is not sure what to do with or think of them. At the end of the story, I believe, with the large amount of stress he is under and him desperately wanting a solution, the images all burst out at once and he does not restrain from them taking over his mind and this leads to his death.

ii) What does the author want you to think?

The author wants us to think of how we might benefit from talking to others about our problems, instead of letting them sit and grow inside of us. Do we have any problems right now that we could talk to someone about? Or even, is there anyone else that might need someone to talk to their problems about?

iii) Do you belong to any of the groups in the text?

I belong to Alex’s group. I also find my problems very easy to solve when I can sit somewhere quiet, and think for at least 30 minutes on end. Furthermore, I similarly enjoy the feeling of isolation, and being able to sift through all my thoughts and feelings, delving deeper into them and trying to gain an understanding of why I am feeling one way or thinking of someone in a certain way. I would not be surprised if many people also enjoy this feeling of isolation, to a certain point, however, some people may not realize it because it is very difficult to find a free hour or so in which to solely concentrate on one’s thoughts.

iv) Does the story remind you of a real-life event (your own or others)?

This story reminds me of what is a common thing to do when unhappy, you think of pleasant times or a thought that make you feel good. In the story, Alex has been finding himself in a troubled time of his life for quite a while, and he has been coping with this by thinking of a fictional place he has created in his mind. However, because Alex had been troubled for so long, he had spent so much time in his fictional place that he started to find it nearly more realistic than his real life. Unlike most people when doing this, Alex starts to get confused between the good times and fictional places he imagines, and reality. Although most people do not find themselves meddling between the borders of reality and the dream world, it does make you wonder how much warning we get before our brains begin slipping into that grey area.

v) Does the story remind you of another book or movie on a similar topic?

The story reminds me of a movie, which I have not actually seen, however heard enough about to understand the basic plot. In the movie “A Beautiful Mind,” John Forbes is a mathematic genius but suffers from hallucinations. He is able to solve the most complex codes, however, he is not able to realize he is slowly dipping into the world of psychosis and only with the help of others is he able to conquer these imaginary characters. In the story “North End Faust,” Alex is able to solve nearly all his problems, but does not realize the fine line he is walking between sanity and insanity. Since he does not tell anyone about his problem, nobody is able to help him and his insanity ends up conquering him. Although the endings of the two stories are different, they remind me of each other because both characters have a similar need for the help of other human beings, even though they are both very intelligent people.

vi) How does the story help you think about social issues and social justice?

The story helps me think of the importance of education and social services (which ties into the social issue of taxation cutbacks). If people were informed of the signs of psychosis and knew there was somewhere or someone they could go to talk about their concerns, for example a social service, it would be likely that, if the service was set up in the proper way, there would be less people who would be unaware of their mental illness, resulting in less people without treatment. Looking into the future, this would also most likely cost the government less (at least in countries with public healthcare) because, if people’s mental illnesses were caught early, it would be less likely they would have to move into costly institutions.

vii) What action might you take from what you have learned?

I will try to seek advice from others more often when I have a problem, because this will not only relieve some of my stress, but also help me make the best decision. I have not done this much before because I am usually too self-conscious over what people will think of my problem, because in the grand scheme of things it usually is a very small one. Nevertheless, I will still try to begin to share some of the problems I struggle to solve on my own.

viii) What big question has this text left you with?

Is there a distinct line between sanity and insanity?

The Possibility of Evil

Title: The Possibility of Evil
Author: Shirley Jackson


Biography

Shirley Jackson was born in San Francisco, in 1916. She attended Rochester University briefly, but eventually ended up receiving her Bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University. While attending Syracuse, she worked for the school newspaper, The Spectre, and this is where she met her future-husband. They moved to an area near Rochester, and this home is where she based two of her novels, both which tell, in a very humorous way, of the experiences she has had being a mother and a wife. Jackson’s biggest work was and is the story “The Lottery.” Although she received lots of criticism for it, the story was the one that brought her to the attention of many readers and it was a major success. Unfortunately, Jackson did not lead a very healthy lifestyle and died at the age of 49. However, she was still able to inspire other writers such as Richard Matheson, Neil Gaiman, Nigel Kneale, and Stephen King.

Symbol

In this story the main character, Miss Strangeworth, is similar to a dirty mop, her intentions are good but she just makes matters worse.

Response:

1. What is Miss Strangeworth trying to accomplish be sending out her letters? Does she succeed?

Miss Strangeworth is trying to create a world as perfect as her own. Whenever she finds a wrinkle in her life she irons it out immediately, and this is what she is trying to help everyone else do with their lives too. She does not succeed because she does not realize that not everyone operates the same way as she does. Miss Strangeworth likes to know of anything that could possibly go wrong, and thinks everyone else would like to know these things too. She also does not realize that these “possible evils” just worry most other people and cause conflict instead of satisfying them, like it does for her. She fails to recognize that accusation and suspicion stirs more evil than it prevents. She is also not able to compute that people need to be allowed to make mistakes, or else they’d only ever learn from other’s experiences and never their own.

2. How would you describe the story’s atmosphere at the beginning? How does this atmosphere help to emphasize the ending?

The atmosphere at the beginning of the story is positive, jolly, and so flawless it nearly gives a sense of foreboding, that something “evil” must be lurking in the perfectness. Everything is so impeccable, Miss Strangeworth seems to know something we, the readers, don’t, and we see that people are acting strange. This all adds to the omni-present feeling that something is just not right. Also, this feeling is aided be the title and the introduction sentence.

This atmosphere created at the beginning, helps emphasize that Miss Strangeworth likely sees the world in a similar manner as the story is presented to us. She views the world as a nearly perfect place, the only thing holding is back is the evil, which she knows can appear anywhere. As the story progresses, we start to understand her way of viewing the world better, so when the ending come crashing down on her, it also crashes down on us. However, we see both sides of the story, making the ending even more poignant.

5. What do you think this story is saying about crime and criminals? Do you agree? Discuss, giving examples to support your opinion.

I believe this story is saying that society will never rid ourselves of all crime and criminals so we should not concern ourselves with the very small crimes, and should devote our attention to larger issues. I do agree, because small crimes can usually be easily fixed, and the criminals who commit these crimes usually can be punished through simple means and they will learn from their mistakes.

6. Consider both Miss Strangeworth's anxiety about evil and the final crime in the story. Do you think human beings will ever create a society that is crime free? Comment.

Humans will never create a crime-free society. People will always have different opinions on right and wrong and different things that people do will seem perfectly justified in one person’s mind, however appear as a crime in another’s. The people who believe that what has been done is a crime, will want the person who commited the “crime” to be punished. If the person is not, then the people wanting the punishment will then feel they must take it upon their shoulders to stop these crimes. These misunderstandings will lead to more crimes. We can diminish the amount of crimes in our world through education, but humans by nature will always feel some effects of greed, which is the main cause of crime, and therefore crime will always exist among humans.

Critical Thinking

i) Why do you think the author wrote the text?

I think the author wrote the text because she wanted to remind people that every human is capable of doing or creating evil and we need to accept this fact, and we will never be able to prevent all evil. So, to some extent we can try to stop people from doing evil, but to a certain point we are helpless. In “The Possibility of Evil,” we watch Miss Strangeworth try to prevent all evil, however, we watch her fail and end up stirring more evil than she prevented. Also, I believe the author wrote the text to remind people of the dangers of gossip, and although you mean well by telling somebody what you think, they will not always see eye to eye with you and this can cause more “evil” than you were originally trying to prevent.

ii) What does the author want you to think?

The author wants us to think about the fact that nobody is perfect and that as long as people are different and have different opinions, there will be a certain amount of friction between some people and occasionally this friction will lead to the doing of evil. Also, the author wants us to think of how the things we might say may affect people in a much larger way than we expect. For example, Miss Strangeworth does not think of how large an impact her letters might have on people, and as a result people get very upset with Miss Strangeworth and destroy her most prized possession: her rose garden. The author wants us to think of how we can avoid making the same mistake.

iii) Do you belong to any of the groups in the text?

I believe most teenagers, including me, have belonged to the group of people who Miss Strangeworth accused. As a teenager, many adults falsely accuse you of causing trouble, for what seems like no reason at all. They may be like Miss Strangeworth, trying to prevent any trouble from happening, but in actuality; this just causes even more trouble. Most teenagers if told to go away take it more personally than they should and will try and retaliate in some way to the person who accused them of causing trouble. Although, the accuser was trying to prevent evil, he or she ends up causing it.

iv) Does the story remind you of a real-life event (your own or others)?

The story does not remind me of any single real-life event, but of an event which occurs very commonly in our age of computers, mobile phones, and the internet. The media constantly carries stories of where, usually teenagers, have sent anonymous texts, phone calls, or emails to people they either don’t like or they want to say something to but feel they can’t say it face to face. These messages end up either insulting the receiver, or there is a misunderstanding in the receiving or sending of the message and the end product is usually unnecessary conflict. These types of stories are similar to the one in “The Possibility of Evil,” because the Miss Strangeworth didn’t want to say her message face to face with the people concerned, she was too afraid of tainting her reputation in the town, and her anonymous message got taken more seriously than expected, and also ended with conflict which could have been avoided if Miss Strangelove had talked to the people who could have been affected in person, and then raised her concerns.

v) Does the story remind you of another book or movie on a similar topic?

This story reminds me of the movie "The Aviator." Mrs. Strangeworth and the main character of "The Aviator," are similar in that they both are paranoid of something evil happening around them. The protagonist of "The Aviator" is paranoid to a more specific event, but I still find the stories similar because the two characters both appear bordering psychosis because of their paranoid natures.

vi) How does the story help you think about social issues and social justice?

This story helps me think about the social issue of responsibility. A very common saying is “with great power comes great responsibility.” I believe this quote applies directly to this book because, since Miss Strangelove is a senior citizen and has lived in the same town for her whole life, she has acquired quite a lot of social power within the town. Because of this power, people respect her and trust her and will allow her to find out their problems, feeling their information is safe with such a recognized member of the community. However, Miss Strangeworth abuses this privilege. She does not use her power very responsibly and she is punished for it. This is a lesson we all can take from, privileged information is power, in a way, and with that information comes responsibility.

vii) What action might you take from what you have learned?

If I have a concern I will try to raise it directly with the person involved, and talk to them about it. When information is passed either through people or through any other way of communication other than face-to-face talking, things can often be misunderstood and this can lead to unnecessary conflict.

viii) What big question has this text left you with?

When are the right moments to raise one’s concern with somebody else and when are the right moments to say nothing at all?

Harrison Bergeron

Title: Harrison Bergeron
Author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.


Biography

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was born in Indianapolis, in 1922. While attending Cornell University for biochemistry, and after hearing of the bombing of Pearl Harbour, he enlisted with the U.S. Army. During the Battle of the Bulge, on December 19^th 1944, Vonnegut was captured and taken as a prisoner of war. He was held in Dresden, and while he was there, he witnessed the “fire-bombing of Dresden.” Many of his works recall these moments from his experiences as a prisoner of war and his witnessing of the bombing of the German city he was held captive in. In 1945, thanks to the Red Army, Vonnegut was released and free to return to the United States. Back in his home country, he studied at the University of Chicago in anthropology. His thesis was denied by the University, and he left Chicago for work in New York. It wasn’t until 1971 that the University of Chicago finally accepted his Novel “Cat’s Cradle” as his thesis, and he received his Master’s Degree. Kurt Vonnegut was also known for his very strong humanist beliefs. In his later years he took over presidency of the American Humanist Association from the late, fellow science-fiction writer, Isaac Asimov. Kurt Vonnegut held this position until his own death, in 2007.

Symbol

One of the differences between humans and an amoeba is humans have evolved to no longer reproduce by cloning. The result that we have a more advanced civilization does not seem a coincidence. The amoeba symbolizes the goal of the Handicapper General, to make everyone equal.

Response

1.a) What is the purpose of handicapping in sports?

The purpose of handicapping in sports is to make the sport more enjoyable for all by handicapping the better players so everyone is at a similar level.

b) What sports use handicapping?

 Golf, croquet, polo, basketball, track and field events, chess, and bowling all use forms of handicapping. However, I believe handicapping is usually only used at more amateur levels.

c) Why has handicapping become law in Bergeron's community? 

Handicapping has become a law in Bergeron’s community because the goal of the society is to make everyone equal. They believe that natural physical and mental abilities, which are higher than another’s, are unfair, so they handicap one’s higher abilities to ensure everyone stays equal.

d) Is the society improved as a result? Comment.

 The society is not improved as a result. The people who have handicaps now suffer more than people without them; this means there is still inequality between people. The fairest you can make a society is by offering equal education opportunities for everyone, if people decide not to seize their opportunities then it only their own fault if they have a lesser intelligence or lesser capabilities than another.

2. What parts of the story are most exaggerated? What do you think was the author's purpose in using exaggeration so extensively?

One of the most exaggerated parts of the story was when Harrison and his newly found “Empress” dance together and they jump thirty feet in the air. I think the author was trying to show that, with no restrictions and no set boundaries, when humans work together we can do extraordinary things. Also, just before this part of the story, the author exaggerates the actions of Harrison by describing his steps to be like earthquakes. I think the author is trying to do a similar thing as to when Harrison and the ballerina dance; he is trying to show that when humans put their minds to something, they can do things hardly imaginable.

3. What do George's and Hazel's reactions at the end of the story reveal about the quality of life in their society?

George’s and Hazel’s reactions at the end of the story reveal that they are physically living comfortably, George gets a beer from their kitchen, however mentally they are living in ruins. They are not able to think for themselves, George is plagued by the handicap noises, and they both have slowly been brain washed by the Handicapper General. Without being able to think for themselves, they have fallen prey to leading suppressed lives, but not knowing of it, so they will not escape from these lives. Since everyone is “equal” in their society, it is safe to assume that mostly everyone lives as they do. This means the mental quality of life is very poor, however nobody knows of it, and if you don’t know something is wrong, how can you fix it?

4. a) What is the situational irony in this story? What would you expect a society to be like in which everyone is equal?

The situational irony in this story is that the goal of the society is to make all humans equal, however in doing this, and applying handicaps to those who are better at certain things, they create inequality. Inequality is created because those who are handicapped, are now in more pain or hardship than those who are not in need of being handicapped. I would expect a society that strives for equality to give every person equal educational opportunities, allowing people to decide for themselves if they want to grow to their full potential or stay at the intellectual or physical ability they are at, and risk being a person of "below average" capabilities.

b) What point do you think the author is making through the irony?

The point the author is trying to make through the irony is that there is a reason we have evolved so we no longer reproduce into clones of one another, the different strengths of people is what makes our society strong. If we embrace our differences and put them together and work together, the human race is possible of doing extraordinary things.

Critical Thinking

i) Why do you think the author wrote the text?

The author wrote this text to display his concern that, when thinking of how to better ourselves, society is focusing too much on what we don’t have, and not enough on what we already do. We do not have equality among all people, and though we strive for it, we never will. What we do have is a world full of individuals who all have the same potential to use their different strengths, in extraordinary ways. If we give each individual an equal opportunity to unleash their potential, we will not have created equality, but given everyone a chance to take or leave, and will have used what we have already to create a much better place. The author displays that people and society can achieve much greater things when the full potential of individuals is allowed to bloom, when Harrison Bergeron and his new-found Empress, dance to the music of the unrestricted musicians, and are able to jump thirty feet in the air.

ii) What does the author want you to think?

The author wants us to think that the most successful of societies would be the one that realizes everyone has different strengths and encourages the growth and maturation of everybody’s various strengths. He would then want us to think of how we could help make our society to be more like this, and he would want us to carry execute the plan we had thought of.

iii) Do you belong to any of the groups in the text?

I do not believe I belong directly to any of the groups, because I don’t think that anything that is happening in my life would be comparable to what the characters of the story go through. However, I do feel that I can imagine myself in any one of the character’s places, and greatly sympathize for them. One of these characters is the Handicapper General. I can sympathize for her especially because, sometimes when I think of what is necessary to reverse climate change, put an end to poverty, and to give everybody equal opportunities, the easiest solution seems to be dictatorship and complete governmental control. With a dictatorship, the people in power do not have to pass bills or run a proposition by the senate or the House of Commons if they wanted to put a plan underway to stop global warming, they just do it. However, obviously this is not ethical or fair and is an absolute last resort, but for all we as the readers know, the Handicapper General could have good intentions and just not see any other way to make the necessary changes to society she feels she must make.

iv) Does the story remind you of a real-life event (your own or others)?

The story reminds me of what I have read and heard about the dictatorship/totalitarianism which is happening, and has been happening for quite a long time, in North Korea. Although I do not have much knowledge of the everyday life of people in North Korea, I gather everything is very controlled there, with high security, and if you speak out against the government you and your family are killed. This is similar to the story “Harrison Bergeron,” because in the story their media is very controlled, if you do not follow the rules you will be caught very quickly, and if you speak out against the government, as Harrison did, you will likely be shot.

v) Does the story remind you of another book or movie on a similar topic?

The story reminds me of many other books and movies, where the society is completely controlled by the government. However, the one book that has this theme and that I remember the most vividly, is A Wrinkle in Time. In a Wrinkle in Time, a giant computer/ brain controls a whole planet and everyone on it. It can speak through whom it desires and can move whom it desires. The main characters must rebel against the computer, and resist being brainwashed by it. This book most likely stuck with me more so than the others because I read it a younger age and I was quite terrified at the idea of one being controlling a whole helpless population. This book, as well as “Harrison Bergeron,” helps keep my paranoia of the corruption of higher authorities alive and will keep me questioning, whether this always be good or not, what people tell me.

vi) How does the story help you think about social issues and social justice?

This story helps the reader think about the social issue of inequality because it shows one very extreme side of what an attempt at total equality would look like, and allows the reader to apply its lessons to our world. The story shows a government attempting to make everyone equal by taking away people’s strengths so nobody is better than anyone else. The story presents this in such a ridiculous way that you realize how silly an idea it is to try force everyone to be equal. We are shown that since everyone is different, a forced equality is as impossible as fitting different shapes and different sized shapes into one common sized box in an equal way; some shapes would have to be cut and diced while others would be allowed to stay the same. At the end of the story when Harrison Bergeron dances with his newly found Empress, the author hints at what he believes is the most logical solution to the problem of inequality. When Harrison Bergeron and his Empress are dancing, they have no handicaps on and are able to reveal their true potential. The author shows this by telling us that they were able to leap 30 feet in the air. I think that the author is hinting that he believes that the best and most equal way of running our society would be to allow and encourage everyone to unleash the full potential of their strengths, and this would lead to extraordinary things.

vii) What action might you take from what you have learned?

I will try and support more charities that fund programs for education because I believe that the simplest way to give everyone an equal opportunity, to unleash their full potential, is through an equal education. I will also try and respect the fact that everyone has been raised differently and therefore has different strengths. Often I find myself snickering at people unable to do things which I find simple, but I will try to remind myself more often that those people will always have some strength that they could snicker at me for not having.

viii) What big question has this text left you with?

Will our world ever find the generousity and unselfishness to give everybody an equal opportunity to further improve their strengths through education and other means?

The Metaphor

Title: The Metaphor
Author: Budge Wilson


Biography:

Budge Wilson was born in Halifax, in the year 1927. She attended Dalhousie University and the University of Toronto, where she eventually moved. In her early years, Budge worked many other jobs, including working as a commercial artist, photographer, and even as a fitness instructor, and she didn’t start writing until much later in her life. Since the beginning publishing of her first book, in 1984, Budge Wilson has published 32 books, with some of her works translated into 10 different languages and sold in 13 different countries. She has also won many awards for her writing, including the Mayor’s Award for Cultural Achievement in Literature in Halifax, 23 Canadian Children's Book Centre "Our Choice" selections, and, in 1983, her short story “The Metaphor,” received second prize in the Chatelaine annual writing contest. Her most recent achievements include authoring the prequel to Anne of Green Gables, “Before Green Gables,” and becoming a member of the Order of Canada.


Symbol

A cigarette is a good symbol for this story because Charlotte, the protagonist, has to make the decision between the options of having long term happiness and short term pain, or short term happiness and long term pain. She must choose between becoming friends again with Miss Hancock and risking being made fun of, or ignoring Miss Hancock and being content for a short while. Similarly, when one is making the decision between smoking and not smoking, they must face the two options of either having long term happiness, by not starting the very addictive drug, or short term happiness, by smoking, getting their high, and possibly not being under any more peer pressure. 

Response

1. a) I believe Miss Hancock found it easier to teach in junior high school because grade 7-9 students often do not yet have concrete ideas of how things should be run or how people should act, so if someone of higher authority introduces an idea that appeals to them, they are more likely to change one of their ideas to accommodate for this newly introduced one. However, in senior high school, students have had more time to solidify their ideas and where they stand socially. They are also trying to be more independent, so when someone tries to introduce new ideas or new ways of doing things to them, they are more likely to try and protect their existing ideas before thinking  of and allowing them to change.

b) I have not noticed many changes in teachers from grades 7-10. This is most likely because our school is unlike most others, and also I am only beginning my tenth year so I have not had much time to experience most of the differences of Grade 10 from grades 7-9.

3. Charlotte is not correct in blaming herself for Miss Hancock’s death because Miss Hancock would most definitely had other problems in her life besides her humiliating class, however, I do understand Charlotte wondering where the tipping point was for Miss Hancock and whether she could have been able to stop Miss Hancock from taking her life by showing her support for her, just as Miss Hancock had once tried to do for her.

4. a) The metaphorical description for Charlotte’s mother was similar to the actual character of Charlottes mother because the building Charlotte described, portrayed a beautiful looking place with machines taking the majority of the work in the office, resulting in extreme efficiency , however also resulting in a lack of emotion and life. The actual character of Charlotte’s mother was a beautiful woman, who sacrificed much of her emotion, to keep order and efficiency. She could be relied upon to complete a task to near perfection, but for comfort and encouragement was as good as a “machine.” A difference between the metaphor of Charlotte’s mother and the actual mother is that the most efficient of machines would have concluded that comfort and encouragement, in the long run, would be more efficient and cause less problems than coldness and dissatisfaction. Charlotte’s mother was unable to come to this conclusion.

b) The metaphorical description for Miss Hancock was similar to the real Miss Hancock because, although the cake was not perfect it was crafted in the best intentions of being delicious and sweet. Similarly, Miss Hancock did have flaws, but always had the best intentions of trying to help others and have the most positive influence she could have on another. The outside of the cake was a bit chaotic, and nearly made one walk away in a fit of giggles, however, if one restrained and stopped to taste the cake she or he would most certainly enjoy it. Miss Hancock also seemed to be a bit chaotic in her appearance but if one still put in the effort to get to know her they would surely love her. A difference, however, in the metaphorical description of Miss Hancock when compared to the real character, is in the description of the cake there was no sign of any vulnerability or the ability to destroy itself. In the story, Miss Hancock loses all her self-respect largely because of her grade ten English class and ends up killing herself.

5. What do you think was the author’s main purpose for writing this story? Discuss.

I think the author’s main purpose for writing this story was to remind the readers of how much of an impact some of our seemingly small actions can have on other people. There are two large examples of this in the novel. By teaching what she loves, and sharing her enthusiasm of writing with her class, Miss Hancock changes the way many of the students think and opens their worlds new all new kinds of ideas. She especially changes the life of Charlotte, the protagonist of the story. The second example of how our actions can have a large impact on people, is when Charlotte is in the tenth grade and ignores Miss Hancock, who is having a difficult time coping with the humiliation created by the class, and Charlotte shows Miss Hancock none of the pity or love she feels for her. Miss Hancock eventually steps in front of a school bus.

Critical Thinking

i) Why do you think the author wrote the text?

The author wrote the text in the hope to remind people that our seemingly small actions can have a much larger impact, on another, than we expect. She wants us to question how we interact with our friends and strangers and wonder whether our actions and the things we say have a positive or negative influence them.

ii) What does the author want you to think?

The author wants us to think of how Charlotte refused to show her love and appreciation for Miss Hancock, because of her want to have respect from her classmates, and the author wants us to wonder if we might be doing this, consciously or not, to anyone in our lives. The author also wants us to realize that we should not take people in our lives for granted, that at any moment they could be taken away. So we should always strive to show our appreciation for our loved ones, so we won’t regret not saying or doing something for them once they have moved on.

iii) Do you belong to any of the groups in the text?

I think I belong to the group Charlotte is in and I believe one would be hard-pressed to find a teenager who does not also often find themselves in this group. Charlotte is very self-concious throughout most of her grade ten year, and this leads to her ignoring her friend and someone she loves, which, in turn, has its consequences. Similarly, I have found myself (as I believe most teenagers have) not wanting to do something, like socialize with my family and/or extended family because, for a bizarre reason,  I think my social status will be lowered if I am seen spending time with my family. If I end up being able to avoid spending time with my family, I will be contented for the moment, however in the long-run I will realize that those moments are lost opportunities to bond with the ones closest to me. Although Charlotte’s story may have a more drastic ending, I don’t think hers is too uncommon of a story.

iv) Does the story remind you of a real-life event (your own or others)?

Before I was born, and before he and his life retired, my grandfather was also an English teacher. He thoroughly enjoyed his job teaching English 12, he knew the curriculum and the teachers well, and the students loved him. However, similar to the story of “The Metaphor,” my grandfather was doing such a good job, he was transferred to another, tougher school, where he now had to teach grade eight. He did not know the curriculum well or the teachers very well, he no longer had his teaching reputation as a great teacher and as a result of his lost reputation he did not get the same respect from his grade eights as he did from his grade 12’s. Much of the joy of teaching started to vanish. His stress and unhappiness with his new job built and built and he started to feel there was no way to get back to the joy he had once had teaching grade 12. He started to contemplate suicide. Later, he said the only thing that prevented him from jumping when he was standing atop a cliff on the outskirts of Nanaimo ,was that there were too many tourists, and he didn’t want them to have to bear witness to his death. So he had to wait. Luckily, he was talked out of taking any attempt on his life before the tourists cleared away. I find this parallels the story “The Metaphor” in many ways, and if people had maybe given more thought to the way my grandfather felt, just as if people had given more thought to how Miss Hancock felt, the both of them might have not had to go through the depression in their life.

v) Does the story remind you of another book or movie on a similar topic?

This story reminds me of a book, which is not quite of a similar topic, but the protagonist of this novel seems to display what, in my mind, is the perfect attitude when under peer-pressure. Paul Atreides, of the book “Dune,” has the attitude of a machine when it comes to making decisions over anything, including his social life. He analyzes all the options that lay before him, finds which one will benefit him most in the long-term, and chooses that option. He knows that in the grand scheme of things, choosing the long-term option will be the most efficient and beneficial. As a result, in the novel, his social life is very successful. If we could all take a bit of Paul’s social attitude we would come to realize that taking the long-term option is nearly always the best, and this would often include being kind and keeping our old friends, as well as making new ones.

vi) How does the story help you think about social issues and social justice?

The story helps me think about social issues because it gives us insight into why somebody would purposely ignore another and why he or she would leave a strong friendship for what could seem like no reason. We watch Charlotte abandon her and Miss Hancock’s friendship to try and fit into a new school. Charlotte has to deal with the pressure from her peers and in the end deals with the pressure in the wrong way, however, in doing so, she presents us with a valuable lesson about the social issue of “peer-pressure.” We are shown that giving up what you know is right for what other people want, gives you short term happiness, but if you stay with what you know is right, this will provide you with long-term joy.

vii) What action might you take from what you have learned?

I will try and evaluate my own social life and see if I am letting my own beliefs or my conscience succumb to my want for other’s respect. If I do find a place where I am doing this, which I’m sure I’ll find many, I will try and find a way to keep the person as a friend, or whatever their relation might be to me, but now show them that I will not let my conscience  be tossed aside for their humour or pleasure.

viii) What big question has this text left you with?

Did Charlotte’s mother act the way she did because she, like her daughter, was self-conscious about what other people might think or say about her? And to relate that to the bigger picture, is this self-consciousness in people as common among adults as teenagers, just adults mask it under “maturity,” or do we lose our silly worries as we become older?