Now that we’re almost done reading the books for this class,
we can reflect on them a little bit. I’m not entirely sure which book will have
the most impact on me in the long run. It’ll be interesting to see in a couple
years if any of them stick in my head.
Right now, for my favorite, I’m torn between The Handmaid’s Tale and Parable of the Sower. I like
them both because they’re the easiest to imagine living in. 1984 and Brave New World are interesting, but they’re more speculative than
personal, as the characters are fairly removed from the way we are today. The
personal connection really endears me to Handmaid’s
Tale and Parable. While Handmaid’s Tale can be somewhat tedious,
Parable is so upsetting that it’s
difficult to read, even if I am totally engrossed. Also, I like that Handmaid’s Tale is totally clear about
the structure of the dystopia and why it came to be. Parable does a good job displaying anarchy and survival details,
but I just can’t get around the fact that we don’t know exactly why the U.S.
got to be so bad. So I guess The
Handmaid’s Tale takes the prize on my list.
I didn’t dislike 1984,
but I won’t say I adored it. I do think it was important to read, and (besides Parable) it felt the most bleak. I
thought its commentary on politics and privacy were interesting, if sometimes oversimplified.
I never particularly cared for Winston, though, so that knocked it down a peg.
I still think it’s an important book to read at least once, though. My least
favorite by far was Brave New World.
The beginning was kind of promising, and Bernard was a funny dude. But when
John was introduced, the plotting of the book was basically ruined for me. Why
did the protagonist “switch” halfway through the book? Why did it just end with
his suicide instead of refocusing on the society? Still, it brought up
interesting points on industrialization, and I’m sure it was very important for
its time.
Again, my views are totally subjective and are mostly based
on what I found to be “enjoyable.” If you want to argue with me, go for it. What
did everyone else think of the books? What were your favorites and least
favorites?
I also found Handmaid's Tale to be my favorite and Brave New World to be my least favorite. Personally, I just didn't like Brave New World because I found the society a little bizarre and especially didn't like the ending and how it ended with suicide rather than focusing on some hierarchal element of the society. However, one aspect of Brave New World I did like was soma. I found it interesting how there was a government-issues substance that would allow people to simply repress their pain and unhappiness and feel instant joy.
ReplyDeleteI also really like Parable of the Sower. I liked how it was different from the other books in that it wasn't the government openly oppressing people. I also found it interesting that even though it feels like there is no hope Lauren still manages to find some. I also think its interesting how even though the book is set in 2024-2027, Lauren still makes a lot of connections to slavery or company towns and it shows how society is so damages that's its sorta reverting. I liked reading all of the books this semester but Parable of the Sower was my favorite.
ReplyDeleteParable of the Sower was also my favorite book because of the ineffective government. All the other books we've read so far is about an authoritarian or overinvolved government, but I really liked how Parable of the Sower showed us a dystopia resulting from a government system that broke down. I also found Lauren to be the best protagonist as I was really able to sympathize with her.
DeleteI agree with all of your order, though Parable and Handmaid's Tale are still tied. I'm really intrigued by the use of religion in Parable because in the other books we've read it is evil or a means of control for the societies. I didn't like BNW or 1984 very much because I didn't like the main characters very much.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your orders as well, but Parable of the Sower is just a little bit behind Handmaid's Tale at this point because of a certain relationship. BNW is the most interesting, but not the most enjoyable, because it is such a 'what if' for society if science keeps progressing.
ReplyDeleteI've liked Parable of the Sower both the most and the least of the books we've read so far. It's been both the most engaging and also the one that I find most personally troubling. I'm not quite sure why this is, but books set during an ongoing apocalypse freak me out in a pretty profound way. To use an example of a book that's been brought up in this class, but wasn't assigned, I read Station 11 a few years back, and, while I liked the book itself, I found the first few chapters completely terrifying.
ReplyDelete-Sasha
I think that your point about the personal nature of Handmaiden tale and parable of the sower do make them very engaging. I think that handmaidens tale and Parable of the Sowers are also the ones that feel like the most like our world. I find the characters in Parable much more easy to relate too. Winston and Bernard are living in societies that seems so abstract that its hard to imagine how I would react. In an Apocalypse scenario I can kind of imagine how I would feel.
ReplyDeleteOverall I agree with your ranking of the books. I think for me I liked parable of the sower and the handmaids tale more because their endings offer hope. Although we haven't finished parable of the sower there is a sequel and the development of earthseed offers some hope. In handmaids tale she may or may not have escape but there is definitely more hope than in 1984 and BNW.
ReplyDeleteAll of the books definitely have their pros and cons in terms of message, heavy-handedness, and effectiveness. Each was a little oversimplified in its own way, frequently focusing on one issue: women's rights for Handmaid's Tale, surveillance for 1984, etc. I liked Brave New World and Parable of the Sower for their multifaceted approaches to what makes a society good or bad.
ReplyDeleteI like your analysis and ranking of the books, I agree with putting The Handmaid's Tale at the top of your list, I really liked the way we were able to connect with Offred. I think I liked the concept behind Brave New World the most though, like you can engineer different types of people and train them to be satisfied with their station in life. I found 1984 to be very bleak as well, but I was still invested in the plot.
ReplyDeleteParable of the Sower was definitely my favorite of the four. Its characters felt the most real to me and its setting was the easiest for me to imagine. I share some of your criticisms of Brave New World and agree that it was likely the least entertaining of the three. The story would have been better told exclusively from any one of the characters perspectives.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I enjoyed reading "Parable of the Sower" the most out of all the novels due to it being the most realistic out of the others. I can actually imagine how a society posed in the Parable could develop: with climate change leading to the collapse of normal society and a mass migration towards areas less affected by it, unlike those posed in "The Handmaid's Tale", "Brave New World", and "1984", which seem too foreign to be true. I also believe that the other novels seemed bleak and speculative more than entertaining, which is probably why I rate Parable at the top of my list even though it wasn't as informative as the others.
ReplyDeleteAs a whole, I have to say that I agree with your take on your favorites and least favorites. To be honest, I really, really, disliked BNW. I didn't find the plot to be that intriguing and, for lack of a better phrase, I didn't see a clearly defined "point" to the novel. I just found it dry. But on the otherhand, like you, I enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale a lot. I think THT was the most interesting to think and debate over because of its issues of equality, especially between the sexes. Plus, given the recent US politics, I think the novel is particuarly relevant. Anyhow, I appreciate your perspective!
ReplyDeleteParable of the Sower was definitely the most realistic for me. The setting and characters were easy to relate to. I thought the space missions to Mars were reasonable. If I had to predict what our society could become, I would predict it to be like the society in the Parable of the Sower. BNW and 1984 were different, which also made it very intriguing for me. Handmaid's Tale would come second to being the most realistic in my opinion. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI have a bit of a biased opinion because of my enjoyment of the Television Program, but Handmaid's Tale is by far my favorite. I had trouble connecting to Parable of the Sower in any way at all. However, its ending was much better than either Brave New World or 1984. As a whole however, I didn't dislike any book in a major way
ReplyDeleteI personally like Parable of the Sower the most, because i think it reflect the most realistic dystopia out of the 4 books that we read, and I think that something similar could still happen. I think 1984 was important to read because of just how pervasive its symbolism was, but i think it was a bit slow, and I didn't find the characters captivating.
ReplyDelete