I will be arguing that Snow Crash is a Brechtian Story, which I actually totally agree with. I havent made it through the whole book yet, but I feel from what Ive read there are many good examples in the book that give light to why this could be such a strong arguement.
In Boal, on page 96 it states that in the Brechtian Story that, "human nature doesnt exist, nobody is what he is "just because"." Then in the next line I substituted Hiros name from the Pope saying, Hiro, as long as he is Hiro, acts as Hiro. I thought that this was a perfect example of how he and some of the other characters act in this book. When you look at people today you can see that they are shaped because of the way society is, and how others around them have influenced them. You cant just be created one way and then never change. You can see that in the book with an example on pages 281 and 282 when they talk about Y.T.'s mom. It says, "Feds dont smoke. Feds generally dont overeat. The health plan is very specific, contains major incentives, get too heavy or wheezy and, no one says anything about it-which would be rude..." ."... I wonder how much he or she is driving up our health plan premiums?" People that work as Feds dont even get the free will to decide if they want to smoke or not because of what others might be thinking about them. They are totally being shaped by the world around them. It also talks about on the next page how Y.T.s mom takes the stairs because why would she take the elevator. She does this everyday up many flights of stairs so people wont think differently about her. Another example is on page 341, "For example, the whole time, no one ever looks her in the eye. Especially the men. No sex at all in these guys, theyve got it pushed so far down inside of them." After reading this I was thinking to myself, what guy doesnt think about sex? It is just a natural thing for them to do. Obvioulsy if people are being so brainwashed in this book and arent able to think for themselves. They arent the way they are "just because". People keep shaping them into being who they are and they keep acting as they will as long as it conforms to the way one person has taught them.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
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You make some great observations about the way people act because of the pressure society places on their shoulders. It is almost impossible to ignore these roles and to not be forced into these roles ourselves. Have you ever notices how you might act different around different people and/or in different situations? I bet most people act differently in class than they do at Jon's keggers. No? How about the way you might act in church or a library compared to a bar? You're absolutely right in seeing the connections between the book, Brecht, and ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI like the point that you bring up about federal employees and how they seem to have been brainwashed and just give into being like everyone else. Especially when you mention that they don’t even decide whether they smoke or not which should be a lifestyle choice made by the individual. It sounds similar to how all the people on the raft have become the cheery sing along types.
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