Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Laura Esquivel, author of my research paper book The Law of Love, also wrote another fantastic novel Like Water For Chocolate that highlights the Mexican culture as well. The novel is about the youngest daughter in a mexican family, Tita de la Garaza, who falls in love with a man named Pedro Muzquiz. However, the two are prohibited from marrying due to an old family tradition upheld by her mother, Mama Elena, that states that the youngest child in a family shall not be married. In order to circumvent not being able to see her, Pedro marries Tita's older sister, Rosaura, so he may be able to live on the ranch and see her every day. The novel is written in twelve sections, one for each month so the reader is able to see how the story progresses.

Later on in the novel, Tita delivers her nephew, Pedro, from Rosaura. TIta loves and cares for Roberto like he is hers' and Pedro's son. Mama Elena sees that Roberto is bringing the two closer and orders that Rosaura and her family move to San Antonio. Meanwhile, while all of this is happening, Gertruidis, the middle sister, runs away with a soldier involved in the Revolutionary War. After the move, Tita and Mama Elena discover that Pedro has died, and Tita regresses into a psychotic state and is sent to a asylum by Mama Elena.

Dr. John Brown takes pity on Tita and helps her regain her health. When she is nearly sane again, Tita decides that she will never go back to the ranch. However, Mama Elena is seriously injured in a raid by some revolutionary soldiers, so TIta is forced to return home to nurse her back to health. When Tita returns to the ranch, Mama Elena refuses to allow Tita to nurse her back to health and she commits suicide. When Mama Elena dies, Tita is freed from the restrictions of her birthright, and is now able to have a relationship with Pedro.

After her freedom, John proposes to Tita who is now able to accept his engagement. However, once she is "betrothed" to John, Pedro and Rosaura return to the ranch as well where Rosaura produces a second child, Esparanza. Needless to say, Tita is now confused with her feelings due to the presence of Pedro back into her life. Upon the night of his return, Pedro makes love to Tita who becomes pregnant. Mama Elena's spirit comes back form the dead at this occurence to curse Tita and her child.

Tita, now having no one to turn to, becomes depressed. Only at the return of her second sister Gertrudis, does Tita have someone to confide in. Gertrudis forces Tita to tell Pedro of her pregnancy. Pedro is elated and confesses his love to Tita. Mama Tita's ghost returns at the news of their happiness and sets fire to Pedro's body. Needless to say, Tita cares for Pedro until he is healthy again. Dr. John returns to the ranch to find Tita in love with Pedro and he tells her she must choose between him or Pedro. I'm not going to spoil the rest for you. :)

Questions:

1) If your parents banned you from marrying someone, would you listen to them? Or would you leave? Why or why not?

2) What would you do if a close member of your family ended up marrying the person you loved?

1984 by George Orwell

1984 by George Orwell, is a story about the idea of Big Brother and that the government tracks your every move. Winston, the protagonist, is suspicious about the government and that everything he does is being supervised. Everywhere he goes, he sees the face of the Party and Big Brother. The Party is very dominate and controls the people. There is no individual thought or action. Winston is against the government of Oceania and Big Brother. He collects a diary and writes his personal thoughts in it, which is against the rules of individual thought. Winston later meets a girl named Julia who he has a romantic interest in. Later in the novel, Winston is caught by Big Brother and is tortured. Without ruining the ending, Big Brother is able to know about Winston's secrets, and is threatening to torture him with his secrets.

1. Do you believe it is a good idea to have a government that keeps track of individuals every move? Why or why not?

1984 by George Orwell

The novel takes place in London, which is the power base of the Party in Oceania. The Party is very corrupt and is in control of absolutely everything. The mysterious leader of the Party is Big Brother. The Party is oppressing the people, and even some thoughts are illegal to have. Individuality and freedom is nonexistent. Advanced technology makes freedom impossible. The main character, Winston Smith, does not like the Party and he secretly harbors very rebellious thoughts about it. He buys a diary to write his "criminal" ideas about the Party and how things should be down. This is the worst crime someone in the Party can commit. While working at his post in the Ministry of Truth, Winston becomes connected to O'Brien, a higher ranking Party member. Winston believes that O'Brien is a member of the Brotherhood that intends to destroy the Party. He also meets a girl named Julia and they have an illegal affair. Love is not allowed in the Party. The only people free of this are the proles, who are not closely watched by the Party. O'Brien pretends to be in the Brotherhood, and gives Winston and Julia a copy of Emmanuel Goldstein's book. This book shows a different way of life, and Winston longs to help make it exist. Unfortunately, O'Brien is a member of the thought police, and he just set them up. Both he and Julia are brainwashed. Winston betrays Julia to avoid torture; his will is gone, and he no longer feels love for Julia. He is released and loves the Party and Big Brother. He accepts the way things are and no longer has any real thoughts.

1. Why is it wrong for a government to use technology to spy on it's citizens? Are there times when it is acceptable?

2. If you were in Winston's position and about to be tortured, would you betray the person you loved?

3. 1984 is a political novel that aims to show readers the dangers that totalitarianism presents. What are some of these dangers, and is it important today to know them?

Animal Farm by George Orwell

In this novel, the main characters are the animals of "Manor Farm". The Animals begin to plot to overthrow the humans. One animal in particular, Major, feels very strongly about this and develops the idea of "animalism". Major shares his beliefs with the other animals just before he dies and they adopt them as the new law. They develop seven commandments of animalism which are:
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill another animal.
7. All animals are created equal.
Soon the animals develop a plan to run the farmer off the land and once they do, they change the name of the farm to "Animal Farm". With their new found freedom, they begin to run the farm in a very efficient way. Napoleon and Snowball are the leaders of the farm, and together they defeat the farmer a second time when he returns to reclaim his farm. Snowball and Napoleon continue to run the farm together but fight over how to run it more and more as time passes. It reaches a climax when Napoleon and Snowball clash over whether or not to build an electricity-generating windmill on the farm. Napoleon attacks Snowball with his trained dogs and runs him off the farm. Napoleon then takes full control of the farm and builds the windmill that he told Snowball not to build. Napoleon behaves increasingly more like the humans he once despised as the power of controlling the farm makes him feel like he is above all the other animals. He moves into the farmhouse, drinks alcohol, and begins to walk on two legs. He also begins to teach all the other pigs to do the same. Eventually the other animals cannot distinguish the pigs from the humans that they invite over and the seven commandments become one:
All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

Discussion Questions:
1. Are some men (or animals) born to be overly proud or does power make them that way?

2. Is it really better to have checks and balances or would a ruler with complete power get more done?

3. What do you think George Orwell is trying to say with this novel?

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Love is hard, for everyone. But just imagine living in a time when money and status controls everything. In the novel Persuasion written by Jane Austen, Anne is the middle child of her family. Ignored and treated badly by her father and her older sister Elizabeth. They have control over her whole life. When she falls in love with a man named Frederick Wentworth. They were engaged and ready to be married, but her family had other plans. Because he was poor, had no fortune and nothing going for him they took it upon themselves to stop the engagement. With her heart broken she Anne called the engagement and hurt Wentworth when she did. They after this part ways.
But fate brings him back to Anne, but as a well off captain with a fortune of $25,000. Throughout his time with her, he believes her hurting him stopped him from loving her, but when she saved poor Louisa he realized that he still admired her and his affections appeared again. Thinking he is engaged to Louisa, and he getting jealous over a man named Mr. Elliot made their love for each other come out and they knew they were still in love. If you don not want the ending dont read the next few lines... :) in the end they confess there love with each other and get married with the blessings of her father.

1) Do you think parents should have that much control over the life of their children especially
when it breaks their hearts?

2) Persuasion is the main idea of this novel, do you think you can be persuaded into doing something you don't want to do? Even if its from the people you love the most?

Wuthering Heights

In Emily Bronte's only novel, Wuthering Heights, the theme of true love versus marrying for wealth and status is observed. The story begins with a man named Lockwood wishing to visit his landlord, Heathcliff. Lockwood lives at Thrushcross Grange and Heathcliff at Wuthering Heights, which are quite a ways away from each other. Upon finally reaching Wuthering Heights, Lockwood is extremely tired and very ill received, as his landlord was not expecting him. Eventually, Lockwood is able to stay the night, but has an odd supernatural experience which makes him want to leave, despite the crazy storm raging outside. Against his better judgment, he leaves anyway, and, while recuperating at Thrushcross Grange, asks the housekeeper, Nelly, to recount her version of Heathcliff’s life story, as she has been there throughout his entire existence.
Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw and their two children, Hindley and Catherine live at Wuthering Heights. One day, Mr. Earnshaw must take a trip and he is gone for about a week. Instead of bringing home the gifts that his children and Nelly asked for, he brings home an orphan, who they christen Heathcliff. Catherine absolutely loves Heathcliff, because both are passionate young children; however Hindley hates Heathcliff due to insane jealously at losing his father’s attention to this orphan boy.
One day, while playing in the moors, Catherine and Heathcliff come across Thrushcross Grange and the people who live there. Mr. and Mrs. Linton (and their children, Edgar and Isabella) take Catherine in, but turn Heathcliff away, prompting thoughts of revenge. The Linton’s keep Catherine for a little over a month, attempting to turn her into a proper young woman, and, because of this, she spends an increasing amount of time with Edgar, making Heathcliff very jealous. When he overhears Catherine telling Nelly that she cannot marry Heathcliff because he is below her, he leaves Wuthering Heights and does not return for three years.
While Heathcliff is gone, Catherine marries Edgar, but they do not stay happy for long and when Heathcliff comes back, the tension in their relationship builds even more. Heathcliff must stay at Wuthering Heights (with Hindley and Hindley’s son, Hareton) which, at this point, has been passed on to Hindley after the death of Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw. Tensions run high because Heathcliff and Hindley are enemies. Eventually Edgar’s sister, Isabella, becomes stupidly infatuated with Heathcliff and the two get married. Soon after the idiotic marriage, Catherine has a daughter, Cathy, and Catherine dies.
Heathcliff, at this point, is deranged by vengeance against anyone who kept Catherine away from him. In order to execute his revenge, he does not care who he hurts. He wants to gain control of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange and anything Edgar cares about. Also, he wants to make Hindley hurt for all the horrible things that were done to Heathcliff in his childhood. He has a son with Isabella, named Linton, simply to use as a pawn in his scheme. After waiting 17 years to put his major plan into motion, he kidnaps Cathy and forces her and Linton to marry. Hindley has passed so he now owns Wuthering Heights, and with this marriage and Edgar’s death, he owns the Grange. Heathcliff’s son, Linton, is a very frail and feminine boy, who can hardly do anything Cathy wants. In her time at Wuthering Heights, she begins to fall for Hareton, Hindley’s son. After Linton’s death, the two are able to be together. In Heathcliff’s death he is able to get what he wanted; he was united with Catherine in the afterlife.
1.In this story, true love conquered everything, even life itself. Do you believe in that? Why or why not?
2.Revenge dominated Heathcliff’s entire life. He only married Isabella to be in line to receive the Grange. He forced Hareton to be a slave and punished him for his father’s wrong-doings. Is this right? Should anyone waste time on revenge? Is a little bit of vengeance healthy?
3.Cathy and Hareton break the cycle of social status having influence on marriage. How important is that? Should status have any effect on a marriage?

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray is about a man who chooses beauty and youth over happiness. Basil Hallward, an artist, paints a picture of his friend Dorian Gray. Dorian then becomes mesmerized by the picture and how young and beautiful he looks. One of Basil's friends Lord Henry begins to take interest in Dorian and puts a lot of ideas into his head about the importance of beauty and youth and how Dorian should take advantage and embrace his looks. Dorian decides he would give up his soul to the devil to remain young and beautiful forever, and have the potrait that Basil painted for him age instead of himself. Dorian becomes a changed person because of the ideas that Lord Henry gave him and does not care if he sins. All of the sins he makes has an effect on the portrait and the way that it ages and looks. He becomes infatuated with an actress, Sibyl Vane, and she refers to him as "Prince Charming". Her brother doesn't want her to get hurt, so he vows to kill him if he hurts her. Once Dorian realizes that she isn't as pure and beautiful as she is onstage and that it is all just acting, he realized that he doesn't care for her or want to marry her, so she kills herself. Basil goes to Dorian's house to question him about the incident, and Dorian gets mad and blames him for causing all of this by making the picture and stabs him to death. He then blackmails an old friend into disposing of the body. Dorian goes to a bar and a man overhears him being referred to as "Prince Charming" and confronts him outside for being the reason that his sister, Sibyl, killed herself. He had a gun and was about to shoot him when Dorian told him to look at his face and how young he is, and that he could not have possibly be old enough to be the man that he thinks he is. The man agrees and lets him go, but he later learns that Dorian is really the guy and that he just has not aged in 18 years. Dorian sees Sibyl's brother by his house and fears for his life, but then the man ends up getting shot from a stray arrow while two gentlemen are target shooting. Dorian looks at his portrait to see if anything has become better and the sins not as apparent, but nothing has changed and he picks up the knife that killed Basil and stabs the portrait. The servants hear a scream and call the police, and they find Dorians body with a knife in his chest and his body has been ugly and aged, and the picture back to being the way that Basil had painted it in the first place.

1. Do you think that the influence of another person, like Lord Henry onto Dorian, can change the way that we perceive ourselves and others?

2. Would you want to live "forever young"?

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

The protagonist of the novel is a man named Orlando, and the story covers a time period of three hundred years (1588-1928). Despite this large time span, Orlando only ages to a mere thirty-six years old while also undergoing a gender change from a man to a woman. In the beginning of the novel, Orlando pretends to cut off the heads of Moors just like the men in his family have always done, for he is too young to fight yet still loves to experience adventuresome situations. On one particular occasion, Orlando ventures out into the woods in order to write poetry; however, he falls alseep and wakes up to the incredibly loud sound of trumpets. He realizes that the sounding of the trumpets is to signal that Queen Elizabeth has arrived. Orlando immediately leaves the woods to return home so that he can properly prepare himself for her presence. When he finally meets her, the Queen is very much impressed by him. Two years after their initial meeting, she summons for him to become a part of her highly prestigious court. Orlando experiences the positions of a steward, treasurer, and even becomes romantically involved with the Queen, thus allowing him to have a great degree of social status. Nonetheless, Orlando still chooses to spend some time with people considered to be of a lower class and even engages with a number of younger women. He eventually becomes bored of this newly acquired lifestyle and thus returns back to the court under King James I due to the fact that Queen Elizabeth has died. The novel incorporates the events of the Great Frost in which a carnival extravangza exists on the frozen river. It is here that Orlando meets the Russian priness named Sasha; they plan to run away together, but their plans fall through when the ice eventually breaks, thereby causing the ships to leave. Later on in the novel, King Charles II decides to send Orlando to Constantinople to serve as an ambassador. One night, Orlando brings a woman into his room and falls deeply into a trance; after seven days, he awakes from the trance transformed as a woman. Orlando cannot decide which gender is more suitable to her desires and experiences a number of relationships with various men. She eventually marries a ship captain named Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine. Towards the end of the novel, Orlando goes to London for her writing and is unexpectedly struck ten times on the head by a very bright light. She has been struck by the present and is thirty-six years old. The novel ends with a scene involving the return of the previously dead Queen Elizabeth in addition to the arrival of her husband.

Discussion Questions:

1). Because this novel endures a time span of three hundred years, there is a transition from the eighteenth century to the nineteenth century. Orlando experiences the gender change into a woman during the beginning of the nineteenth century. The nineteenth century was a time in history when women were more widely recognized and able to aquire more freedoms, so what do you think is Woolf's purpose in having Orlando undergo a gender change? Does Orlando seem to be too deeply affected by this change? Why or why not? How do you think that you would react?

2). This novel also focuses on social statuses and the importance of conforming to society as it changes. What is the importance of a social status, and do you think that these rankings are as emphasized today as they were back then? Why or why not?

Night by Elie Wiezel

Night is a phenomenal novel by Elie Wiesel that represents an accurate depiction of the life of a Jewish teenager during the Holocaust. The main character, Eliezer, is a teenager who lives in Hungarian Transylvania and analyzes both Jewish and Arabic literature. However, when his teacher, Moshe the Beadle, is deported, Elie’s entire life grinds to a stop. Moshe eventually returns and tells his students about the Gestapo who raided his train, brought everyone into the woods and began to systematically annihilate them one by one. However, everyone thinks Moshe is crazy and feigning the entire story. The Nazis slowly began to invade Hungary and started to pass many repressive laws against the Jews. The people of the town are loaded up onto train cars and brought to Auschwitz. Elie is separated from his mother and sister, although his father remains with them. The Jews are lined up and the Nazis decide whether they should be used for labor or killed on the spot. Elie and his dad are put to work, and on the way to their job they find infants being burned in mass numbers in the ovens. The Jews are all stripped and degraded before they arrive at a labor camp where they are put to work. Over the course of their stay at Auschwitz, the Jews are forced to watch their family and friends murdered, work themselves to death, and eventually resort to cruelty in order to defend themselves so that they may survive. Elie struggles with his faith and begins to wonder that although he has been taught his entire life that there MUST be a God, there could never be any higher being who serves to protect in a place like the concentration camp. After many long months inside of the camp, the Nazis make the executive decision to evacuate the camp because the Russians are approaching and want to liberate Auschwitz. The prisoners initiate a death march through a snow storm en route to Gleiwitz, another concentration camp. Most of the prisoners die because of the brutal weather, and the few survivors left are led to Buchenwald, another labor camp. Elie’s father dies of abuse and dysentery, and Elie continues suffering alone until the American army finally liberates the camp years later on April 11, 1945. This novel is an accurate and disturbing portrayal of the life of a young man during a time period which was unnerving and unsettling that many people today still deny the Holocaust ever happened. Night leaves many readers wondering what they themselves would do in Elie’s shoes, and how they would react to all of the events that Elie and many other prisoners endure. 1. After Elie’s time spent in the concentration camp, his faith in a God after seeing the brutal actions of the Nazis as well as the selfish actions of the prisoners in order to try and survive begins to falter. Do you think that the Holocaust and the cruelty of the Nazis proves that there could never be any divine being in the best interest of all humankind? 2. If you were the last person left in your family after so many tragic events such as the ones that fill Elie’s terrible life, would you have the strength to continue living or would you give up and accept your defeat?

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This story begins with Amory Blaine, son of the wealthy Beatrice. This is the story of his life, and it begins with his early childhood. As a child, Amory travels all over the world with just his mother, as he does lack a father in his life. Fortunately for him, a good friend of his mother's, Monsignor Darcy, serves as a father figure to the boy. As he reaches his teenage years, he attends a prep school in New England, known as St. Regis. Amory fits in well, as he is very boastful and rather stuck up, coming from such a wealthy background. He is also very good-looking and intelligent. Despite the fact that he is very lazy with his work, he is accepted to and decides to attend Princeton following his graduation and departure from St. Regis.

As he finds himself as a new freshmen student at Princeton, his old habits surface again. He becomes lazy and ends up failing one of his classes. He decides that he does not enjoy learning through structered classes. Instead, he'd rather learn by simply discussing certain topics with people outside of the classroom setting. He continues to struggle throughout his college years, and eventually abandons his degree as he enlists during World War I.

While overseas, Amory's mother passes away. He returns to America shortly after and meets the lovely Rosalind Connage. Unfortunately, Amory is left with very little money, and Rosalind refuses to marry into a poor family, despite the love that they share with each other. Amory is left heartbroken as she breaks off the engagement in order to marry a wealthier man.

The purpose of the story is for Amory to find his true self. He works toward this as he experiences more heartbreak and hardship. He is left with no money, and his father figure, Monignor, passes away. Amory decides that the best bet for him would be to return to Princeton, and he does so by walking there. He hopes to one day be able to win over Rosalind. He feels that he has figured out who he is, but he lacks knowledge about the rest of the world around him. After returning to Princeton, Amory says, "I know myself...but that is all" (Fitzgerald 322).

Discussion Questions:

1. Social class plays a very large role in this novel, as Amory is denied by Rosalind simply because of his poverty. How important is social standing to Amory, as well as to the rest of society at this time? Would this same thing happen in today's society? Why or why not?

2. Some critics have labeled this as being a tragic novel. Do you feel that Fitzgerald incorporated tragedy into this story? Why or why not?

Pride and Prejudice (but no zombies, unfortunately.)

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE - JANE AUSTEN

For the Bennet sisters, marriage is more than just finding the right person to spend their lives with. It also determines the future security, wealth, and happiness of the entire family. Due to having all daughters, Mr. Bennet's property will be inherited by their Rich cousin. Meanwhile, the rich Mr. Bingley rents a house in the country for the summer, bringing along his arrogant friend, Mr. Darcy, who takes pride in his wealth (for he is even more rich than Bingely himself). Jane, one of the Bennet daughters, recieves an invitation to visit Bingely's residence from his sister, Caroline. She becomes very ill and must stay there until she is well enough to go home. During this time, the infamous Mr. Darcy becomes more and more interested in Elizabeth, Jane's sister, who frequently comes to visit her. Although she is beginning to fall for him, Elizabeth is ashamed because Darcy is immensely disliked by everyone in town, and therefore she convinces herself that she loathes him. Caroline begins to notice the relationship building, and becomes jealous; for she was hoping to gain Mr. Darcy's affections (and therefore his wealth by marriage). Mr. Collins, the future owner of the Longbourn Estate, comes to make mends with the Bennet family over an earlier argument. After a ball (and many times afterwards), Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth, only to be denied. Instead he proposes to Elizabeth's friend, Charlotte Lucas, who happily accepts. After all of the excitement, Bingely, his sister, and Mr. Darcy take off to London, where Caroline writes to Jane, who has become quite fond of Bingely after he allowed her to recover in his home, telling her that the Bingely family is encouraging him to marry to Mr. Darcy's younger sister, and that he will not be returning to Netherfield any time soon. Jane and Elizabeth take a trip to London to visit with their aunt and uncle. While staying there, Mr. Bingely makes no effort to contact Jane whatsoever, even though his sister makes a clear effort to be rude to her. Later on, while visiting Charlotte (who is now married to Mr. Collins), Elizabeth again runs into Mr. Darcy, who is accompanied by his friend, Colonel Fitzwilliam. After Elizabeth begins spending more time with Darcy, Fitzwilliam tells her a false story, making Elizabeth believe that Darcy is a horrible person. Fitzwilliam also convinces Elizabeth that Darcy talked Mr. Bingely out of proposing to her sister, Jane. Elizabeth does not go to dinner that night in order to avoid Darcy in her state of anger. Still, Darcy manages to find her, and tells her that he has fallen in love with her (despite her family's low connections). He then proposes, to which Elizabeth declines in rage, questioning how he could be so inconsiderate to propose to her in such a manner, especially after he had talked Mr. Bingely out of marrying Jane. The next morning, Darcy hands Elizabeth a letter wordlessly, and walks away. The letter explains in detail the explanation behind his actions, and Elizabeth feels remorse for yelling at him. She and Jane return home temporarily, until she leaves once again on vacation. During this time, she visits Darcy's estate, only agreeing to accompany the Gardiners because he is out on business. He returns early, however, and seems overjoyed by the visitors, and then introduces Elizabeth to his sister. During this meeting, Mr. Bingely is present, and still shows obvious signs of attachment to Jane. One morning Elizabeth recieves a letter and must return home due to a family crisis. Meanwhile, Darcy is again off on business. When he and Mr. Bingely return once more, the ball is in their feild. Will the Bennet sisters be married? Or will they be rejected due to their low social class?

1. Elizabeth at first rejects her feelings for Mr. Darcy because he made a bad first impression. Do you think that one should be judged based on their first impression?

2. Mr. Darcy is often arrogant because of his wealth, and is therefore strongly disliked. Elizabeth, on the other hand, intrigues many people, even those higher in class. Do you believe that a person's social nature is significant than their social class? Why or why not?

I, Robot by Issac Asimov is a short story anthology that tells the stories of robots in a future where they are common household items. I, Robot was published in 1950 and it revolutionized the science fiction genre. I, Robot is one of few science fiction novels that has had a major impact on popular culture Before I, Robot people were not very interested in robots as a subject of literature because they were bland, authors were not sure how to treat their intelligence or their obedience to humans. Asimov changed this with the introduction what he called The Three Laws of Robotics. Asimov’s three laws are as follows

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law

Through the use of these three laws governing the robots in his fiction Asimov was able to make the subject of Robots interesting to the public and they remain a staple of popular culture to this day (Transformers anyone?).

The first story is entitled Robbie. This story is about a robot named, you guessed it, Robbie and how he affects the life of the child he takes care of, a girl named Gloria. Gloria’s mother bought Robbie when it was “cool” to own a robot servant. Gloria and Robbie become very good friends. Gloria spends more time with Robbie then she does with any other people. However, when it becomes “uncool” to own a robot Gloria’s mother sends Robbie back to the factory that he came from. Gloria then descends into a deep depression. Gloria’s mom tries everything she can think of to try and get Gloria to let Robbie go but it doesn’t work. As a last resort Gloria’s mom decides that Gloria needs to be in a different place to forget. It doesn’t work and this is when her dad has a thought. He says that Gloria needs to stop thinking of Robbie as a person and think of him as a machine and then she will get better. They decide to go to the robot factory. Robbie is at the factory and Gloria runs to him, in the process almost getting run over by a forklift. Robbie saves her life. It turns out the father planned Gloria’s reunion with Robbie of this. Gloria’s mom finally admits that Robbie might not be a monster like society has made robots out to be.

1. Do you think discrimination against an artificial intelligence, Robbie, could be looked at in the same way as racism is today?

The second story is entitled Runaround as deals with a paradox created by the juxtaposition of the Second and Third law. A robot named Speedy and a scientist are sent to Mercury to repair a mining station that has run out of selenium fuel. Once on Mercury the scientist sends Speedy to go get selenium out of a nearby selenium pool. After several hours the scientist becomes concerned and goes out to investigate. It turns out that Speedy is caught in a feedback loop between the Second Law (obey human orders) and the Third Law (protect it’s own existence). It is having this conflict because the scientist never emphasized the importance of this order to get the selenium and therefore the Second Law is not over ruling the Third Law. Eventually the scientists puts himself in danger so the First Law will over rule the other two laws and end the feedback loop. His plan works and they accomplish the mission.

2. What do you think about this situation? Can you think of any other situations where conflicts could arise between these laws?

The third short story is called Reason and it follows 2 humans on a space station with an AI that has a high capacity for reason. The station’s job is to provide energy via microwave beams to the planet below. The AI and other robots aim the beams. The humans encounter a problem when the AI decides that everything outside of the station does not exist. It develops its own religion where it serves the power source of the ship, who it calls “The Master.” The other robots become disciples of the AI and refuse to obey human orders (the Second Law has been compromised). Interestingly, the AI still performs its job perfectly but not for the humans on the planet (because it thinks they don’t exist) but for “The Master.” The humans decide to leave it alone and tell no one as it is still doing its job.

3. Did the humans do the right thing by leaving the AI alone because it’s still doing its job even though it has created its own religion?

The fourth story is titled Liar! This is the story of a robot that through a manufacturing defect has telepathic abilities. The corporation U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men attempt to figure out what went wrong and the robot starts telling the investigators what people are thinking, but it is also still obeying the First Law so to not hurt anyone’s feelings it lies in gigantic amounts. One of the characters then tells the robot that when it lies to avoid hurting humans that it is hurting them anyway. The robot then experiences a logical conflict and becomes useless. This story is where the phrase “Does not compute” originated.

4. Do you think humans will ever be able to create a robot that can evaluate psychological data? What might this mean if it happens?

There are five more stories in the anthology that I will not ruin for people who want to read the book. They deal with similar themes of Asimov’s writing such as how do you tell a humanoid robot from a moral upstanding citizen (think the Three Laws, it gets interesting), and various instances of logical paths that lead robots to be able to twist the First Law.

Asimov’s I, Robot was the first book to deal with “Robot Psychology,” the first where robots were fallible and what they said not always true (this had been a tradition among sci-f authors), and the first to give robots well thought out defining rules to what governed their actions.

Slaughterhouse Five

This classic novel by the acclaimed Kurt Vonnegut is a mixture of science fiction and historical fiction.


Vonnegut tells the story of a soldier during the WWII era. Billy Pilgrim is a pathetic dental student from Ilium, New York who is drafted into the war in between his transition from college to dental school. Billy hates his life. He has a hard time finding joy in anything he does.

Vonnegut tells the story of how Billy Pilgram travels through time in his dreams, and during the daytime, when he is at war and in class back in New York. The science fiction aspect of this novel comes when Billy is abducted by aliens. No one believes Billy's story and thinks he's crazy.

Vonnegut's unique literary technique shows throughout this novel. Since there is a large amount of human death in this book, he uses the phrase "So it goes." after every mention of death. Why do you think he does this?

Billy Pilgrim is a timid, shy man who most people cannot take seriously. How would you feel if you were trying to convey a point (such as Billy did when telling people he was abducted by aliens) and no one would listen to you and they thought you were crazy? How would you react?

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller is a satirical war novel that takes place in World War Two. The main character is Yossarian; a pilot stationed on an island near the coast of Italy. Yossarian and his friends in his squad are sent on suicidal tasks by the higher ranked officers. The officers use Yossarian and his friends as they please. They tell Yossarian and his squad that it is more important for them to take good photographs of when the bombs hit rather than to hit the actual targets. The high ranking officers use the photographs to boost their popularity and rank in the army, without regard for the lives that they are risking. The officers keep raising the number of flights that the squad has to make before they can go home so that they're in the high ranking officer's control forever, or basically until they are dead. Yossarian is the only one that says that there is a war going on; everyone thinks that he is crazy and disregards his opinions. Yossarian is scared by the war and fakes illness many times to escape having to do another bombing raid. His paranoia has his hiding under his bed sheets. Yossarian is haunted by the memory of his beloved friend dying in his arms when he refused to fight in the war. He becomes more insane as all of his friends in his squad either die of disappear and the high ranking officials volunteering to send his squad into more and more bombings for their own personal glory. Yossarian is so traumatized by the war that he finds out that you could be discharged from the army if you were declared insane. Yossarian had taken too much of the war and declared himself insane, only to realize that only a sane person would declare them-self insane and an insane person would deny facts and call them-self sane. Tricked by this loop-hole, Yossarian becomes even more crazy. Many sub-stories evolve around the main one of Yossarian and his friend dies. Yossarian loses his mind and leaves the army base to walk around Rome where he witnesses death, rape, disease, any every horror in the world. Yossarian is arrested for not having a passport and his officers find him. They give him the option of being tried in court, or returning home with an honorable discharge. However, to be discharged, he must say that he approves of the good job his officers do and that would require the next squads to fly 80 missions. Yossarian, having always taken the easy way out, decides to be tried for deserting the army and to save the lives of others.

1. Would you have said that the officers were good people in order to return home honorably and try to forget all of the horrors that have happened to you? If so, would the lie and the knowledge of other lives being lost to unfair treatment bother you when you returned home?

2. Would you continue to fight orders given by your superiors alone, would you try to contact someone in higher power than your officers, or would you just give in and accept your orders even though you knew that they were wrong. How would your choice affect your thoughts throughout life and what might you be constantly thinking about? Would your choice be worth it, or is there not really a right answer?

Death of Salesman by Arthur Miller

The play "Death of A Salesman" was written by the world renowned playwright Arthur Miller. Miller discusses the american dream within this play, through the perspecitve of a family of four. This family consists of Willy the father, Biff and Happy the sons, and Linda the mother. Early within the play it becomes very clear that Willy is quite unhappy with Biff's failures in life. He critisizes his son, accusing him of being lazy. Through a daydream, it comes to fruition that Biff is only following in his father's footsteps. Trying to be more liked by peers rather than academically successful, Biff is careless in school. Willy allows himself to be put out of touch with reality, turning a blind eye to peoples real opinions and his actual economic situation. Subconciously, Willy realizes his shortcomings and in turn, takes his failures out on those around him such as Linda. Subsequently, Willy's failures slowly derail both his internal and external emotions. He begins to talk to himself, living in a state of delirium, along with his wife who transfers her anger to her kids. Sadly, amongst this turmoil, Willy gets fired from his job. From lying to his family to cheating on his wife, Willy makes mistake after mistake, destroying both his life and outlook on the American Dream. These same mistakes also drag his entire family down with him, bringing about much anger and lying amongst them. Overall, this play really shows how the American Dream way of life is not given, but rather earned with honesty and hard work. By breaking the play down and analyzing sections, it becomes clear that the play discusses the important and honorable values one must follow to be successful both in the work force and at home with their families. Upon the novel's conclusion, Willy's failures provoke him to take his own life.

Questions:

1) How hard is it for kids to get out of their parents mold and become their own person? Within this play we see that Biff and Happy act similarly to their father, even though they realize it is wrong. Can kids ever truly break this mold and change how they act?

2) The "American Dream" means something a little different to everyone. To Willy it means to be both economically set, while still being very popular. What does it mean to you?

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a novel written in 3rd person taking place after a sort of horrible event that destroyed civilization occured. A small family, two parents and a son must make a dangerous journey to safety. However, the mom commits suicide, the circumstances being too much for her to handle. They must evade other survivors, who has resorted to hunting and eating humans. They continue on South along the highway. Food is very scarce. They have a gun for protection but suffer through many instances of attack. They repeatedly speak about how they are the "good guys" and are simply doing their duty by attempting to carry on civilization. Sadly, the father falls ill and knowing his time is near, speaks to the son about how he an always talk to him in his mind, so he is never truely alone. The make their way to the coast and find camps of human's being kept like chickens in a pen as a food supply for the cannibal groups. Almost immediately after reaching the sea, the dad dies. Luckily, the boy meets another family of "good guys" who agree to take him in and protect him. The novel ends with a sense of hope for the future.

1 If you were put into a situation where your future was dismal, would you take the easy way out like the mother and commit suicide?

2 If you survived a horrible disaster like the family, how would you force yourself to journey to perceived safety and not give up?

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The Glass Bead Game

The Glass Bead Game takes place in the future where the intellectually gifted are raised to play this game. The Game is supposed to combine history, mathematics and art. Only select individuals are allowed to play and they live in a fictional European province called Castalia. The only two functions of this province is to educate males in various subjects and to teach and nurture the Game. It is a very complex game and the rules are never precisely laid out for the reader. The main character Joseph Knecht becomes the "Magister Ludi" or head of the whole order that organizes and maintains the game. In order to obtain this position you must be the best at the game. Knecht become the master in a way that is sort of abstract. He visited the outside world and went on missions for the church among other things and learned as he went as opposed to in a boarding school. Knecht finds the order sketchy and questions his own loyalty. He eventually drops out of his position which has never been done and he tutors his friend's child until Knecht eventually drowns in a lake.

1) Do you think that a society could ever exist where the intelligent are appreciated like the super star athletes are today?

2) If you worked your whole life towards a goal and then realized there are flaws to it, would you leave and form a new goal as Knecht did or would you try to fix the flaws?

A Tale of two Cities

In England, Charles Darnay is on trial for treason. His lawyer needed his drunk freind to help acquit Darnay. Meanwhile Javis Lorrey escorts Lucie to her father Dr. Mannette in Paris. Marquis Evrémonde hurries home running down peasonts with his carriage to meet his nephew Darnay. After meeting Darnay, he is angered to find out that his nephew is disgusted with the way the aristocracy treats the lesser classes. Marquis Evrémonde is then murdered that night, the only clue left behind was a note left by the revolutionary Jacques. Both Darnay and Carton pledged themselves to marry Lucie. Jerry cruncher, snuck into a graveyard to steal and sell Cly's body Darnay ends up marrying Lucie and revealing his true identity to her father. Darnay and Carton end up becoming friends. The french revolution begins, and aristocrats are murdered byt the poor. One such aristocrat, Gabelle, writes to Darnay asking to be rescued from prison. Darnay is arrested for being an imigrant and Dr. Manette shows up and uses his influence to get him an aquittal. Darnay is arrested again. Cartonvows to save and rescue Darnay. During the trial, Defarge uses a letter found in Manettes cell to condemn him for his familys crimes. Darnay is senteced to death. Mamam Defarge is shot by Miss Pross for trying to arrest Lucy. Carton switches places with defarge and dies by the guillotine.

Do you think the French revolution went to far?

Is there a limit to what rebels should do to overthrow an oppressive government?

Sunday!

Happy Sunday everyone!