How do culture and time influence how individuals and communities react to loss?

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How do culture and time influence how individuals and communities react to loss? by Mind Map: How do culture and time influence how individuals and communities react to loss?

1. Themes about pain that are commonly used within the three text

1.1. Resistance/ Resilience

1.1.1. To live

1.1.1.1. Pg. 199 "They beat me everyday"

1.1.1.2. Pg 146 Jiazhen not complaining through the pain "but Jiazhen still wouldn't resign herself to her condition."

1.1.2. 1984

1.1.2.1. Pg. 204 He is afraid of the physical pain, he fears the pain more than the alternative but he is not strong enough to do it to himself, which contrast with page 213 where he knew what he was doing which leads to countless beatings. The "torture was real."

1.1.2.2. Pg. 222 When O'brien ask "how many fingers am I holding up?" Winston repeatedly says four. Winston tries to correct his answer but the system does not want you to convince the system that you believe something yet, they want you to actually believe it.

1.1.2.3. Pg. 254 "Pain is not always enough. There are occasions when a human being will stand out against pain, even to the point of death. "Pain as an abstract concept is endurable, but it is the human factors that makes it unbearable.

1.1.3. Grapes of Wrath

1.1.3.1. Pg. 83 Jim Casey "There was the hills, an' there was me, and we wasn't separated no more. We was one thing. And that one thing was holy."

1.1.3.2. Pg. 194 Narrator "And because they were lonely and perplexed,because they had all come from a place of sadness and defeat... In the evening, a strange thing happened: the twenty families became one family, the children were the children of all."

1.2. Loss

1.2.1. Grapes of Wrath

1.2.1.1. Pg. 349 Narrator "There is a crime here beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolise. There is a failure here that topples all success... and in the eyes of the people there is the failure; in the eyes of the hungry there is the growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage."

1.2.1.2. Pg. 149 Narrator "The loss of home became one loss, and the golden time in the west was one dream." New sense of family and ironic because the great depression was all about capitalism but the revolution that was supposed to put everyone together split people apart because there was still something to lose and there was physical risk. In the great depression, the people have to physically make the choice to help other people, who have nothing, meaning they have nothing to lose.

1.2.1.3. Pg. 119 "We can't start again. The bitterness we sold to the junk man- he got it all right, but we have it still."

1.2.1.4. Pg.230 "What we got lef' in this worl'?Nothin' but us, nothin' but the folks."

1.2.2. To live

1.2.2.1. Pg. 206 Fengxia dies from childbirth

1.2.2.2. Pg. 218 "Erxi was crushed between two slabs of cement."

1.2.3. 1984

1.2.3.1. Pg. 261 "He was overwhelmed by a desire not so much to get away from Julia as to get back to the Chestnut Tree Cafe, which never seemed so attractive as at this moment."

1.3. lack of personal identity

1.3.1. To live

1.3.1.1. Pg. 196 "The pain wasn't so bad. The worst part was they didn't let me get any fucking sleep-it was like torture." Gets beaten by red guards and can't find his own sense of identity, causing him not to be able to think or sleep.

1.3.1.2. Pg. 199 "I don't want to live anymore." Chunchang

1.3.2. 1984

1.3.2.1. Pg. 262 "It was gin in his stupor every night, and gin that revived him every morning."

1.3.2.2. Pg. 264 "Uncalled, a memory floated into his mind. He saw a candle-lit room with a vast white-counterpanes bed, and himself, a boy of nine or ten, sitting on the floor, shaking a dice box a laughing excitedly. His mother was sitting opposite him and also laughing... He pushed the picture out of his mind. It was a false memory."

1.3.3. Grapes of Wrath

1.3.3.1. In chapter five, we see how the tenant diverts the blame to "the bank" who is "the monster." This detaches the bank worker from the pain and suffering the farmers will face and allows the bank worker to no have to take the blame for anything.

2. Reference to text/ social issues

2.1. Old testament

2.1.1. There are many connections to the old testament in the book Grapes of Wrath. In the book The Grapes of Wrath, the dust bowl is what lead to the Joads moving to California. This could be seen as the plagues of Egypt, the Exodus away from Egypt and the Rich land owners are also comparable to the Tribes of Canaan. Another reference to the bible is the title which is taken from the song "Battle Hymn of the Republic" which was a spiritual song that was sung in churches in the 1860s. It could also refer to the revelations chapter of the bible, where God smites the world and ends it. This links back to the notion of controlled reality, which in this case, would mean that the journey that the Joads take is representation of how it is the end for America.

2.1.1.1. Pg. 43 "These last would take no responsibility for the banks or the companies because they were men and slaves, while the banks were machines and masters all at the same time."

2.1.1.2. Pg. 119 "This land, this red land, is us; the flood years and the dust years and the drought years are us."

2.2. Cultural Revolution

2.2.1. The Book to live is a reliving of the cultural revolution and talks about the pain and anguish of that time period. The book shows this through scenes such as the smelting of iron, the lost of a son, the death of their daughter and the public humiliation and killings.

2.3. World War 2

2.3.1. 1984 was a response to world war two as it was written to warn humans of future it was creating. This is seen as the totalitarian government that is described is fairly consistent in today's world as there is no such thing as a sense of privacy. Not only is this a important aspect, but the book also talks about how history has been through altercations in governmental systems such as those in Soviet Union (Stalin).

2.4. Great Depression

2.4.1. The great depression was reflected in the book "The Grapes of Wrath". In this book, the author writes about this subject after doing research on the treatment of farmers in California during the great depression. Steinbeck is reported to have taken inspiration from the Arvin Federal camp near Bakersfield and his book was highly critiziced and even burned and banned. WB Camp, the presiding company over Bakersfield released a statement saying "''We are angry, not because we were attacked but because we were attacked by a book obscene in the extreme sense of the word.''

3. Social Status and Real world response

3.1. The social response from the real world was varied throughout the world. The books "To Live" was originally banned in China due to it being against the communist regime but has now been considered as one of the best books in China. Not only was the book banned, the movie was also banned in China. The book 1984 was written in 1948 and was widely received. It was seen as anti-soviet and hence was highly praised. Although the social response at the time was positive, the current state of the world has very similar circumstances. That means that the warnings of the book was mostly disregarded. In the book Grapes of Wrath, capitalism is depicted in its worst light. This lead to the book being highly praised by the Soviets in order to perpetuate a image of capitalism.

4. How has history been presented in the text?

4.1. controlled fate

4.1.1. 1984

4.1.1.1. Altered History

4.1.1.1.1. Pg. 214 "Doublethink goes on forever. With the lie always one step ahead of the truth"

4.1.1.1.2. Pg. 221"Is it your opinion Winston, that the past has any real existence? ... He not only did not know whether yes or no was the answer that would save him from pain; he did not even know which answer he believed to be the true one. "

5. Dreams and aspirations and how they are changed throughout the text

5.1. American Dream

5.1.1. Grapes of Wrath

5.1.1.1. The American dream is presented in a negative light and is thoroughly criticised throughout the book. We see this critique from the sense of poor midwestern farmers who were forced to find new labor away from home. In the beginning, the family is optimistic about prospects in California and are excited for the new life ahead of them. We see this on page 123 where "Ma" is seen talking about how life would be better in California, picking peaches, grapes and oranges and how they are demanding more labor. We then see this idea crushed when they are faced with the true hardships that come with this new found opportunity, labor competition. This is challenged by Jim Casey when he creates a labor union that challenges the low wages (Chapter 26). Another misconception of the dream that is also seen in this chapter is the equal protection clause of the bill of rights where we see corrupt officers who allow their personal beliefs dictate their actions and their duties.

5.2. Unity and greater party love

5.2.1. In all three books, we see unity and greater party love. In Grapes of Wrath, although the system was a capitalist one, the people grouped together and formed a community. This is exemplified on the last page of the book (619) where Rose of Sharon breast feeds the old man. In To live, people are taught to work in a community and work for the greater good. This is ironic as no one stands up for anyone else and only cares about themselves because they have something to lose: their families, their friends and their lives; opposed to the characters in Grapes of Wrath who have already forgone their possessions. In 1984, Winston does not start with anything, leading him to only care for himself. This is in line with the ideology of the government but when Julia falls, he on his own accord, helps her up. This symbolises that on another level, Winston is a caring person. When he reads the note that says "I love you", Winston realises that he now has something to lose, hence he does all he can to protect Julia yet in the end, he lets her go.