Blog number 21, Michael Malak, 4/24/2020, sophomore 2020
Aim: How does “Chapter 7” (of Animal Farm) portray the psychology of memory and authority?
Some important notes
Good leaders know how to include others and recognizes the talent in others. They take responsibility for their actions. They should be able to control their subjects.Trustworthy.
sometimes the other animals just take the word of the pigs. They keep changing the past to better their own arguments.
Authority is gained by using fear and the abuse of power. They used the police dogs to enforce whatever they want done.
Sometimes we just blindly follow authority and just let absurd things go past. Many people do not question those in power or authority.
What is it like working from home?
At first, anyone would jump at the chance to do work from home. I found however that it honestly isn’t really worth it. A few of the benefits are a shortened commute and I can work on my own time. But the work load does feel heavier because there’s a lot more preparation that we have to do since we don’t have our teachers for guidance. All in all I think the experience is one we can learn from. I don’t think I’ll take a class lecture for granted anymore.
My own personal thoughts and feelings on what is happening right now.
It amazes me how something like this happens. We are very fortunate to be living in a time where we know how to deal with it. Modern technology has helped us mitigate the problem but I feel that it is also the root of it. If the same scenario were to occur 200 years ago, I don’t think we would have that bad. Yes we wouldn’t know exactly what was happening but I don’t think that the problem would be so far reaching as it is now. Maybe a whole village would have gotten infected but I don’t think it would have spread to other countries as rapidly as it has now because the fastest mode of transportation was a boat, which took weeks to travel between countries. But now, all it took was one person from wuhan to board a plane and in a matter of hours, bring the virus to the other side of the planet. All in all I’m thankful to be living in the now because there are treatments and developments that we can use to our advantage to help save lives.
What are you learning about your world/community based on the reactions?
During these tough times, we see the true intentions of the people around us through their thoughts and actions. Some people’s reaction to this situation is to just stay at home and follow the rules. But we also see other people going out and having fun as if nothing ever changed. This shows a lot about the character of these individuals. One of them realizes the weight of their actions and chooses to limit their impact. The others have a selfish outlook on the way they live. They don’t see the impact of their actions. Their personalities are brought to light when we look at their actions. My community has been one to be very careful for the most part. Most people stay home and follow the rules. That shows how when in times of crisis people are able to put the needs of others over their own and bite the bullet.
What I learned from the lesson
This lesson really opened my eyes to how susceptible we are to suggestion. We learned that sometimes we just blindly trust our leaders and take their word for it. This relates to current times in which Donald trump says that we are fine and we are prepared for the virus. He isn’t a doctor and he doesn’t really know because no one can know when this will end. But yet we just take his words at face value. In hindsight he was wrong, yet everyone listened and was lured into the sweet lies of comfort. The pigs would try and change the past by just saying what they willed it to be, the scary part is that the animals just let it be and fell for the trap. Now reading this, one would say wow that’s absurd, if I was in their position I wouldn’t care what they said I would look at the facts. The truth of the matter is that we are in their shoes every moment of our lives, especially in times of crisis we rely on the words and lies of of authority. We convince ourselves that they know everything because they are higher up.
Why did I learn it?
Both memory and the Milgram Shock Experiment can help us better understand the situation presented in Animal Farm. It presents the idea that sometimes we are extremely susceptible to suggestion, even to insane lengths, when we are given suggestions by someone in a role of power. The animals will trust the pigs even when they shouldn't, just because they hold authority over them. In addition, specific characters within Animal Farm can be seen using memories to their advantage. An example of how memories can be used to influence a group can be seen when Squealer uses the memory of Jones to instill fear in the animals and persuade them to obey his commands. He also alters the memory of Snowball for the other animals making it seem he was a traitor.
How will I use what I learned?
I will use this knowledge about susceptibility in the future to know when I’m being swayed. It opened my eyes to the realization that sometimes I just take things at face value and maybe I shouldn’t. Maybe next time I should take a closer look at someone’s words before blindly following them. We are most vulnerable to suggestions from the people that we trust and sometimes that’s the people in power. Sometimes we follow their guidance without question, without a second thought, without hesitation. The milgram experiment is proof of this even if we don’t accept it for ourselves. We have to be more cautious about who we trust in order to formulate our own opinions and be able to act on our own accord.
Links to Videos Mentioned:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXXbIF5Okjc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXXbIF5Okjc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJFzqfLMBIw
No comments:
Post a Comment