Analysis

I chose to make my blog posts flow like a story because it allowed me to make more connections to pop culture, in terms of movie plots and twists, etc. This blog only includes the beginning of the protagonist's story. I felt that I could make a closer personal connection to the character models and themes of the novels studied by incorporating them into my own story. This allowed me to demonstrate my true understanding of the elements we learned about. I think that if I merely related the themes to my own life, it does not completely show how much I know, since the ideas can be morphed to fit one's needs.

X is similar to Winston from 1984, since they are both characters that are uniquely different from their surrounding. While they may seem calm and reserved, they both become braver when the situation calls for it. For example, Winston becomes more confidant when he is around Julia, and becomes more noble and heroic. X, on the other hand, fights back against Roscoe when he is attacked, and decides to fight all-out. Instead of going easy, X makes sure Roscoe is rendered harmless when he pushes him over the cliff.

The story incorporates two major themes that we discussed during the year. The first one is the theme of isolation. X has no human companions, and the closest living thing to him would be his dog, who is killed early in the plot. He thinks very differently from the rest of his society, and even when he discovers people of similar intellectual capacity, it turns out that they are cannibals. These unfortunate events lead to X being almost completely isolated from society, much like Winston (who's partner, Julia, isn't as intelligent or witty as him), John the Savage, and Billy Pilgrim.

The second major theme would be deception. In Chapter Five ("Lie"), X is almost fooled into become dinner for Roscoe's cannibalistic tribe. He is tricked into believing that Roscoe would lead him to a better life with people similar to himself. X is also almost fooled into believing that trees were talking to him, when Roscoe hides amongst them to disguise himself. This shows how gullible and naive X is, but it also symbolizes how one must look past an object's initial appearance and search deeper so that they are not fooled.

I feel that I successfully completed this assignment, since I was able to incorporate my gained knowledge and ideas and truly make them my own. I thought that I took that next step, and, instead of merely commenting on the themes, I used them to send my own messages with my own original plot. This demonstrates my complete knowledge of the subject matter.

Five: Lie

The old man, who went by the name Roscoe, explained that X was not alone. Dozens of people who's awareness levels (tracked by brain signals) were above average had their homes burned down, and they had formed a union of some type. All of a sudden, X saw his world flipped around. He was now a part of a social group and organization for the first time. He began to spill his secrets to Roscoe, explaining his thought patterns and how he viewed the world. The old man admitted to having similar experiences and emotions, and how they were common for this group of people, who call themselves the "Dolphins."

X walked along with Roscoe until they reached a cliff side. He hadn't noticed how much time had passed, since they were so deep in conversation. Once they were at the edge, X decided to pop a question for his new companion, "So, what do the Dolphins do when they recruit new members?"

Roscoe suddenly smiled maniacally and said, "It usually depends on the quality of the member. You could feed up to 12 of us."

X's eyes widened in shock, and he muttered, "You can't be serious..."

He looked under the cliff and found that there were about 20 tents that formed a small, nomadic village. Roscoe erupted into a strange variation of gargles and screeches, and from the tents emerged some of the most disgusting human beings X had ever seen. It occurred to him that they were cannibals, and the truth dawned upon him. He was lured into a trap to have him made into dinner. The one man he trusted had deceived him, and he had to make a quick move. Roscoe pulled out a jagged stone and was about to begin prodding X over the edge, where he would fall to his death and be made into a meal.

Instinctively, X ducked and attacked the old man's legs first. His reaction time was slow, and he was forced to retreat. X kicked the pitiful creature twice, rendering him paralyzed and unconscious. He then tipped him over the edge, where he would be eaten by his own companions.

X had learned his lesson. Trust was to be earned, not given out. Kill, or be killed. It's a cold world.

Four: Miracle

As the blades of the helicopter rotated quicker and quicker, the mysterious figure was lifted out of sight and into the clouds. X fell to he ground and pondered for a while. Where would he go? How will he survive? There were no organizations for financial relief, and there certainly wasn't anyone he could go live with. It seemed a miracle would be needed for X to continue living a tolerable lifestyle.

And a miracle came.

X heard a faint whistle from the forest opposite his destroyed home. He thought it was the wind blowing against the trees, or an animal rustling through looking for shelter. The creature had obviously felt the change in temperature and could sense a coming storm.

He heard it again. Louder, this time. X slowly moved closer to the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever it was making the noise.

"Go around!" whispered the hoarse voice of a tree.

"Excuse me?" X was too perplexed to move. All he wanted was to have a nice cup of tea in front of his fire place with his dog, and now trees were talking to him?

"Oh, for God's sake, man, can you make it more obvious?" A wrinkled snake reached out of the trees and grabbed X, pulling him into the forest. "You're going to have us both killed, kid!" It was in fact an arm that grabbed him, and the raspy voice belonged to a old man who stood at about five feet tall.

Two: Surprise

X drifted through the snow on his way home. He was looking forward to the warmth of his fire and the companionship of his loyal German Shepherd. It really is unfortunate that he would not be welcomed by either of those things when he entered his home. Or his home entered him, more like. The flames emerging from the doorway seemed to bring the house closer to X, and he quickly found himself running around mindlessly in circles looking for his dog. Later, X would recall how foolish he was to look for the dog, who's booming bark was nowhere to be heard.

Although he lived in a suburban area and was surrounded by neighbours, it was highly unusual for anyone to help another out. This left X to watch his home before his eyes, and he had to reach the conclusion that his only companion had left him as well. He optimistically believed that the dog had survived the fire and had escaped to find a new home. He could not face the fact that the dead creature that laid in the ashes of his home was once his lively partner. X was now truly alone in this world. He had no one to talk to, no one to keep his presence with, and no one to help him reassure himself of his sanity.

Three: Visit

"Sad, isn't it," said a voice from behind. "You can't really prepare yourself for a tragedy like this."

"And you are?" asked X curiously.

"The man who burned your house down."

Silence followed. X had heard of mysterious government officials who were disguised as normal civilians, and he always felt that he would meet one eventually. This caught him completely off guard, however.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you burn down my house?" X was unusually calm while asking this question. He didn't want to anger this stranger, and he felt like he was finally going to be enlightened with the true nature of his world.

"I have business to attend to, so I'll put this to you simply. Your immune system is abnormally working against the drugs planted to make you... happier," the mysterious figure explained. "This information was collected by the signals your brain gives off when you make calls, watch TV, and use other electronic appliances."

X was hesitant to speak. He was unaware that his brain was giving off "signals" and that he was immune to anything. He could only come up with two words, "And now?"

"Nothing. We needed some DNA samples and performed some other slight operations. For now, we are done." 

A helicopter that had been hovering overhead dropped a ladder, which the house-burner grabbed.

And he was gone. 

One: Welcome to the World

Two steps forward, one step back. He took his time to observe his surroundings. Life wasn't exactly pretty, nowadays. In fact, it was downright disgusting. There was nothing to observe, nothing to gain when absorbing the environment, or at least, what was left of it. Too much time had passed, but there isn't a need to elaborate on what happened. You weren't there. Neither was I. He learned to keep his mind empty, yet filled. Aware, yet absent. Focused, yet lost in a daze of confusion. What wasn't your's did not matter, and since little was truly your's, nothing mattered. Things worked differently here, but he was okay with it. This was how life was today, how it always would be. He was X.

X has no age. Age is but a a numerical value we choose to label each other with. There is no need for such a value when, in all truth, it has none in itself. Thus, X exists in a time period that can be parallel to our's, in the future, or in the past. This does not matter, but the concept of time is one of the last remaining constants in the world X lives in. Another other concept is that of the Universal Standard. X's world eliminated originality and uniqueness, which are essential for the evolution of a successful civilization. Every member of society was subjected to pointless laws and restrictions that removed speech, creativity, and freedom from existence.

You may be reading this and thinking, "Okay, so how did this happen?" All anyone can say to that is that it is what it is. They do not know, nor do they care, how their world came to fruition. In fact, they do not know or care about anything at all. They are but drugged zombies breathing the same air that regular homo sapiens would breathe.

Amongst all of these zombies was X, different than his surrounding, a black dot on a perfectly blank white sheet, a unique individual compared to the mindless robots around him. Unfortunately for him, however, there was little or no purpose in showing off his personality and ability to think abstractly. Those around him would not be able to comprehend his propositions, and the government that ruled them was just as hidden as X's intellect. Their methods of control and dominance were undetectable, and the public did not even consider overthrowing them or gaining rights: their ignorance was bliss.

All this changed one winter's eve...