Final thoughts on Apocalypse

So by now, I've sifted through some deep thinking in regards to the idea of "appcalypse". The notion that apocalypse is no more than change has evolved slightly into the idea that apocalypse is but a change within ones self. We've been asked to describe what suprised us most about our learning of apocalypse(s). For myself, what has suprised me most isn't specifically the idea of how apocalypse has evolved, but rather how what we may originally believe about any topic can evolve. This speaks to the effect of research and education and its importance. We've done a rather extensive study of apocalypse this summer. In our study apocalypse has been assessed from a variety of angles. While individual personalities played roles in each definition, all of us experienced the progression of thought and expanded thinking that comes from extensive study. Applying the tools acquired in expanded thinking study and research will benefit us all far beyond the classroom.

The Necessity of Apocalypse

To properly answer the prompt on the necessity of apocalypse, I must first draw on some similarities discussed and more often assumed about apocalypse, order, heaven and hell. Gaiman’s “Season of Mists” plays on the importance of hell as a way of defining heaven. In the story, Dream is given the key to hell after Lucifer has grown tired of “managing” it. It is a gift that Dream is forced to accept if he hopes to find Nada, his lost love whom he had damned to hell previously in the series. Ultimately, after much to-do and numerous offers, threats and bribes for the key, Dream decides to give Hell over to two angels sent by God. Reimel, one of the angels, states in a message from God that it should be “ruled by its’ creator”. He also states in his message that hell is a reflection of “heaven’s shadow”(176). It is from this point that I draw on my conclusions (or what seems to be a conclusion) about the necessity of apocalypse.

Parallels can be drawn (at least for this argument) between an apocalypse and hell. Hell, a place of chaos, punishment and despair is mirrored by its’ ultimate antithesis, Heaven. Likewise, apocalypse, a time of personal change, often negative, is a muddled reflection of stability, security and growth (positive growth). Gaiman’s characterized angel, Reimel, states that Heaven and Hell, though opposing, do define one another. Similarly, the ideas of apocalypse and new life or growth define one another. It’s almost as though the existence of one depends on the other. I’ve argued that apocalypse is possibly more process than product. Maybe instead of a process, apocalypse is better defined as a cycle with the concept of new birth or life in mind.

I’ll refer to Death of the Endless and her comment about the necessity of her existence for new life. Gaiman personifies death to allow the reader to better grasp the concept of necessity. Something as ambiguous as death must be personified if its necessity is to the understood. Is apocalypse or the concept of apocalypse (or change) truly any different? Possibly, the necessity of apocalypse in light of future growth is what allows us as individuals to grasp what it really is. The idea of re-birth is relatively easy for us to understand as humans. Clarifying the abstract with graspable concepts is the best way for us to work toward a definition and ultimately an understanding. Gaiman elaborates this point in the final frame of his novel “Season of Mists” as he shows the “re-birth” of Nada. The “apocalypse” that became her relationship with Dream is what ultimately defined her re-incarnation and proves the necessity of change.

Unveiling of "Dream Country"

Neil Gaiman’s “Dream Country” caused me to reanalyze some of my initial thoughts on what an apocalypse truly is. I’ve stated before that as my interpretation of “apocalypse” begins to take form, I feel more and more that a true apocalypse is based largely on individual perception. I have also stated that I feel an apocalypse in its most primal form is merely a change. This notion evolved into the idea that an apocalypse is merely a change from which there is no return. I still hold strongly to this working definition. Clearly stated, an apocalypse is an individualistic perception of that change. Gainman’s “Dream Country” has caused me to consider that very gravity that our own perception holds.

In this novel, the lines are blurred between what is, what was, and what could be. I’m beginning to realize that an apocalypse is a realization or revelation of these things. Maybe an apocalypse is the process of unveiling a change from what is, was and could be. I’ve often thought of the term “apocalypse” is a vastly different light. I’ve treated it as a final product, rather than a process. We see the process of an individual’s apocalypse take shape as it is unveiled to each character by members of The Endless, particularly Dream and Death. The process of unveiling an apocalypse is done by an individual based on various factors of their lives. Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series does an excellent job of personifying each of these factors as members of The Endless. It’s almost as though The Endless accentuate an individual’s inner emotions to unveil an apocalypse. Perhaps this is what drives the perceptual aspect of “change”.

Teasing out forum F- Neil Gaiman's "The Doll's House"

I've put a lot of thought into this post while reading....enjoy....

I’ve brought up that it could be that apocalypse is purely bound by humanistic perspective. This being that a life-altering or life-“ending” event categorized as an apocalypse may be subject to argument based on any one individual’s set of life circumstances. For us, living in the U.S. an apocalyptic event could be as “simple” as a massive computer crash or subsequent loss of the internet (circa Y2K scare). However, such an event would be seemingly irrelevant to a remote tribe in the deepest jungles of Africa.

With this thought in mind, I will analyze Dream as both a “man” and as an entity and what apocalypse possibly means to him. It becomes clear that the star-crossed lover at the beginning of the story is Dream who falls in love with a mortal. The loss of his mortal love is devastating to him. A fellow classmate, Jordan Orzolek, brought up a point about Dream being “lonely” that is also alluded to in the novel. From his perspective, he and his kind (or kin) are controlled by us as mortal humans. His crossing over into the realm of the living via dreams is his way of seeking/ finding companionship.

But what wouldn’t Dream be lonely, never to die, yet in a way BOUND (via dreams) to a realm that is destined to perish. Rose becomes his mechanism of transport between the realms and is referred to as a vortex. His perspective on “life” is completely different that those in the human, mortal realm. Today we life a culture where the phrase “You only live Once” is prevalent. Social media has abbreviated the phrase into YOLO. It can represent an adventuresome spirit or a sort of excuse for rash decision making. Regardless, YOLO is not a phrase or philosophy that would accompany Dream or his kind. He understands death yet won’t experience it himself. His view on human responsibility is completely different from humans, in particular, ours in the U.S. In view, it is our duty to make the most of the time allotted. Unfortunately, in today’s culture, we see to it that we make the most in the time given. Be it money, possessions, or moments, today’s culture is one that sees and end but lives in a moment. “Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die”.

Dream was able to observe human change and growth without apparent end through his friend Robert. Robert’s life represents that up and down rollercoaster of a life that is lived without an end in mind. I close with this thought: Is a life lived without an end or big picture in mind or sight an apocalypse in and of itself or is life simply chalk full of one apocalypse after another that shapes us as humans and makes us grow? Possibly this is also subject to perspective. But one thing is for certain, the ability of humans to live in a snap-shot in light of a collaged masterpiece is what separates us from any other species or entity, in any realm and gives us a sense of control. We think we can see the whole picture at once, but in reality, we see but a piece at a time. We are helpless to the changes of time and in a way just a bunch of dolls.

A comparison of Symptoms vs. Causation

Symptom vs. Causation- For this prompt I’ll be taking an approach more in tune with my field of study. I was a biology student at Defiance and will be starting Chiropractic school in October. In the medical field the term symptom is used to describe a feature that indicates a condition. For instance, a symptom of Lumbar (lower-back) degenerative disk disease would be sharp pain in the lower-back that is increased when in an upright sitting position. (Thanks HealthSource internship)

In our novels, there are a variety of features that indicate the specific apocalypses. In “The Children of Men”, James describes a world enveloped in fear and utter hopelessness. The last ray of hope humanity had seen was snuffed out when the youngest person on earth is killed in a bar fight. Greed, desperation and violence accompany the hopeless world, heightening the fear of humanity. As each day passes without medical breakthroughs and as violence runs rampant, desperation increases. All these; fear, hopelessness, violence and greed (brought on by desperation) as very clear symptoms of this particular apocalypse.

The cause of the apocalypse in “The Children of Men”, in my opinion, would be due to a loss of passion in love. This only gets worse as the apocalypse unfolds itself. The desperation to procreate becomes the central focus and the deep passion between a man and women involved in creating life is lost.

To examine the causation and symptoms of the apocalypse in the novel “Oryx and Crake” the reader must be careful to remember that what is being written about the time prior to the apocalypse is but one man’s (Jimmy/ Snowman) account of the world. From his perspective we can see that humanity had become increasingly vain and obsessive about prolonging human life and beauty. It’s interesting to think that this obsession with prolonging human life is seemingly what brought it to an end. This notion is personified in the life of Crake. His mentality is a microcosm of the humanity of which he lived and worked. From the beauty companies and their age defying creams and pills to the OrganInc’s pigoons and the harvesting of human organs, it’s clear to see that humans had become obsessed with defying nature and death. Humanity attempted to cover up corruption and evil (personified in the lives of the youths, Jimmy, Crake and Oryx) with prolonging life and superficial beauty. This is similar to how Jimmy uses the name “Snowman” to cover up his identity. It can be presumed that the obsession was truly the cause of the apocalypse leading to a dreadful disease. But what about the symptoms? What are the identifying features of the decaying world left for Jimmy to muddle through? While, it is certainly desolate. All that seemingly remains throughout much of the book is Jimmy and the Crakers. Because Jimmy doesn’t desire to be close with the Crakers he is lonely, plagued by the memories left from a confusing childhood and the memories of Oryx and Crake. This apocalypse is different from the one depicted in the “Children of Men” in that, until the end of the book, it is presumed that humanity is completely done, with the exception of Snowman. So for this particular apocalypse I feel the symptoms are best summed up as loneliness, desolation and a haunting realization of what is lost.

*on a side note, Thanks for everyone's patience during my Internet apocalypse. I finally got a service person to fix it; something about the modem. Interestingly, during the time when my Internet was down I was able to think that if the Internet ceased to exist as we know it now, our world would be thrown into an apocalypse of its' own. One I'm not positive we could bounce back from.

Having a bit of an Internet apocalypse myself this evening. Sending this Post via my phone. Going to retire for the evening. You all can look forward To my post, regarding our literature, tomorrow.

Oryx and Crake- Causation/ Condition

I feel the central cause of "apocalypse" in Oryx and Crake is due to the obsession of humans (within the depicted culture) with perfection and self-preservation. Atwood discusses in detail the various companies that are developed within the culture to preserve human life. The pigoons at OrganInc speak largely to this effect. But there is also the aspect of sexuality and perfection within human life that has become an obsession. It seems as though the culture became so engulfed in their own ability controllable ability to sustain aspect or portions of "life" that the bare essentials were neglected and led to the "disease". The humans in this story forgot how to find balance in life. Everything had a quick fix developed in a lab it seemed. Jimmy, as a child, and his mother, were mildly in tune with this "balance". They understood the importance of nature and that some things aren't meant to be controlled by humans. Crake thought he could produce a perfect race by "playing god" and controlling various elements of growth and development. The novel speaks clearly to the devastating effects of his experimentation and its products.

It would be easy to view the apocalypse in this story to be purely biological in nature based on the notion that a "disease" wiped out the humans. But from this argument, it is also seen how a sociological shift in human priority produced a completely different type of apocalypse. Isn't that what an apocalypse really is? A dramatic change that alters things permanently. The "world" painted to us by Ms. Atwood, so vividly, is completely changed by the human obsession with perfection and self-preservation; an apocalypse in and of itself. Far before the onset of any biological devastation.