Immunity to Mind Control

Warning: This post has spoilers about the Harry Potter series, the Twilight Series, season 2 of True Blood, Stephanie's Meyer's The Host and Veronica Roth's Divergent. 

Last night I started thinking about some of the characters in current popular literature; and how they have something in common.  

They seem to have some immunity to brainwashing and/or mind manipulation.

In Harry Potter's world, wizards are able to control other wizards with the imperius curse.  Harry Potter is able to resist the curse to some degree.  He doesn't easily become a puppet.

In the Twilight series, Bella Swan has a strong resistance to the powers of the vampires.  Edward Cullen can read minds; but he can't read hers.  Jane tortures people with some kind of mind trick.   She's unable to torture Bella.

In season 2 of True Blood, the townspeople of Bon Temps become zombie-like while under control of a Maenad.  Sookie Stackhouse is able to resist the control.  

In The Host, Melanie Stryder's mind's so strong; she's able to resist losing herself when an alien body snatcher takes over her body.

In Divergent, Beatrice Prior's fellow Dauntless member factions are controlled by injections and a powerful computer program.  They're made to do horrible things. Beatrice is able to resist.

The immunity to mind control.  It's a good trait for a hero to possess.

I think it also works well in fiction, because the reader and/or viewer can imagine they might possess this trait as well.  Really. How likely is it that their hypothesis will be tested?

I can imagine that I'd be like Sookie Stackhouse....keeping my wits about me while everyone else is involved in wild mindless orgies and blood sacrifices.  Who's going to prove me wrong?

I'm guessing though that this type of extreme mind control can be symbolic of less extreme examples.

The fictional stories might push us to ask realistic questions about ourselves.

If everyone else picked on that particular co-worker, would we join the fun?

If everyone in our book club spoke out against a current bestseller; would we automatically decide it's awful; or would we read it and form our own independent opinion?

If everyone believes a headline murder suspect is guilty; will we assume the same? Or would we consider other sides to the story? 

Are we the type of person to follow fashions because we're told that they're in right now.   Or are we the type of person who wears what we genuinely enjoy wearing?

I'd say if we're free-thinkers in the real world; there might be a chance that we're able to resist when the wizards, vampires, and/or aliens take over.   

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Which Faction?

I just finished reading Veronica Roth's Divergent. 

I'm guessing most readers of the book do what I did while reading the book....obsess over what faction they belong to.

The book takes place in a dystopian version of Chicago.

The population is divided into five formal factions. 

1. Amity (kind and peaceful)

2. Dauntless (brave)

3. Candor (honest and upfront)

4. Abnegation (self-sacrificing)

5. Erudite (intelligent)

These groups live separately from each other. 

Then there's those who fail to be initiated into any of the five groups.  They become homeless and/or have menial jobs. They're called the factionless.

Another group of people provides the title of the book.  Divergent. They don't fit neatly into any of the five categories.  They're rare. They're special.  They're dangerous.

By the time I got to the end of the book, I realized something.   I'm divergent.

I like to be kind; and I think I often am.  But sometimes I get angry and mean things pop out of my mouth. 

I can be dauntless at times...in certain situations.  Other times I'm a coward.  

I'm sometimes selfless. Or at least I TRY to be that way.  Well, I act that way....perhaps a bit grudgingly.  

On my blogs, I have been very open at times.  I can imagine fitting into the candor group.  Yet I couldn't really, because sometimes I'm awfully secretive.  

I like to read and learn.  I could sort of fit in with the Erudites.   But though I like to learn; my power of retention is quite weak.

So yeah....

I fit in each group at least a little bit.

And I don't fit into any of the factions perfectly.   

Am I special?  Rare?

I doubted it.

First of all; it's not just that I can't put myself into any faction.   There's no one in my life that would fit easily into a faction.

I feel they're all like me.  They'd fit into each faction a little bit; but not a lot.   

One of the Divergent online quizzes agreed with my assessment of myself.  Yes.  I am divergent. 

And guess what....

So is most everyone else.

Divergent got the highest ranking for all the quiz takers.  

My personal second highest ranking is Amity.

The same goes for the quiz overall average.

Although I enjoyed reading the novel; I do think there's an obvious fault.

The author took what's quite common and tried to make it look rare.

Unless we're supposed to believe human beings mutate in the future; and become individuals who can easily be pigeon-holed.   

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Thoughts on Education in Anna Karenina

As an unschooling mom, I love these words from Anna Karenina.  

In his father's opinion, he did not want to learn what he was taught.  In reality he could not learn that.  He could not, because the claims of his own soul were more binding on him than those claims his father and his teacher made upon him.

Those claims were in opposition, and he was in direct conflict with his education.  He was nine years old; he was a child; but he knew his own soul, it was precious to him, he guarded it as the eyelid guards the eye, and without the key of love he let no one into his own soul.  His teachers complained that he would not learn, while his soul was brimming over with thirst for knowledge.  And he learned from Kapitonitch, from his nurse, from Nadinka, from Vassily Lukitch, but not from his teachers. The spring his father and his teachers reckoned upon to turn their mill-wheels had long dried at at the source, but its waters did their work in another channel. 

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Spreading Sickness

I'm reading The Things That Keep Us Here by Carla Buckley.

It's about a pandemic.

I don't think I'd like a pandemic in real life.

But I sure do like them in fiction.  

I wonder what would be worse (in real life) a viral pandemic; or a zombie apocalypse? 

I'm tempted to go with zombies, because they'd tear you apart.  That would hurt.

But maybe a few minutes of extreme pain is better than several hours or days of extreme illness.

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Inconsequential

I'm reading The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan.

Bess, the protagonist of the story thinks:  My most troubled moments come when I realize I have not thought her for several days or more. It is then it seems that her life was inconsequential, that mine may be as well and everyone else's too.  We all matter so very little, not at all after a generation of two.  And it is the same for all mankind; not even the greatest of men amount to anything that will survive the forward march of time.   
 
Maybe Bess would feel differently if she watched It's s Wonderful Life.

We all play our part.  We're all important in some ways.

I can agree with the quote though.

We matter now, and our actions might have some type of domino effect...positive or negative.

But most of us will be forgotten.

I used to think celebrity was an antidote to this.  But I think it's rare for a celebrity to have staying-power.

I used to think if I got a book published, it would be my ticket to a sort of immortality.  I would protect myself from being forgotten.  I wouldn't end up as letters and photographs in the attic, barely looked at.

Lately though I realized how false this is.  Out of all the books published, how many continue to be published?

My guess is most of them go out of print.

They might be read by future generations, but not on a regular basis.

On most days, the characters are in a state of suspended animation...waiting for the rare moment of awakening.    

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Interruptions

Why must people interrupt me while I'm reading a book?

I'm fine with quick interruptions when information needs to be conveyed.

I'm fine with simple questions and requests.

I'm going to the store.  Is there anything you need?

But what's the deal with people who see me reading and then try repeatedly to start a conversation?

My monosyllable answers don't seem to deter them; at least not at first.

They continue to interrupt.

I think it's rude and inconsiderate.

Do I do it to others?

I hope not.

I might.

I know I interrupt my husband's television watching.  But I usually ask him to pause it first.  And I think I ask if it's okay for me interrupt?

And I don't interrupt just because I feel like chatting.   I interrupt because I feel the need to pass on information or ask a question.  

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Reader Symbolism in The Host (Spoiler Warning)

The Host (novel) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In Stephanie Meyer's The Host a body snatcher named Wanderer is put into the body of a young woman named Melanie Stryder.

Usually in this situation, the original soul of the body disappears and the alien soul takes completely over.

With Melanie, it's different. She stays with the new soul.

The two souls share one body, with the alien soul having control of body movements and speech.  

In the beginning of the novel, Wanderer experiences Melanie's memories.  She takes in what has happened to Melanie, and they become part of her.   It's not just on an intellectual level, but an emotional level as one.

Wanderer quickly grows to love Melanie's younger brother, even before meeting him herself.

She falls in love with Melanie's boyfriend.

And she falls in love with Melanie herself.  

The whole process reminded me of the process we go through when reading or viewing fiction.

We're very much like Wanderer when we read a book or watch a TV show or film.    We share in the character's memories and experiences.  If the fiction is effective enough for us, it's likely we'll fall in love with who the character loves. And we'll love the character. 

When we talk about two characters having chemistry with each other, maybe this is what it's about.

If we can't connect to the character's emotion....if we can't feel the love that they're feeling; then this might be when we don't support the romantic relationship.  

I feel the best books are ones in which I feel fully included in the adventure.   I become the character or characters;  I go with them on their journey.   Temporarily I lose myself and become them.  

On some occasions I'll read a book, and I'll feel left out.  I feel there's a wall between myself and the characters.  It's like to eavesdropping on a conversation, rather than being part of the conversation.   It's interesting; but kind of lonely.  

I don't enjoy books that give me that feeling.  

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Invasion of the Body Snatchers Through the Eyes of the Snatcher

I recently read The Host by Stephanie Meyer.

I loved it.  I loved Meyer's Twilight series.   I feel most people who are fans of the series will love this other book.

I'm betting people, who do not like the Twilight series will dislike The Host for the same reasons they hated Twilight.  

I enjoyed the premise of the story. The novel's plot centers around a invasion of the body snatchers situation.  Yet the story is told through the eyes of a snatcher.  

And guess what.

The snatcher isn't evil.

She's not even remotely bad.

None of the snatchers are evil.    They're actually very good, except for one minor thing.    They snatch bodies without any significant concern for the minds that are being erased. 

Can we fault them on this when we ourselves frequently erase living things for our own use?  

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JK Rowling's New Book

I've been nervous about JK Rowling's new book; not obsessively nervous, but a little nervous.

What am I afraid of?

I don't know.

I guess I fear the book is going to be a failure; that it's going to get awful or medicore reviews.

Am I fearful for Rowling?   Or am I fearful for us...her readers?

Maybe a little bit of both.

I should relax about it.

If it does fail, we have other books to read.  We'll be fine.

As for Rowling, she can always try again.

The Casual Vacancy could end up being fantastic.

Anne Rice's vampire books were famous; but then she wrote the witch books and I loved those.

I recently finished reading Stephanie Meyer's The Host.

I liked that as much as the Twilight trilogy.  

So I do have some hope alongside the worries.

What I wonder is what I'll do if The Casual Vacancy gets mostly bad reviews.   Will I read myself, anyway.   Or do I avoid it?

Wait....

I just looked, and reviews are already coming out.

They seem to be fairly medicore, unfortunately.

I probably will read it for myself though.   Eventually.   

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