Reflection About Dystopia

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world” (Goodreads). Gandhi was saying that if we want something to change, we have to do it ourselves and show others that we need this change to happen. In Paul Loeb’s, “Soul of a Citizen” he encourages community service because of the important role it plays in community change. “Participation in public life often requires us to confront blindness, shortsightedness, greed, and the will to dominion that theologians call evil. Taking on larger causes sets us up for repeated heartbreak and for anger and frustration when people we hope will respond spurn the most basic appeals to human solidarity” (Loeb 40). When we engaged in community service, we get to see issues that others

Winston Churchill’s quote "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give" embodies what community service is really about. Over the years I have had the pleasure of working for several organization and volunteering in a variety of different areas. There has been a community service experience that changed my life tremendously though. From 2009 until 2014 I had the amazing opportunity to work for the Nash-Edgecombe County Teen Court Program and doing so profoundly shaped my future.

As young adults, our characters are still being molded and we believe to have an efficient environment each individual should strive to be modified to his or her full potential. An aspect of community service promotes finding individuality and purpose in life. Actually connecting with hundreds who have

“Community service brings learning beyond the classroom. Volunteering allows students to take what they've learned and apply it beyond the classroom. This offers the opportunity for enrichment and a great way for them to see how concepts they've learned work in the real world.” (Writers, 2012

What exactly is a dystopia, and how is it relevant today? E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stops uses a dystopian society to show how one lives effortlessly, lacking knowledge of other places, in order to show that the world will never be perfect, even if it may seem so. A society whose citizens are kept ignorant and lazy, unknowing that they are being controlled, unfit to act if they did, all hidden under the guise of a perfect utopian haven, just as the one seen in The Machine Stops, could be becoming a very real possibility. There is a rational concern about this happening in today’s world that is shared by many, and with good reason. Dystopian worlds are often seen as fictitious, though this may not be the case in the

The lack of emotion in society has had several effects on not only relationships between the individuals, but also effects the way individuals see their life. The dystopian world includes an increase in violence, a lack of empathy, and a disregard to nature. Mainly because the characters are unable to recognize their own feelings let alone recognize other peoples. We see that the society as a whole has lost their sense of humanity when Montag describes a scene in which he is being chased by a robotic hound and people are watching the TV waiting for his death. Montag describes the inner reflection as the chase is underway, “Then if he wished, Montag might rise, walk to the window, keep one eye on the TV screen, open the window, lean out, look back, and see himself dramatized” (128). He describes the chase as an action show where the stakes are raised to almost keep the interest of the people watching. Montag also imagines “how many parlor- sitters who had been wakened from sleep a few minutes ago by the frantic sirening of their living room walls to come watch the big game, the hunt, the one man carnival” (128). To Montag he can see the ways in which his death is about to be shown as something for entertainment and to excite. What makes his thoughts true is when to get a happy ending to the story a random individual is killed in Montag’s place. “On the screen, a man turned a corner. A voice cried, ‘There is Montag! The search is done!” (142). Although it is obvious to the

Throughout human history, matters not which civilization; humanity has endeavored to attain a sociality in which one can live with freedom, enjoyment, justice, and happiness. It is human nature to see oneself in a place where it is flourishing and enjoyable, and unfortunately that is often elsewhere then where one is; after all isn't "the grass always greener on the other side" (Eng. Proverb).

Students sometimes find it hard to find opportunities to complete community service hours but they often never have to look further than they're neighborhood or the local businesses and clinics and a lot of students are blinded to that fact(khan 1).Community service is something positive but it shouldn't be forced upon you to do it because it becomes more of an assignment and will be done half-hearted, and that's due to the fact that it focus more on the hours than the service itself(khan 1).

The city that once had homed thousands and been the most economically successful country ever, was now a contaminated wasteland. The land looked dry, destroyed and lonely. The morning breeze felt like crying sorrows, and the grey deceitful sky awed down at us. In the deepest corner of despair lies dystopia where hope dies. As someone looks through the eyes of the devil, they see his utopia. Only visible by the dim light of the moon was the great wall. Beyond the wall? No one knew. Stretching away from the wall was a humongous bridge that towered the wall. Standing tall on the bridge was a tower, which had two circles that almost looked like eyes. Those mysterious, creepy and dangerous looking eyes stared down at the city giving away a haunting look.

The definition of a dystopian society is “an imaginary society that is as dehumanizing and as unpleasant as possible.” What makes them this way is that the vast majority of people living in them have zero control or power over themselves, even if they think they do. The select people in the society (i.e. the government, the rich) are the one who pull the strings behind the scenes for the majority that are ‘below’ them. The ones with the power are in the minority and are vastly outnumbered by those without power, yet the systems are so efficient at control those without power do not have the will to rebel. Control is enforced through surveillance and monitoring of the actions of the citizens. There is also the fear of discipline if you are caught acting out of line. In each society there is an atmosphere of bleak helplessness and a lack of individuality. A dystopian society fits the definition of Foucault’s Panopticism, the society has an efficient, systematic control in which power is exerted by the few to control the many, although the system is not always a negative.

Dystopia is the the imbalance of power within a society; where the rich stay rich or have power and the poor stay poor or don’t have power. Dystopia happens when a leader makes decisions that impact citizens in different ways. Hitler created a dystopian Nazi Germany by making choices that affected the population differently and not caring what the implications were. Lastly, authors try to educate the readers on the dystopian world we live in today. Dystopia exists all around us from the books we read, to the world past and present. All we have to do is have the eye to see

“Community Service is important for many reasons. Taking part and volunteering teaches compassion and understanding. You can volunteer for something you really believe and have an interest in, and can volunteer as much or as little as you'd like or have time for.” Community service is really easy to get into. I mean, it is not like you have to put out an application and have an interview in order to do it. It is really easy to get into, and is really fun. It is things you wouldn’t even think are considered, like:

As an 18-year-old tennager, I was forced by my parents to participate a summer volunteer program in my freshman year. Even though I felt that I was a victim of “tyranny” in the beginning, I realized that I actually enjoyed the process of helping people in the middle of the program. Now, I participate that program every year as an active member, and I have gained the personal enrichment that I am unable to learn from other sources such as math club or SAT preparatory class. There is no doubt that community service can bring essential benefits in helping students develop their moral value and future interest, and it should be mandatory because some students attempt to utilize community service as a tool for their own profit without the school supervision.

Community service affected my life in a big way. While volunteering, I learned to be more open minded, learned more social skills and it taught me to have fun. When I was younger I did some volunteering, but by doing more I learned that being more open minded was good. For example, I wouldn’t think as much as what it would feel like to be all alone, but when I volunteered at the Elderly Hall and was told that the people who lived there didn’t get that much visitors from their families, it was sad to hear. I thought to myself on why, I haven’t thought about it, being alone on the holidays would be bad. So when I finished helping out, I told myself to think about how others would feel. It felt good to spend time with the elderly's over the holiday,

A young person should strive to support their local community for various reasons. Engaging in community service provides people with the opportunity to become active members of their community and has a lasting, positive impact on society at large. Community service and volunteerism enables one to acquire life skills and knowledge, as well as provide a service to those who need it most.