Ruth: More Than the Average Love-Hate Relationship/ Round Character (Chapter 5/ Pages 49-60)

"Now I saw how upset Ruth was; how for once she was at a complete loss for words, and had turned away on the verge of tears. And suddenly my behavior seemed to me utterly baffling. All this effort, all this planning, just to upset my dearest friend."

~ Never Let Me Go, page 60

Ah, Ruth. As we continue reading the story, more and more dimensions of her personality arise, never failing to entertain us further; she is definitely a round character. I could think of some words to describe her, but unfortunately, they aren't acceptable for a homework assignment. Ruth is a very complex character for a couple reasons. She exhibits not only bossy, childish actions during play with other children, but also feels as if she has to lead (or maybe dictate) the other girls in her group and control every situation. She purposefully lies to gain more respect and power, and she somehow succeeds in her endeavors while also evoking anger in her peers (or maybe subjects), which confuses me. God only knows what made her this way - it was probably something in her personal history. What particularly surprised me, though, was that when Kathy approached her and merely suggested that she could have information that may injure both her reputation and her pride, Ruth became extremely vulnerable and revealed insecurities that apparently run deep. At this point, I was rooting for Kathy to aim for the jugular, but she instead spared Ruth and considered herself the antagonist (Why are you such a good person, Kathy??). Now my only question is if Ruth was just completely scared, or if she intentionally exposed her vulnerability to manipulate compassionate Kathy into taking responsibility for the incident and liking Ruth more (well, for now). 

I think the reason why so many people can relate to this - especially women - is because everyone has had or been a Ruth in their social life. Ask any girl and she will tell you about that one friend who displayed Ruth-esque traits at least to some extent. And it's really a struggle! So as of now in the novel, we readers will be rooting for Kathy to recognize the harmful effects of the relationship and move on - we can now really relate to and encourage Kathy to overcome this. 

Invocation (Chapter 5, Part 2/ Pages 78-86)

"Feeling that it was time for him to do something, Bernard also jumped up and shouted: "I hear him; He's coming." But it wasn't true. He heard nothing and, for him, nobody was coming."

~ Brave New World, page 84

During the Ford's Day Solidarity Service, the invocation reveals not only the ideals of their religion, but both a parallelism and juxtaposition with Christianity. The citizens believe that everyone is meant for everyone else, and to an extent, that is a belief of Christianity. We also learn that Ford is very comparable to Jesus, and was a defining figure of this religion; he also has a Second Coming. Despite these similarities, the rituals are extremely different. The Solidarity Services are based on heightened sensation and excitement. Christian masses are based on self-denial and withdrawal of human impulses as a sacrifice to God. Also, the Solidarity stresses everyone blending together to create one identity of stability for the community. Christianity also strives for unity, but also emphasizes each person to contribute their individuality to the union.

Soma - "A gramme in time saves nine!" (Chapter 5, Part 1/ Pages 72-78)

"They were inside, here and now - safely inside with the fine weather, the perennially blue sky."

~ Brave New World, page 77

Okay, this whole soma thing is really frustrating me. First I had to reread the chapter; I couldn't even tell what was happening. I get that it is a drug used to lift one's spirits (and is probably abused as an anti-depressant), but I was really unsure of the extent to which it did this. People casually take it on a day-to-day basis in small doses, but they also go on soma-holidays with it? Does that mean it's a hallucinogen and they are imagining their whole holiday, or are they just so drugged that everything seems perfect as they continue their lives? But even more importantly, the government is encouraging the people to take it all. At first I thought that would be destructive to  the government (the drugs might affect their work performance), but then I realized that it might be the only way to get through the day. The government has not only conditioned them to think that they are always happy, but now they also supply drugs for them to always have an escape if they are feeling bad, thus having total and complete control over them.