tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post8903474793554112585..comments2023-11-05T07:27:43.837-05:00Comments on Narrative and Technology: Blog 3, Prompt 1Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post-54858951505545270122013-02-03T14:34:26.392-05:002013-02-03T14:34:26.392-05:00False needs aren't merely what extend past sur...False needs aren't merely what extend past survival (although that's part of it) but those externally imposed upon us...<br /><br />Your second paragraph summarizes too much and argues too little. However, some of it is beautifully explained: "Animals have been reduced to the same false need argument of faux vs. designer, genuine vs. knockoff." I liked that one a lot. So I'd like to see a clearer argument more directly advanced, but there's still a lot to like here.<br /><br />The third paragraph is possibly better than the second, with the same clarity and some good wording, but also somewhat lacking in a *connected* argument. Or maybe that's an exaggeration - you are demonstrating that false needs pervade the novel, and that has value in itself, but I'd like to see you move beyond that, to showing us why it *matters* that false needs pervade the novel.<br /><br />You kind of do that in the last sentence: "If anything, Dick’s novel could be seen as a “Where will we be?” account of what happens if our already false needs society were to become completely dominant." This raises questions, though. Is Dick imagining a complete dystopian nightmare? Are there any alternatives to it, or antitodes to it, or responses to it which give hope to our current society? In other worse, if this is a nightmare of false needs (and you do a pretty good job of showing that, even if your wording is different), to what end is it showing us this nightmare?<br /><br />Taylor is right that more details from the text would help - help, in particular, to formulate what goal or purpose this nightmare has.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post-70928306906582254422013-02-02T00:07:47.563-05:002013-02-02T00:07:47.563-05:00This is an very well-written essay defining the fa...This is an very well-written essay defining the false needs in Philip K. Dick's book. The sentence structure, flow, and organization are extremely good and I didn't have to work to hard to read and understand Janine's point. For someone who personally has trouble in this aspect, I greatly appreciate these elements of the essay. <br /><br />That said, I only have two notes. I would have liked to see more quotes linking Marcuse to Dick rather than just a glancing summary. Perhaps a quote from "Androids" pertaining to the quote from Marcuse discussing the false needs. The quotes already in work well, and I'd like to see more of this. Also, I feel that the argument could be stronger in some places. The second paragraph alone gives a summary of the book with a quick, unexplained connection to Marcuse in the last sentence. The last paragraph does a great back and forth between Marcuse and Dick, but this goes unrealized in the second paragraph. I realize that this lack of explanation could be due to the nature of the essay (only 500-750 ish words) but I would have liked to see more connections being made or a more present argument.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08407233134349336019noreply@blogger.com