Prompt: Relate an element from The Abolition of Man to a specific theme in the novel That Hideous Strength and analyze their relation to totalitarian concerns from the Solzhenitsyn or Zuboff or Scruton books or a combination of two or three of those works
Title: The Dangers of Blind Obedience found in That HIdeous Strength and The Abolition of Man in Relation to The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
For this essay I plan to connect the abolition of man and that hideous strength by comparing their similarities in the theme of blind obedience. I will discuss my plan to then connect Solzhenitsyn’s novel, The Gulag Archipelago with a similar theme of being controlled and powerless. I will talk about how in both the gulag and that hideous strength neither characters truly try to revolt against the greater power and almost allow themselves to be controlled by some without realizing, some aware. I could also talk about the parallels between the evil powers in the gulag and that hideous strength and then relate it back to Lewis’s main point in the abolition of man (how we have to be wary of blinding following orders and new ideas or technology). Or if i didn’t want to go in that direction(i’m not positive yet) but i may relate the two books to zuboffs and talk about google and how they are very controlling and doing exactly what lewis warned people about.
Draft enthymeme thesis sentence: In the novel that hideous strength as well as the abolition of man the theme of modern technology lending itself to power, control, and manipulation is highlighted in Zuboff’s novel therefore implying that blind obedience and compliance with the crowd can be very dangerous.
- Part in zuboff where they talk about how controlling google and companies like that are
- Talk about lewis’s main idea in the abolition of man
- Connect Lewis and Zuboff by explaining how they seem to share the view that there is something about the nature of modern technology itself that lends itself
- “‘you seem to misunderstand. This is a conquered and occupied city’” (200)
- Need more quotes about the evils of NICE
- to power, control, and manipulation -and thus becomes, in Lewis’ metaphor, a type of unnatural magic or sorcery
- CSL argues that advances in technology to help people today often come at the cost of control of people in future generations. We understand that more today in many ways. Even simple aspects of technology, such as being able to bcc or forward emails without permission, or cyber-bullying, can become methods of control by “the pack”
- Will discuss the nature of NICE in relation to lewis’s main ideas of man being too trusting and getting taken advantage of