Chris Davis

Reflection Journal

Nineteen Eighty-Four

This reading is a very interesting one. It makes me think of what happens to people when they
get in a situation of a mob mentality. What does a mob mentality actually do to someone?
In the reading, the main character, is in a theater where he is participating is something called a
Two Minutes Hate. In this Hate, a man is displayed on screen saying things that go exactly contrary to
the beliefs of the people watching. Images are shown that are to insight violence and hate. When this
happens, the people completely lose control of themselves and their conscious thought. They become
no more than a drop in an ocean of violence, emotion, anger, and hatred. They do things that seam so
out of the ordinary that they are insanity.
In the reading the people in the Hate become as much the sheep as the man they are hating.
They lose a sense of logic, and stop worrying about things like the Thought Police, or Big Brother.
Things that would seam so out of the ordinary to a logical person. The people become exactly what
they think they are avoiding. As he says: ...an attack so exaggerated and perverse that a child should
have been able to see through it, and yet just plausible enough to fill one with an alarmed feeling that
other people, less level-headed than oneself, might be taken in by it. This is what the people think they
are fighting against, and yet in reality are becoming a part of.
A mob mentality, as is said in the reading, is something that you almost can't resist. It is a thing
that almost seams to have a mind and will of its own. It takes you over and makes you do things you
never would have before. A strange concept, to lose yourself to something that no one is actually in
charge of; to become part of a huge living, breathing, riot machine.... What a thought.

Chris Davis
Reflection Journal

Three Deaths: A Tale

I thought this reading was very thought provoking. To think that we value life so much when
there is so much to live for; but to regard it as almost meaningless when it is shortly to come to a close.
How much do we really value life?
In this reading, there are three deaths, as the name implies. The first is of an older woman who
is sick. Her only wish is to travel from Russia to Italy, in hopes that she can get better. The second is of
an old man, who is slowly dieing, but is a man who no one has any love for. The third is the death of a
tree. A tree that epitomizes all that the tale stands for. In the first story, the old woman has only one
desire, but because it is inconvenient and illogical, her husband and the doctor do not grant her one
final request. They justify it by saying: Well, she is a dead woman now; you may as well know it...
Continuing, they say It is my business and yours to make her last days as easy as possible. The
confessor is the person needed here. So instead of granting her wish, they instead decide to just let her
have as much as she can with what she is given, and let her die. But this is no consolation for this
woman. She no longer sees the world that she lives in as bright and whole, it is all dead and gray to her.
And as she says: What is the use of being at home?... Die at Home? To her, death is death, but she
would like to have at least tried to continue living.
The second Death is of an old man. He lives and sleeps on top of the stove to keep warm. He is
a man of few friends and no relatives. Because of this he is seen as nothing more than a hindrance to
the people around him that are tasked with his care. Even his own cook sees him as nothing but an
object in the way, and for no reason. When confronted about it she states All right, all right, its of no

consequence,muttered the woman. But what is the matter with you, uncle? Tell me. She has so little
compassion for the man that she can't even tell what ails him. The old man is also asked for his boots
by a younger man, who states that the older man won't need new boots where he is going. The people
around this poor old man see him as no more than the value of some boots, or the usefulness of the
stove top.
The third death is that of a tree. When the tree is fallen, and laying dead on the ground, the other
trees seam to stretch over the spot, and the birds fly through its branches one last time. Almost as if
they are saying goodby to the other tree. An old friend, or family member. Someone who would be
missed, and whose loss was very apparent.
Even the trees and the birds did a better job at knowing the value of a life was worth more than
just the material things of this world around it. The trees could have started to move into the new spot,
and the birds could have started to harvest parts of the tree for their nests, but no. They understood the
value of the life lost to them. Unlike the people around the other two dieing individuals. The people
around them saw them only for what they were worth in time or possessions. Are wee too the same
way, or do we know the true value of life?

Chris Davis
Reflection Journal

Introduction to Death

The concept of death itself is a very strange one; and to most people, and unsettling one. The
end of our mortal life, and an unknown beyond that very few people are overly confident about. So
what is it about death that scares us?
I think the biggest reason that we fear death is because of our perspective. Our perspective of
death is very one sided, it only comes from the eyes of the living. As Sogyal Rinpoche said, Normally
we do not like to think about death. We would rather think about life. Why reflect on death? When you
start preparing for death you soon realize that you must look into your life... now... and come to face
the truth of yourself. Death is like a mirror in which the true meaning of life is reflected.
According to our different beliefs we may or may not believe in something after this world. We
may or may not believe that there have been people to live, die, and come back to tell the tale. But
either way, when we let the fear of the unknown hinder us, we stop ourselves from reaching our full
and true potential. There are many things that I am not sure about in this world, but I do not let those
things stop me from doing, or becoming what I want. I will deal with those unknown bridges as I come
upon them. I can't let something that is unknown dictate my life. If you realize that all things change,
there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot
achieve. -Lao Tzu.
Who knows what awaits us on the other side of death? No one. That is part of the experience,
and thrill of living; conquering the unknown. Whether good, bad, or nothing awaits my arrival on the
other side of the grave, I will only let that drive me to living a more full life in the one I was given.

Chris Davis
Reflection Journal

Henry V

There seam to be characteristics, or traits that come out in a person during war, and that seam to
be an essential significant part of war. King Henry tries to make this point very clearly in this part of
the play. So what is it that men are supposed to be in war?
As men enter war, it has been said that they enter a blind fury, or a blood rage. A thirst for blood
that only violence and death can quench. When men will do things and go to such lengths that are
almost inhumane. Daring acts of valor. Feats of courage. Honor dictating the mind and will of a
warrior. Or is it perhaps, more of what Henry proposes when he says, The gates of Mercy shall be all
shut up, and the flesh'd soldier, rough and hard of heart, in liberty of bloody hand shall range with
conscience wide as hell, mowing like grass your fresh-fair virgins and your flowering infants. What is
it then to me, if impious war, array'd in flames like to the prince of fiends, do, with his mirch'd
complexion, all fell feats enlink'd to waste and desolation? Does war blind men to all rational, and
mutate each one into nothing more than a savage beast whose only desire is wanton destruction? I
believe that yes this can happen, but traits like courage, honor, valor, strategy, wisdom, strength, and all
of those other characteristics are required in a great warrior as well.
If you only want to watch the world burn, than crazed blood-lust is what you desire in warriors.
But if you intend the best for both sides of a war, and desire only the most humane outcome, than other
characteristics must be acquired. Leaders especially need more than just a blind red rage to lead their
men to victory, and not just savagery. But as having never been in a war myself, I can not say much on
the subject; only in battle can a man truly answer the question, of what is needed in war.