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In the Shadow of the Banyan


A hauntingly powerful novel imbued with the devastation of monumental loss and ...
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How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

Created: 05/24/13

Replies: 11

Posted May. 24, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

How does Raami picture the Organization to look, sound, and act? How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?


Posted Jun. 04, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebeccar

Join Date: 03/13/12

Posts: 548

RE: How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

They are like the pigs in Orwell's Animal Farm - there is no end to the cruelty, the determination to achieve one's goals no matter how doomed to failure they are because the workers are weak and starving and exhausted.


Posted Jun. 04, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Erin G

Join Date: 05/24/12

Posts: 41

RE: How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

A revolution has to keep destroying to stay alive, and the Organization focused on destroying family ties, even those it had created by forcing strangers together. Shifting people from place to place, killing even loyal supporters in internal power struggles, constantly finding new enemies to target, starving the people and forcing them to work to the point of exhaustion--it kept everyone so terrified and off balance that resistance was impossible to imagine.


Posted Jun. 05, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
terri

Join Date: 04/11/12

Posts: 102

RE: How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

Erin is absolutely correct. keeping people off guard, breaking up families and controlling the main food source keeps people under control. The powerful got more powerful and the weaker got weaker.


Posted Jun. 05, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
elise

Join Date: 04/22/11

Posts: 101

RE: How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

It appeared that some people in the Organization truly felt like they were doing good by spreading out the wealth and making all people equal. It struck me how terribly disorganized and poorly funded the Organization was. The leadership landed in the hands of those who seemed to want nothing more than to gain wealth and power for themselves and to punish those who formerly had any type of wealth.


Posted Jun. 06, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
alisonf

Join Date: 01/31/13

Posts: 110

RE: How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

This seemed initially like a misguided social policy taken beyond its reasonable limits then extremists had to figure out how to keep control and that was best done through chaos and people with no ties, family, home or stability. Your future was only ensured to the extent of your rations and if things got too comfortable you would move again. The internal struggles seemed to intensify amongst the Organization as there plans grew more desperate. No one seemed to be in check yet everyone was watching. Simply horrible circumstances.


Posted Jun. 06, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
paml

Join Date: 10/25/12

Posts: 83

RE: How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

At first The Organization's promise was more for the less fortunate and poor. However, as the revolution continued even the poor and less fortunate had less and less. They used chaos, alienation, fear, torture, hunger and exhaustion to make the people feel totally dependent on The Organization. History has so much to teach us, many times it is screaming "pay attention".


Posted Jun. 06, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
joyces

Join Date: 06/16/11

Posts: 410

RE: How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

I think with the name 'The Organization' they were the most disorganized organization there could be. They knew how to control and abuse and use all those people but had no ability to logically plan how to change the country. As the organization seemed to only recruit a lot of very young and power hungry people there were no experienced, knowledgeable leaders to oversee and manage the food production, or building projects or even the communications systems. From a grand scheme of the communist system to make all people equal it became a mass of individuals all looking out for their on skin with no concern at all for their fellow citizens.


Posted Jun. 07, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
terri

Join Date: 04/11/12

Posts: 102

RE: How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

Yes. Everyone is basically saying the same thing. Keeping people uncertain and breaking up families keeps the Organization in total control. Trying to give people the same rations and having everyone do the same work for the same thing never works. Those in power were doomed to fail.


Posted Jun. 09, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kathleenr

Join Date: 12/07/12

Posts: 68

RE: How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

As time went on they became more and more irrational as their policies failed and they turned upon one another.


Posted Jun. 12, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebeccar

Join Date: 03/13/12

Posts: 548

RE: How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

The inhumanity is astounding, and this mob mentality seems to fester and still take over in political prisoner camps around the world.


Posted Jun. 13, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
terri

Join Date: 04/11/12

Posts: 102

RE: How do the Organization’s policies and strategies evolve over the course of the novel?

The people in the organization seemed untrained and without much leadership, and since they were given a little power, it went to their heads and they felt they could do whatever it is they wished.


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