A novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.
Pages 1-40
The working class had it extremely rough, they had terrible living conditions, and had many health problems. They always felt like they were being watched, even when no one was around them. In the stair ways they had big posters on every floor saying "big brother is always watching you" (Orwell 1). The eyes always followed them. That saying comes up a lot. Also in the work place, "Ministry of truth" (Orwell 4) slogan was "war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength" (Orwell 16). They were not allowed to shop on the free market. However "nothing at all was illegal since there were no longer any laws" (Orwell 6).This loop hole allowed Winston to buy a book, someones diary with out guilt. The young woman were subject to Ministry of truths slogans. Big brother is a huge concept. It has a presence but it is unable to be seen. Winston had no family, and took them for grated when they were alive.
This book seems very political and based in a time of war. There seems to be this sense of urgency in the ministry of truth to take down society.
I really pity those people who live in terrible conditions. They are so poor, and have to follow so many stupid rules . I am so glad that I am living, and have always lived in a free country. That no one watches me all the time, that I can shop where I want with out feeling bad.
What role do you think big brother will play in the book? 
I agree with you when you say that the poor people live in poverty. I think the government does not really see them as a threat because they can’t do much. I think Winston will be a very interesting character throughout the novel because early on we can already see that he struggles with the totalitarianism form of government. I think that it sounds like dictatorship, only much stricter, as they have so many forms of watching the people. I think that Big Brother will play a big role in the book, although we haven’t really even heard from him or seen him directly in the book. In the next few chapters, something called “Hate Week” is mentioned, I feel like it is totally weird but something that the government sees as necessary because they want to control the thoughts of everybody at all given times. What is your opinion on “Hate Week”, and why do you think that they have it? On a different note, there seems to be an undeniable love interest in Winston’s life, or maybe just a comrade… Orwell writes about a “young woman…listening to him and seemed to be eagerly agreeing with everything that he said.” (53). Do you think that this woman will play a significant role in the story? If so, who do you think she will be in acquaintance to Winston? Sexuality in the book seems to be very off limits according to the government but some characters hold different opinions about the topic, I wonder why they have mixed feeling about this in particular and not about other more important things.
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ReplyDeleteIn my opinion hate week is the heavy recruitment time for the party. Where anything goes to add to the numbers and power of the party. The young lady will become his lover, and they will have an affair. The continuous oppression the party holds on its subjects is very intense. The party does not care if any of its people get hurt, severely injured or killed as there are many "common accidents in the fiction department" (Orwell107). The party only cared about its power. How they hold or gain that power I highly question. The members had no human rights what so ever. The party even sent out death treats, as “intellect told him that the message probably meant death” (Orwell109). The party wrote peoples own suicide letters and took them out if they threatened the power of the party. Winston has an affair with a young girl in the party. He seems nasty, old, and has a family. What do you think is he reasoning behind the affair? Is the age difference ok for that time? Will his family find out? Did the party have anything to do with her broken arm? I am so happy I live in a free state where I can just do me. No one can control me and I don't feel the need to make out with old guys with no teeth. Thank God I live in an era with romans rights and woman being powerful.
I think that you are right with the heavy recruitment at hate week. I also agree with you about the young woman, but what do you think about the note that she gave him? I don’t think that she can really love him if thus is the first time that they have really interacted with each other. In the book it talked about how he was writing in his diary about an affair that he had with a prostitute, and to me it seemed very obvious that he was struggling while writing it. Maybe he was having such a hard time writing it due to the fact that he knows that he was in the wrong. What is your opinion about Mr. Charrington? To me, he sounds like a good guy but it is tricky to say because most people in the society work for the party and will turn anybody in, as they are forced to not have any actual friends or relationships. I think that they will somehow get turned it. I wonder what happened to his wife though. Do you think that all the people are underprivileged? Winston is talking and he said that he “remembers lemons” (146) like they don’t even exist anymore. I think that all the people are being robbed of everything they own, including the most important thing, their privacy. Do you think that it is possible for this kind of thing (or totalitarianism in general) to happen in today’s society?
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DeleteI think now a days it is possible to be robbed of privacy. However in America highly unlikely anyone could get away with taking away our privileges, but in third world countries, highly likely. Like in North Korea. I like Mr. Chsrrington so far but I do not really trust anyone in the book. I think most are very underprivileged but not all. Winston is loosing it and dreams he killed his mom. He finally realizes he did not kill her. He just took her for granted. Winston really reflects and looks back on his childhood. He bullied his baby sister. He ran away after, “something in the gesture told him that his sister was dying. He turned and fled down the stairs, with the chocolate growing sticky in his hands” (Orwell 167). Winston is a coward. He stole chocolate from his dying sister. His last memory of his mother and sister is him stealing chocolate, his sister crying and running away. Winston’s sudden rush of childhood memories shows how deep the Party’s psychological manipulation goes. His lover tries to help him through reliving his childhood memories,and is actually a big help. What does this tell you about Winston? Is Winston’s belief in the brotherhood going to turn out fatal or is his optimism accurate?
I really agree with you when you are talking about Winston being a bully. I just cannot understand why he would be so mean to his dying sister and his mom. I think that it is really creepy when both Winston and wake up and say “We are the dead” (221). Why do they say that? And then, why does the third person say that? I am confused by who that person is. I think that it has something to do with Big Brother. I think that it is Big Brother because he is always watching, but there is no way to be monitored in the room as there is no television, maybe it has something to do with Mr. Charrington. Do you think that Winston and Julia can trust him? I did previously, but not anymore. I think that it is sad that Winston and Julia got captured and are being tortured by the government because they were emotionally attached to each other, but I can’t tell if they will be broken down. It sounds to me like the government will do anything and everything in their power to control Winston and Julia. When Winston arrived at “Room 101” (236) do you think he comprehended everything that was going to happen to him? I think that this room will be the last straw for him. I think that this will be his breaking point. What is your opinion on room 101? I think that his belief in the brotherhood will turn out fatal because you can’t trust anybody in this society.
ReplyDelete(Notice there IS a secret TV in that room to monitor them...it was behind the picture on the wall.)
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ReplyDeleteEverything has to do with the big brother. I don't think Winston and Julia can trust anyone. I think room 101 is his breaking point. I think room 101 is the torchere room. The torchere sessions made Winston “confess to real and imaginary crimes” (Orwell 248). This brotherhood is in such a frenzy. They enjoy inflicting pain upon its subjects. I cannot believe that people actually got interrogating and being treated like that. How in the world did people not stand up to that. How would you handle being torchered? What would you fess up to? The simple fact he was in so much pain that “it was easier to confess everything and implicate everybody” (Orwell 250). They got Winston to the point where “he was confessing everything, even the things he had succeeded in holding back under toucher” (Orwell 250). This brotherhood is messed up! They watched “them gradually worn down, whimpering, groveling, weeping - and in the end it was not with pain or fear, only with penitence. By the time we were finished with them they were only the shelf of men” (Orwell 264). The fact that the brotherhood just watches and enforces that kind of pain, the kind of pain that eats you to the core, is unimaginable. Why do you think they do that? Does stuff like that still happen?
I know that stuff like this still happens, especially where the government is more controlling. It is terrible that Winston confessed everything and that it eventually leads to an emotional and physical separation from Julia. The book said that he “allowed himself to become separated from her” (293) and I think that it is very sad. I think this because I cannot tell if he has chosen to forget the emotions that they shared, or simply because he is afraid to socialize with her. I t seemed to me that at times he cared, but only halfheartedly. At other times, he did not care at all and has totally lost himself. When he and Julia were being tortured, he said that “what happens to you here is forever” (209). This statement, to me, means that he has lost his old desires and come to the new conclusion and the government being all powerful and that Big Brother is always watching. Big Brother had a large effect on the story although he was never actually seen by the audience. He did this because of the persona he has and how people portrayed him to be. He has a controlling personality that makes everybody think that “two plus two equals five” (290). The last four words of the story are haunting to me. They say that Winston “loved Big Brother” (298). I think that it goes to show how much of an impact society can have on people. It can truly change them for better, but in this case, people are changed for the worse.
ReplyDeleteReally good focus on specific moments and specific quotes throughout. Good work beginning to tie events to possible directions society may be going today. Remember to keep an eye out for lit terms, and please check your spelling, punctuation, and grammar before posting. Good analysis of the parallels between Winston's relationships and his gradual destruction/reeducation by the party. Grade on PP.
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