Topic B
Winston is the main character of 1984. He is the dystopian protagonist and becomes a victim of the society. The society's oppression of any emotion against the Party becomes a great burden for him near the end of the novel. He is locked away into the Ministry of Love for committing thoughtcrime, in this way he is oppressed by the society. He is tortured by OBrian, who is a power figure throughout the book, respected by Winston. He tricks Winston into becoming part of the Brotherhood in order to get him to commit thoughtcrime. Winston then has his mind slowly destroyed by the torture process that is used in Oceania, the slow, mentally taxing torture process breaks him down into admitting automatically any crime he is accused of, and actually believing that he had commited the crime. This eventually breaks him down to the point where, after the ultimate torture in Room 101, he even feels love towards Big Brother. This is the worst instance in which the society destroys his final instincts to hate the society. This is why the society is so effective, it creates an environment in which, it is impossible to rebel, and therefore create the perfect society for its own existence. It is impossible for this society to fall within itself, the only way that it could fall is by an attack by another, outside nation.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Dystopian Journal # 2
Option # 2 -
Orwell criticizes the use of propaganda in society through comparing it to the Totalitarian societies of his time. The society is constantly oppressed by the use of propaganda, and through this, Orwell shows us the problems with society. George Orwell uses propaganda throughout the book as a symbol for the darkness that lies behind the ideals of the Party and Big Brother. The writing around the propaganda has an ominous tone when he writes about the usage of propaganda by the party. A prime example of this is when he is thinking of the face of Big Brother constantly surrounding him, “Even from the coin the eyes pursued you. On coins, on stamps, on the covers of books, on banners, on posters, and on the wrapping of a cigarette packet~ everywhere. Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you” (Orwell 26). This shows us Winston’s feeling towards the propaganda supporting Big Brother everywhere. Since he feels oppressed by the eyes of Big Brother, we can clearly see that Orwell feels that this kind of propaganda is not optimum for societal growth. He shows us through Winston that the use of propaganda to keep people acting correctly and to oppress is damaging to society.
Orwell also shows us that propaganda in the form of language is hurtful to a healthy society. He uses throughout the book references to a language called “Newspeak”. This is the idea that Big Brother came up with to oppress the English language. He created Newspeak to cut out superfluous words from the English dictionary, disallowing people from expressing themselves as well as they could using standard English. One instance of this is during a conversation Winston has with Symes, a co-worker that is working on writing the newest edition of the Newspeak dictionary, “Or again, if you want a stronger version of ‘good,’ what sense is there in having a whole string of vague useless words like ‘excellent’ and ‘splendid’ and all the rest of them? ‘Plusgood’ covers the meaning. Or ‘doubleplusgood’ if you want something stronger still” (Orwell 46). The changing of language classifies as propaganda as well due to the fact that it is also the distribution of information used to change the attitudes or, in this case, the ability to express oneself. Orwell describes this changing of language as a terrible thing by using Winston’s negative view of it to demonstrate to the reader that it is disgusting to change how people speak. Especially since this particular language is being created simply to stop people from being able to think of words that would compromise the ideas of the Party.
Word Count. 425
Orwell criticizes the use of propaganda in society through comparing it to the Totalitarian societies of his time. The society is constantly oppressed by the use of propaganda, and through this, Orwell shows us the problems with society. George Orwell uses propaganda throughout the book as a symbol for the darkness that lies behind the ideals of the Party and Big Brother. The writing around the propaganda has an ominous tone when he writes about the usage of propaganda by the party. A prime example of this is when he is thinking of the face of Big Brother constantly surrounding him, “Even from the coin the eyes pursued you. On coins, on stamps, on the covers of books, on banners, on posters, and on the wrapping of a cigarette packet~ everywhere. Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you” (Orwell 26). This shows us Winston’s feeling towards the propaganda supporting Big Brother everywhere. Since he feels oppressed by the eyes of Big Brother, we can clearly see that Orwell feels that this kind of propaganda is not optimum for societal growth. He shows us through Winston that the use of propaganda to keep people acting correctly and to oppress is damaging to society.
Orwell also shows us that propaganda in the form of language is hurtful to a healthy society. He uses throughout the book references to a language called “Newspeak”. This is the idea that Big Brother came up with to oppress the English language. He created Newspeak to cut out superfluous words from the English dictionary, disallowing people from expressing themselves as well as they could using standard English. One instance of this is during a conversation Winston has with Symes, a co-worker that is working on writing the newest edition of the Newspeak dictionary, “Or again, if you want a stronger version of ‘good,’ what sense is there in having a whole string of vague useless words like ‘excellent’ and ‘splendid’ and all the rest of them? ‘Plusgood’ covers the meaning. Or ‘doubleplusgood’ if you want something stronger still” (Orwell 46). The changing of language classifies as propaganda as well due to the fact that it is also the distribution of information used to change the attitudes or, in this case, the ability to express oneself. Orwell describes this changing of language as a terrible thing by using Winston’s negative view of it to demonstrate to the reader that it is disgusting to change how people speak. Especially since this particular language is being created simply to stop people from being able to think of words that would compromise the ideas of the Party.
Word Count. 425
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Dystopian Journal # 1
Topic A: Choose a passage that reveals something important about your society.
"The fabulous statistics continued to pour out of the telescreen. As compared with last year there was more food, more clothes, more houses, more furniture, more cooking pots, more fuel, more ships, more helicopters, more books, more babies- more of everything except disease, crime, and insanity," (Orwell 52).
The Telescreen
-The telescreens are a video monitor placed on walls all around Oceania, inside of buildings, outside, and pretty much everywhere that party members ever would need to go.
-They both display information and play music, but monitor what happens inside the areas where people are.
-Video cameras are within every telescreen, and big brother can watch the party members at any time.
-This allows the government to control and view every action ever taken by anyone within view of the telescreens.
-Creates a constant awareness in the party members that they could be watched at any moment, and so disables them mentally from doing anything wrong or frowned upon.
-Suppresses the urges and basic instincts of all party members.
The Manipulation of Media
-The moment anything happens in Oceania, all media that is or was ever written contradictory to the event is destroyed, and new media is written immediately after to replace the old.
-The government manipulates all statistics and anything that is told to the public is alterable, and probably untrue in the first place.
-This allows the government to make it appear as if the society is going perfectly well when, in fact, it is not going well at all.
-This puts most people in the party under a mental idea that what is happening now is what has always happened and is the best thing that could happen.
-The government also uses thist power in choosing enemies. For instance, in the beginning of the book, Oceania is at war with Eurasia, and allied with Eastasia and most of the society believes that this is how it has always been. However, Winston recalls a time when they were at war with Eastasia, and allied with Eurasia. The government does such a good job at altering history, that anything that is currently happening is seen as the only thing that matters, and all other history is either erased, or is irrelevant.
Word count~250
"The fabulous statistics continued to pour out of the telescreen. As compared with last year there was more food, more clothes, more houses, more furniture, more cooking pots, more fuel, more ships, more helicopters, more books, more babies- more of everything except disease, crime, and insanity," (Orwell 52).
The Telescreen
-The telescreens are a video monitor placed on walls all around Oceania, inside of buildings, outside, and pretty much everywhere that party members ever would need to go.
-They both display information and play music, but monitor what happens inside the areas where people are.
-Video cameras are within every telescreen, and big brother can watch the party members at any time.
-This allows the government to control and view every action ever taken by anyone within view of the telescreens.
-Creates a constant awareness in the party members that they could be watched at any moment, and so disables them mentally from doing anything wrong or frowned upon.
-Suppresses the urges and basic instincts of all party members.
The Manipulation of Media
-The moment anything happens in Oceania, all media that is or was ever written contradictory to the event is destroyed, and new media is written immediately after to replace the old.
-The government manipulates all statistics and anything that is told to the public is alterable, and probably untrue in the first place.
-This allows the government to make it appear as if the society is going perfectly well when, in fact, it is not going well at all.
-This puts most people in the party under a mental idea that what is happening now is what has always happened and is the best thing that could happen.
-The government also uses thist power in choosing enemies. For instance, in the beginning of the book, Oceania is at war with Eurasia, and allied with Eastasia and most of the society believes that this is how it has always been. However, Winston recalls a time when they were at war with Eastasia, and allied with Eurasia. The government does such a good job at altering history, that anything that is currently happening is seen as the only thing that matters, and all other history is either erased, or is irrelevant.
Word count~250
Monday, March 2, 2009
Journal # 6 - The Stranger
Journal # 6 - The Stranger
Camus uses Mersault's tendencies to listen to others unemotionally and give them control over his actions to show how dependence on the needs of others introduces conflict into a persons life.
Camus uses Mersault's tendencies to listen to others unemotionally and give them control over his actions to show how dependence on the needs of others introduces conflict into a persons life.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Journal # 5 - The Stranger
Journal # 5
Camus creates a part one and a part two to highlight an important change in Mersault. He changes from being forced into doing things, like going to his Mother's funeral, or going to the beach, to doing what he wants to do, and being less controlled by others like in prison. His character is also less affected by nature, whether from the absence of nature or from a change in character I'm not sure.
Camus creates a part one and a part two to highlight an important change in Mersault. He changes from being forced into doing things, like going to his Mother's funeral, or going to the beach, to doing what he wants to do, and being less controlled by others like in prison. His character is also less affected by nature, whether from the absence of nature or from a change in character I'm not sure.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Journal # 4 - Philosophy affecting reading
My philosophy puts a different point of view on reading than other people. I am open minded to the philosophies that I read, and judge them based on what I believe to be truth. Sometimes I take them into my own, and sometimes I don't. It depends on what the philosophy is.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Journal # 3 The Stranger
Benjamminism... :)
1. There is an omnipotent, omnipresent God that controls/allows every thing and action every taken by anyone to take place.
2. People and the world are inherently evil, but can become good if God works through them.
3. Things happen because of a master plan, but that master plan has an order to it.
4. Religion as an institution may be unneeded in the future.
5. People are all, at their core, Hedonists.
6. Nihilists are suppressing their emotions and disallowing themselves to feel attached to anything.
7. Anyone is capable of making any available choice at any time. (I am relatively unsurprised by anyone doing anything, whether it seems against their character or not.)
8. There is Absolute Truth, although I don't believe we can know what it is until whatever is in the afterlife...
9. The choices people make matter most when they affect others.
10. Teenagers rarely have sturdy philosophy. And I am no exception.
11. This is but a small taste of what I may or may not believe. One night is really not enough time to come up with a decent philosophy of any kind in my opinion. I didn't feel like I had enough time to fully explore my true feelings on these issues.
1. There is an omnipotent, omnipresent God that controls/allows every thing and action every taken by anyone to take place.
2. People and the world are inherently evil, but can become good if God works through them.
3. Things happen because of a master plan, but that master plan has an order to it.
4. Religion as an institution may be unneeded in the future.
5. People are all, at their core, Hedonists.
6. Nihilists are suppressing their emotions and disallowing themselves to feel attached to anything.
7. Anyone is capable of making any available choice at any time. (I am relatively unsurprised by anyone doing anything, whether it seems against their character or not.)
8. There is Absolute Truth, although I don't believe we can know what it is until whatever is in the afterlife...
9. The choices people make matter most when they affect others.
10. Teenagers rarely have sturdy philosophy. And I am no exception.
11. This is but a small taste of what I may or may not believe. One night is really not enough time to come up with a decent philosophy of any kind in my opinion. I didn't feel like I had enough time to fully explore my true feelings on these issues.
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