murr1984

__﻿ GREETINGS FROM MY MEETING! HOPING THIS FINDS EVERYONE WELL! I AM SORRY I CAN'T BE IN CLASS TODAY - WORK HARD; WE ARE IN THE HOME-STRETCH! I WILL SEE EVERYONE TOMORROW. __


 * __Element Analysis (reading for 1/12/11/)__**

One of my favorite literary elements in general,not just in //1984,// is irony, and luckily for me Orwell has been incorporating it a bunch. In tonight's reading I found that the most ironic thing is Winston's job. Winston claims that there a lot of people that work at the Ministry of Truths, "Beyond, above, below, were other swarms of workers engaged in an unimaginable multitude of jobs." (pg.42) All of these people are working to destroy any flaws in the past and making sure that everything that has happen was correctly predicted. So many workers know all of this go on, yet still the people stay subservient to the government which is clearly controlling and oppressive. I think this goes to Orwell's motif of creating the past in the present and doublethinking. "and then the chosen lie would pass into the permanent records and become truth." (pg. 45)

I'm not sure why but this really reminds me of the movie //Shutter Island.// In this movie Leonardo DiCaprio's character is an investigator and is trying to figure out how someone disappeared from this mental institution. It isn't till the end, however, that you find out he really isn't an investigator, but rather a patient at the mental hospital himself. However, he told this lie so much, and the people around him played along so well, that his lie eventually seemed to become truth. I think this connects because by creating stories at his job and creating his own truths, Winston makes it seem to everyone that what is in the papers is true, when in all reality, it isn't.


 * __Important Quote (reading for 1/13/11)__**

"It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate rations to twenty grams a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be //reduced// to twenty grams a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty four hours? Yes, they swallowed it. Parsons swallowed it easily, with the stupidity of an animal. The eyeless creature at the other table swallowed it fanatically, passionately, with a furious desire to track down, denounce, and vaporize anyone who should suggest that last week the ration had been thirty grams. Syme, too- in some more complex way, involving doublethink- Syme swallowed it. Was he, then, //alone// in the possession of a memory?" (Book One, Section V, Pg. 59)

Suzy is a well weathered adult. She has been alive on this glorious planet for 40 some years, and has enjoyed it as little as the ordinary person might. Suzy's job is something that she never quite enjoyed, and she never has seen much point to it. However, as much as she hates it, it gives her time to reflect on the fact of how little her life is going in the direction she had planned. Her job is not as exciting as everyone had told her it would be, and makes her feel like her footprint in her family's savings account is barely leaving an indentation. However, one thing that is keeping her afloat is the fact that her daughters thirteenth birthday is only a few short days away. While Suzy was basking in the excitement of her daughter's coming of age, she started to reflect on her own childhood and quickly became upset with society. Suzy felt that she had been lied to her entire life. Of corse, the lies all varied in different degrees just as much as her reasoning for believing them. The earliest lie that Suzy could ever remember being told, was nothing that big at all. It dated all the way back to before her preschool years. Suzy was the middle child and was always thirsting for attention in any form. If she felt the attention slipping from her grasp, she would do a stupid dance or, to her mother's dismay, make an awful face that caused her mother to flip. Her mother would sternly look at her, wave her finger in her little face and say, "Suzy change that face right now, or it will stay that way for ever." Looking back on it now, Suzy realized that the entire thing was childish, but nevertheless Suzy was young and didn't know better than to believe her mother's little fib, and she quickly changed her face. The lie was meaningless but she //swallowed it easily, with the stupidity of an animal.// As Suzy grew older she realized that these feeble little lies no longer matter and her life was being engulfed by lies on a much larger scale. As Suzy grew older she felt her parents strictness change and there overwhelming desire to know her every move increase. There were so many countless times that her mother wanted to know what was going on in her life, but Suzy just wouldn't want to tell in fear of getting in trouble. So this is where the next lie would come in to play. Her mother would sweetly look at her and say, "Hunny, I promise if you just tell me what happened, you will not get in trouble." Looking back on this, Suzy was dumb for believing it. Obviously she was going to get in trouble for sneaking out of the house at midnight to go to a party. But she swallowed the life, with //some complex form of thinking.// It didn't matter though. The punishment didn't last forever and life went on. However, as life went on, so did the lies. Suzy worked very hard to get her masters in teaching. She spent thousand of dollars and thousands of hours. Everyone told her that it would be worth it, but a pay-cut later and five school changes had proved to her that this was yet another lie. She, as well as everyone around her, knew that this was a lie but she chose to believe it for her own sanity and the health of her family. Life was not everything that she expected it to be, and it was anything but consistent. However, the one thing that would always remain the same for Suzy, were the lies.

In the short story, Suzy represents the three characters from 1984. Her younger self represents Parsons. He believed the lie automatically because it was what he was trained to do. When Suzy was little, of corse she was going to believe her mother's little fib, she had no reason not to at the time. However, as she got older she started to see through them a little bit more everyday. Syme was too intelligent to not see through the lies, however, just like Suzy, he over thought it, and thought it best to believe the lie. Finally Suzy's adult persona relates to Winston. Winston never believed the lie, but chose to hide it. Suzy know that her life sucks and that society lied to her by telling her it was going to be worth it one day. But for her family's sake she believes that all of this is worth it. Just like Winston pretends to believe the lies for his own safety.


 * __Element Analysis (reading for 1/18/11)__**

Irony's brother in the literary world is paradox. In this reading there was one paradox that stuck out very vividly. "//Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious."// (pg.70) This is a very evident paradox. In order to rebel they have to know what is going on with the Party, but in order to know what the party is doing they have to be conscious of what they are doing. It is a vicious cycle that is frustrating to the people, like Winston, who can see the potential that lies in the proles. I think Orwell uses this to show the hopelessness in situations in life. Sometimes what you need most is impossible to obtain.

In Walt Disney's classic //The Little Mermaid// the element of paradox is a key component. When Ariel meets Prince Eric she falls instantly in love with him, and he...with her voice. He knows more than anything that he wants to be with this girl that sang to him and saved his life, but what he doesn't know is that it is impossible...because she has no legs. The paradox comes into play because in order for Arial to get legs, she has to sacrifice her voice, but in order to win over Prince Eric, she has to have her voice. This relates to the proles because in order to get freedom they have to be free to realize the problem. In order to get Prince Eric, who only loves her for voice, she has to give up her voice. The ultimate paradox.

**__Important Quote (reading for 1/19/11)__**

"She thought it over. 'They can't do that,' she said finally. 'It's the one thing they can't do. They can make you say anything-//anything-//but they can't make you believe it. They can't get inside you.'" (pg. 166)

You can take my shoes You can take my clothes You can take anything I could possibly use

You can take everything I hate You can take everything I love And leave me with mouth agape

You can make me proclaim that I hate it all Make me scream that it's all my fault But you can never make me completely fall

For I still have me And I still have life And that is all that I need to be

In the novel Julia and Winston are discussing betraying each other when the thought police eventually find out about them. It is inevitable that one will have to turn the other in, they will be forced to, but that to them isn't betrayal. Betrayal is something that you do internally. The greater powers, in this case the Party, can take away everything from a person, just like in the poem. They make you say that everything is your fault, that it's you not them. However, just because you say it, doesn't mean you mean it. In the poem the last stanza states, that life is all you need to be. If you still know who you are it doesn't matter what they make you say, in your heart you aren't betraying anyone, not even yourself, for you will always know the truth. Orwell did this to address the conflicts that people always face. Whether it be your boss or a family member, you will come across having to submit to authority despite what you really want to do. Orwell is telling readers that as long as you know in your heart, fact from fiction, that is all that you can hope to do in a situation like this. Internal feelings are the one thing that the Party cannot take away from them no matter how hard they try. "They can't get inside you."


 * __Element Analysis (Reading for 1/24/11)__**

We have talked about this before, but I see it more dominant than ever. The paperweight is honestly Winston's life. In the beginning he is viewing it from the outside and holds on to and feels as though his own life has a protective shield. However, like everything in life, there comes and end, and unfortunately our lives are sometimes as fragile as glass. When Winston's life was ending as he knew it and all the beauty that he had viewed was scattering, the same thing happened to the paperweight. "There was another crash. Someone had picked up the glass paperweight from the table and smashed it to pieces on the hearthstone." (pg. 223) This part is symbolic of how Winston's protective coat has been shattered. There is no longer keeping his little rebellion safe in the middle of a perfect world anymore. Everything that he thought was on his side, O'brien and Mr. Charrington, are taking away their protective cote and revealing the raw betrayal by Winston. "The fragment of coral, a tiny crinkle of pink like a sugar rosebud from a cake, rolled across the mat. How small, thought Winston, how small it always was!" (pg. 223) This is symbolic of the act of rebellion itself was. It was small. In the grand scheme of things, it meant nothing to anyone else, just like this coral had lost all of it's importance.

In a Cinderella story, Sam (Hilary Duff) has a close bond with her father. He treats her like his little princess and loves her very much. He tells her her entire life that she is a princess and gives her a snow globe with a castle inside. He tells her that whatever is in there is safe and protected from all harm. The castle is Sam's life the same way that the coral is Winston's. Both Sam and Winston believe that nothing can get to their world because they are protected, Sam's by her father and Winston's by O'brien and Mr. Charrington. Right before Sam's father dies in the movie, the snow globe crashes to the floor and Sam's protective shield is gone leaving only her life, or castle, out in the open. This can be closely related to how Winston's protection was shattered and the small fragment of joy and rebellion he had is now scattered across the floor.

__**Important Quote (Reading for 1/25/11)**__

"'How many fingers am I holding up, Winston?' 'I don't know. I don't know. You will kill me if you do that again. Four, Five, Six-in all honesty I don't know.' 'Better,' said O'brien." (pg. 252.)

When I was born I didn't know Exactly how my life would go I knew there would be good and bad And things that made me happy and sad I held on to that glimmering hope That I had freedom to help me cope Freedom to let me be right or wrong Freedom when all hope was gone So I go by day by day And try to ignore what other's say But there will always be those in power Who's freedom they want is rightfully ours I guess one day they will eventually win And one day everyone will have to cave in So it makes me wonder is freedom real Or do we just use it to help us heal?

This poem tells a story of a person questioning the point of freedom. At the start of the poem the author felt that freedom was there to give them hope and help them through everything. Even if they didn't have a lot of freedom as long as they have freedom to decide if they are happy or sad or right or wrong then everything will be alright. In the beginning of the novel Winston wants basic freedoms as well. "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four." (pg. 81) Winston knows that due to the society he lives in, he can never have complete freedom, but he just want some. In the end the author is questioning if freedom is real or if higher powers still control everything. With the quote from today's reading Winston looses his freedom. He looses his ability to say that four is four. O'brien makes him say that there are five fingers not four, something small and trivial to us, but the glimmer of hope that Winston used to have, but now has been robbed of. I feel that Orwell did this to make the reader think. Is anyone really free. There will always be someone in power that ultimately controls all the power we have. Orwell is saying that with government or rulers or anyone being in control of others, you are not completely free, even if you think that you are. Even those basic freedoms could be completely taken away from you.

"Power is power over human beings. Over the body- but above all, over the mind." (pg.264)

The power to control is that unlike any other to be able to have the final say upon that final tole

It was not easy I tried and failed many times attempted many things But it finally came to me obviously

There are not a lot of aspects that all human beings have in common In fact the tend to differ quite a lot However, they are the same in some respects

Bodies are all very unique they can range in weight and stature some may not even be able to walk But the mind may be the missing link

If you control the mind you control the entire person no matter what they look like you have power of every kind

In the poem it starts by stating that power is the ultimate best. And in all reality everyone wants some form of power, may it be a little or a lot of it. It then goes on to say that it isn't easy to get a hold of all this power because all humans are so different. Their bodies are different and their views are as well, but they all have minds. If you can manage to control the mind you can have whatever power you want. This relates to the quote pretty obviously showing that if the Party has power of the people's minds, they have ultimate control of everything. Orwell implements this to show how the mind is truly the key to every human function we have. If anybody else controls what we think, they ultimately control everything about us.

Well since I've never done anything like characterization, I think I will do that. Orwell does a phenomenal job of developing Winston throughout the novel as well as bringing to life the many other characters Winston encounters. I feel as though, even though it takes a lot of words for Orwell to do it, he is amazing at truly bringing characters to life. At the end of the novel Orwell has to wrap up his characterization of his two key characters, Winston and Julia. "She made no response whatever to the clasp of his arm; she did not even try to disengage herself" (pg. 291) This sentence wraps up the characterization of both people. Winston never let go of Julia. Yes, he may of betrayed her, and yes, he now "loves big brother" but in all reality he still follows after Julia. Julia's characterization is wrapped up with the fact that she is non response. Not only does she not respond in the affirmative, she doesn't in the negative either. Julia was truly changed by the Party and now has no intention of breaking any rules, when earlier she was the one suggesting it.

In Nicholas' Sparks book, Dear John, the exact same thing happens to Savannah and John. They fall in love and their characterization if brought to life and make you get whisked away in their whirl wind romance. However, it is not until the very end that the lovers true characterization is complete. John still loves Savannah, and always will. He is even watching over her still. Savannah has moved on though and is now married to someone else. However, secretly in the back of her mind she still loves John. Just like I suspect Julia of having some feelings for Winston. The art of characterization could be a very difficult one. It is hard to bring a character to life and explain how they change over the coarse of a novel. George Orwell was an expert at being able to bring these characters to life with such skill as showing the complete transformation of two characters in just one short sentence.