Sam's+Blog

I have no idea what I'm doing, woo!

You figured out how to create your page - good start! Now, to start your blog, click on discussion and post a new entry :) ~ Ms. Ryce

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Element Analysis
I'm a pretty big nerd for irony, so I'll be picking that out as my element P: I'm guessing multiple people have already used this, but I'd like to talk about the sheer dripping irony of Winston's job. Winston's spoken of his distaste for falsehood, yet his job at the ministry consists of falsifying the past and destroying anything 'distasteful' that the Party tells him to. I'm going to let my extremely nerdy side show here and compare Winston's job to the old cartoon Time Squad. Although obviously the two have totally different goals, both strive to correct the past and protect the future. Here's a bit of a clip from the show that talks about that :D OKAY, SO TECHNOLOGY IS NOT WORKING WITH US IN THIS PROJECT, SO COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THE CLIP IS ABOUT SINCE I CAN'T SEE IT :)

So basically, the clip features the cast of the show giving a run down of what it is that they do. I think I remember what they say (wow I am really nerdy) so I'll just quote. "...Our mission is simple, enforcing the past to protect our future." "And making history fun!" "You mean making fun of history!" That's about it really, but the first line really reminded me of the novel. media type="youtube" key="no-9wUKI1Fo?fs=1" height="385" width="480"

IQ

//"Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four. If that is granted, all else follows."//

Curious thing, dominoes. Each one requires the patience of a saint in their placement, but to knock them down takes but a mere gust of wind or a gentle nudge. A lifetime of building collapses as one by one the black rectangles chain-react to each other, leaving nothing in their wake except for that little clacking noise that dominoes so often seem to make. It is the sound of despair. You panic, try to cease their progress, but it's no use. They're moving too fast, too many at a time. Clack clack clack. Before long your entire line of vision is filled with the swarming darkness of fallen plastic rectangles. Everything you've worked so hard to create is ruined.

I used the metaphor of dominoes to express Winston's quote from section VII. If one domino falls, all the rest will follow.

Element Analysis #2

Maybe this is a bit of a stretch, but I'm going to use the constant referencing of the Brotherhood as a symbol for Winston's (often naive) hope.

The Brotherhood (Goldstein's band of rebels) is brought up quite a bit by Winston, and even though he realizes it is ridiculous to believe that such an organization exists, he does in fact believe in it. Even after being shut down by Julia, Winston believes in the Brotherhood. The meeting with O'Brien shows just how little of the Brotherhood is known, and yet with only a string of information, he, Winston, and Julia are committed to working for said organization. (I cannot brain right now, I have the dumb. I will edit this to make more sense soon. I think.)

I'm not going to lie when I say that the reason I chose to use the Brotherhood was to connect it to the game Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (oh, puns). Within the game there is a secret society of "rebels", an organization that shouldn't exist. The slogan for the game's brotherhood really reminded me of the Brotherhood in 1984. "Nothing is true, everything is permitted."



IQ #2

//"The proles had stayed human. They had not become hardened inside. They had held onto the primitive emotions which he himself had to relearn by conscious effort."//

I saw a man die today. Short, slender in the face, mousy little guy. One of them public executions that have become such a natural occurrence these days. Watched him plead and confess as the crowd cheered him to the grave. I remember the look in his eyes perfectly. Fear- no, it was more than fear. Sheer //panic// appeared to grip his entire frame. Reminded me of a rabbit. I fished around for a Victory cig in my pocket, the whole event was already starting to lose my interest. Did I cheer? Maybe I did, can't remember. After a good minute or two of fumbling around I managed to light the cigarette, right as they hanged the unlucky guy. Beastly roars of approval broke out amongst the spectators, but I remained silent. 'Stuff just didn't phase me anymore. Not much did. Came home one day last year to the kids sittin' around by the telescreen, big smiles plastered on their faces. Turns out they'd reported my wife. I patted them both on the head, told them they'd done BB proud, and waited for the rush of emotion that never came.

I really wanted to illustrate Winston's quote from section VI, and I hope that my little story does just that. The character I created is supposed to be an Outer Party member.

Element Analysis #3

A few people have probably already done this, but I'm going to analyze the foreshadowing of Room 101. Room 101 (or one-oh-one as a woman calls it) is brought up numerous times during section I of Book III. Many people that Winston shares a cell with end up being sent there (the woman, Ampleforth, the one starved guy). This builds up and foreshadows Winston's eventual trip there.

I'm probably going to mess this up big time, but I'm going to compare this to the foreshadowing on Lost. While explaining backgammon to Walt, John Locke says "Two players, two sides. One is light, one is dark." which foreshadows the constant good vs. evil battles that the characters end up facing within themselves. Also, and I haven't finished the series yet so I can't say for sure, but I think this also foreshadows the battles of the survivors vs. the Others, the survivors vs. Locke, and probably maybe the survivors vs. Jacob. Ms.Ryce I apologize if I went out on too far of a limb here :(

^Favorite character right there^

IQ #3

//"We do not destroy the heretic because he resists us; so long as he resists us we never destroy him. We convert him, we capture his inner mind, we reshape him."//

Someone brought a piece of unfinished pottery into my workshop the other day. "The maker had run out of time." "They left town." A million different excuses. The red, muddy clay hadn't even been baked. What did they expect me to do with it? "Just throw it out then." I stared from my desk at the lumpy thing now sitting on my pottery wheel.The coworker that brought it in furrowed her brow and frowned something awful. "Why destroy something that you can shape? You know, recapture the image. Redesign it. Why waste what you can create?" A look of genuine concern and confusion settled upon her countenance. It surprised me, and I found myself doing a very slow blink at her while trying to absorb her words. "...S-sheesh if it means that much to you then I guess I can give it a shot." I began to stand, spine cracking in disapproval at the sudden movement. "However, you realize it's not going to be anything like the original. Inside and out, it will be different. Heck, I might not even make it into a pot." She smiled at me, her mouth practically touching either end of her round spectacles. "As long as you don't destroy it."

I hope this is understandable enough. I was attempting to compare the quote to the breaking down and reshaping of pottery, but I am just kind of word vomiting all over the place.

IQ #4

""The real power, the power we have to fight for night and day, is not power over things, but over men."

Somewhere tucked neatly between a library shelf there exists an old book. Within the crinkled, yellow pages of that book there exists a tale. It has been some time since I have last read it, but I believe it goes a little something like this. 'Once upon a time, there lived two brothers. Two kings, to be exact. In blood they were only half of the other's brother, but each treated the other as if they were whole. Each brother had inherited a kingdom from his parents. The younger brother, a man of technology, bragged that in all the land, stretching as far as theeastern seas, no army could match his powerful machines. The elder brother, an eloquent man of the people, bragged to the younger that the machines did not stand a chance against the power of his citizens. The bickering quickly grew violent between the two, and each brother vowed to best the other. The younger brother, with his machines, swiftly built up a gruesome, metallic army. The machines were constructed by the people of his land, but without the proper knowledge and equipment, the quality of the machines turned out to be sloppy. Pieces would tink and clack and fall off on the march over to the elder brother's kingdom, but the younger brother did not lose heart. "Even in the condition they are in now the machines will be enough to best my foolish brother!" The younger king boasted to his doubters. Meanwhile in the opposite kingdom, the elder brother was delivering a speech to his people. He proclaimed his citizens the greatest in the land, told of their victory, and denounced his foolish brother. "My brother will learn," he said with a smile, "that the power of unity will always topple the heartlessness of machines. Together my children we are powerful! Together, and only together, will we have strength! Let us march forth and destroy those that believe in the emptiness of machines!" The citizens, with fire in their hearts, marched proudly to meet the army of the younger brother. When the two armies finally met, it was the united people of the elder brother's kingdom that emerged victorious. The machines had fallen to ruins within a few short days, but the citizens fought furiously day in and day out, never growing weaker, never tiring. It had even appeared, as strange as it may be, that the people had grown stronger over the course of the battle. The younger brother, defeated and alone, was baffled by this triumph. How had men, with their soft flesh and tired bodies, defeated an army bred soley for the purpose of fighting?'

Ah, you must forgive me. My memory grows foggy about the rest of the tale, but I am sure if you dare venture down to the library, you may very well come across this tale.

EA #4

Motif's confuse me a bit, but I'm going to go with my gut on this one.

Mind control is a reoccurring motif throughout the novel. The Party utilizes mind control through such displays as the Two Minutes Hate, the work done by the Ministry of Love (or Miniluv, if you will), the constant garbage spewed out by the telescreens, and the ever looming, ever watching face of BB. This utilization of mind control adds to the dangers of a government that uses collectivism.

Last week I immediately thought of a game called Bioshock to relate to the novel. While the two have many differences plot wise, the motif of mind control exists in both to an extreme. To give a bit of detail, the main character of the game, Jack, is exposed to constant mind control via a mental trigger in his brain that reacts every time the phrase "would you kindly" is spoken. Jack is lead around like a dog on a leash throughout the entire game by his so-called ally, a man known only as Atlas. Atlas is always asking Jack to go and do something for him, which appears innocent on the surface, but ultimately leads to the downfall of the city they reside in. There is much mystery surrounding Atlas, which also reminded me of BB. Oh, and it doesn't help that they both have gigantic posters of themselves plastered all over the place.

I pulled a clip from the game in which the main character finally confronts his father, the ruler of the city. The clip explains to the character about the mind control trigger, and also I really felt that the "A man chooses, a slave obeys" quote was pretty fitting. Watch out, the clip is kind of graphic. Also, the sound gets loud around halfway through the video, so mind your ears.

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