TASK:
You are to choose one of the following prompts and complete a typed response of not less than two-and-a-half typed pages in length. Your assignment will be worth a maximum of 50 points, with points assigned based on three categories: Organization, Creativity, and Mechanics and Usage.
PROMPTS:
- Write an excerpt from Winston's diary after one of the key events in the story (i.e. Mr. Charrington's shop, etc.)
- Write a research paper on the use of propaganda in political campaigns (past or present!).
- Write a book review of the novel 1984.
Please post these to Musketeer English no later than 3.30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 17. Late assignments will not be accepted.
Thanks,
Mr. Parsons
English II Honors
16 comments:
Allison Rowe
Mr. Parsons
Advanced English II
December 11, 2008
Book Review of 1984
The novel ‘1984’ authorized by George Orwell was interesting, but not suitable for all ages. You are thinking 1984; I wonder what that’s about? Well, obviously what happened in the year 1984, think again. This George Orwell piece was not written in1984, but long before that time, in 1948. This book is an exciting story about a man’s vision of the future, which keeps you eager to keep reading and see what may happen next.
In the beginning of the story it seems as a mystery novel and is greatly detailed. The main character Winston Smith is lurking in his place of work, the Ministry of Truth. This is not just some ordinary business building of coffee and black suits; it is a quiet place where everyone is solitary because of their terror. ‘Big Brother Is Watching You’ says all of the posters on the walls. Telescreens placed everywhere, while Big Brother is watching everyone’s every move.
In this futuristic world there is no privacy from Big Brother and if you do not abide by the rules you are simply taken out of existence. Later, after many contradictories to Big Brother, Winston knows his time grows shorter. He finds that the girl he lusts to seduce is in love with him and his rebellion becomes larger. Smith will not let anyone take away his most cherished passion of having sexual relations with women.
The Party is another name used for Big Brother. In this book the Party takes control over everything by whatever means imaginable. They use fear as the number one way to get people to believe what they believe. They know everything about everyone and make the world so privacy does not exist.
Big Brother continues to strike people all around Winston. He starts to notice his fellow workers slowly disappear and anticipates the day his secret meeting with his lover would be found This was not to mention the most deadly of crimes, which he had committed, Thought Crime.
Smith hears of a secret society that is working against Big Brother. Him and his lover join it and are forced to do anything to rebel. They would have to do things from killing innocent civilians, to changing their entire physical appearance, to suicide; but they disagreed with one thing. The two lovers disagreed with splitting up, never to see each other again.
Near the end the Party captures Winston and he is unfed for many days, as he viewed it. He finds that the exact man who had recruited him for the secret society had betrayed him. He was tortured unmercifully by ways only the book can explain and lastly he has to go to room 101. It was Room 101 the other prisoners begged not to be taken to. It was Room 101, in which he heard screams of the greatest possible terror. It was Room 101 that no one ever returned from.
I liked much about this book. I thought it to be quite exciting in some places, but the ending disappointed me greatly. In fact, I have much love for the entire book besides the end. The last chapter is the most exciting and keeps you on the edge. I loved the romance between the two main characters and the mystery of some less important ones. Overall, my conclusions on this book are that it is rather exciting, but ends with grief.
In ‘1984’ George Orwell writes of a mixture of everything. His thoughts and ideas are beyond any I have ever pondered on or ever heard of at all. He writes a book of courage, rebellion, and love. He writes a book of hatred, betrayal, and complete power. All ages above twelve are considered mature enough to read this book. ‘1984’ is a wonderful novel that should be read by all who wish to read a book of all types of characteristics and an exceptionally large mystery.
Chelsey Hayes
Parsons 2nd period
1984 Book Review
Eric Arthur Blair or better known as George Orwell an English author has written a book called 1984. It was published in 1949 and it’s considered as a dystopian political novel. There is an award for the pre-eminent British prize called the Orwell prize that is given out twice a year.
Eric Arthur Blair was a writer and a journalist who was born on June 25 1903. He was born in India. He died on January 21 1950. He was 46 years old. He disliked totalitarianism greatly. His most famous work was Animal Farm and 1984. He has written in many different genres from journalism to memoirs.
Book one introduces the protagonist Winston Smith. He doesn’t have the same out look on Big brother as all the other party members, however there is someone that potentially thinks the same way he does and that man’s name is O’Brien. Winston isn’t one hundred percent sure if he actually dislike’s Big Brother or if it’s all an act. In this book Winston try to act out by writing in a boo of his thoughts, crimes and also by writing “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” over and over in his journal. There are different levels of social classes in Oceania, at the very bottom are the proles, outer party, inner party and Big Brother is on top. The proles are what you would call a social out cast like they aren’t even consider human the other party members.
Book two involves a man named Winston Smith and Julia; they’re trying to take down Big Brother. Big Brother is an imaginary icon of the party that they use to dictate the people of Oceania but no one never actually seen big brother another than his picture. Winston and Julia have noticed each other in book one but they officially meet in book two. Julia had written a note to Winston saying, “I love you” on the piece of paper. Winston thought it was a trick at first but then realized that she wasn’t deceiving him when he remembered how hesitant she was to hand him the note as he was helping her up. During this book Winston and Julia meet in one of Julia’s hideouts. They have committed so many crimes during that meeting with one another. They try to break as many rules as they can without getting caught and they meet with O’Brien and confess everything because they think he’s in a member of the brotherhood which is a secret organization against Big Brother. The thought police came to arrest Winston at the end of book two and in the beginning of the end of this book
Book three introduces what happens when you committed a crime. In the beginning of book three It has him locked up in a cell. He doesn’t know where he’s at but he has an idea that he’s in the Ministry of Love. He hasn’t been fed since he arrived at the Ministry of love. He doesn’t even know if Julia is alright or not. There are four Telescreens on each wall in Winston’s cell and a bunch of people. A telescreen is like a two-way television. During his captivity he gets tortured by no other than O’Brien, O’Brien is a government agent. His job is to find the most dedicated member of the brotherhood and turn that person into a loyal member of the party. He does this by torturing his victims into betraying every person that they care about. O’Brien wants to make Winston sane again.
George Orwell has completely outdid himself on 1984. Once you have finished this book it really makes you think about what if our society was like that, what if we were to be vaporized for are thought‘s. Orwell has made this book into a wonderful and unforgettable piece. 1984 is a well organized novel, the three books are like a timeline of events to come and it all fits together like a book should be.
Honors English II
Book Review of 1984
1984, one of the best books ever made. Its probably changed most everyone who read it (and understood it) in some way. The novel itself is actually organized into three different books: book 1, book 2 and book 3. These books are each getting their own in-depth review. The first being, book1!
Book1 in many more ways than one is the worst of the three. It’s uninviting, dismal and boring. The only good thing about it is that it paves the way for the rest of the book quite nicely. For one, it does a great job in introducing the plot. Most of the characters and a good amount of background are introduced in book 1. Its like bad tasting medicine that someone has to take in order to be cured of some heinous disease. The fact that book 1 is absolutely a horrible undertaking and should be shunned, shied away from and burned (or flushed) at any given chance, is STILL not a good enough reason to not read 1984. Yes, 1984 IS that good, its great, wonderful, scary, depression, enthralling and profound!
Despite how good the REST of the book is, book1 should not be skipped or schemed through. The book is just like a watermelon; hard and uninviting on the inside yet yummy and more delicious the closer a person gets to the middle (“middle” is the END of 1984 not the actual middle of the novel).
Before going on to book 2 it’s important to know some background. Big Brother is the form that the oppressing party takes that causes all the mayhem in this book. the focus is on the country of Ocinea, and following the life of Winston, a citizen there. Other stuff will be revealed as necessary however I’m being cautions not to spoil too much.
Book 2, now would be a great time to introduce Julia! She is a young girl who sees avoiding the party and breaking its rules as more of a game then the life and death struggle it really is. Book 2 can (and should) be called the “love” book. Its in many ways the most profound of the trio. No, not because two people fall in love, but that fact that the two love birds do stuff that people do when they are in love. They do it a lot, a whole lot! No it doesn’t go into detail but its still there, for a good reason too. The book puts emphasis on taking freedoms away from people. ALL freedoms even that (no, I’m never coming out and bluntly saying what it is that the lovebirds are doing), are taken away, so the two people (Winston and his lover Julia) doing that thing is a pretty good smack to the face of the oppressors.
Lastly is Book 3! Not much will be revealed about this book other than that it is the most important and entertaining of the three (That’s the very reason why very little will be spoiled). Everything in this book comes to a grueling climax. From the true workings of the party, to a vision of what the future holds in this totalitarian world. Loads of stuffs go down in this last book; it’s so full of events and things that the ending will feel like hitting a brick wall! Joy! What I mean by “hitting a brick wall” is that the ending makes most people mad and is VERY sudden. However after reading the end of the novel, think about its significance, and then just how fitting and perfect the end really is should be reviled (Hint: focus on the last sentence and then think about all the content that was never cleared up!).
Overall, this is a great book; the political message in it should make anyone think twice before letting any freedom slip from them. On a last note: I recommend this novel to anyone age 14+ (this is in no way a kid’s book).
Book Review:
George Orwell, previously known as Eric Blair, is known for his creative political writings and his way of transforming truth into them. His novel, 1984, is one of his better pieces and ironically, he published it one year before his death. It’s constructed with much foresight, an intense outlook on humanity and is very detailed. 1984 has become a must-read for students across the country and a necessity for politically involved adults.
The main character, Winston Smith, is a quiet man and keeps to himself. It is the only way to survive in this unfair and inhumane world Orwell has created. Winston works at the Ministry of Truth, one of the four ministries in Oceana, where he revises newspapers and other forms of recordings. His life is gray and depressing. The only sanity he knows is that of the words he printed in his diary.
A totalitarian government by the name of Big Brother controls Winston and all other citizens of Oceana. Not one move can be made without Big Brother seeing it, thus explains the propaganda constantly recited in the novel; BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU. It is not certain whether he is a real person or not, but Big Brother controls everything: the past, present, and future. It is one of the three superstates in the world and though Big Brother seems fictional to Winston, the wars with the other superstates and the control Big Brother has is very realistic.
Winston just tries to get by from day to day, hoping he doesn’t get accused of thought crime (the act of thinking against Big Brother). The telescreens that are constantly swarming him make it hard for him to maintain calm expressions. Eventually, he meets a woman and along with having an affair with her, Winston and the woman proceed to break any laws that stand in their way. After having an encounter with what was thought to be the leader of the largest group of rebels, Winston and his lady friend are arrested. They are then taken to the Ministry of Love where they undergo harsh punishment and interrogation until all they understand is to love Big Brother.
Many interpreted 1984 as a warning, and that a government would soon gain too much power, thus taking over. Now that the year 1984 has passed and nothing of the sort happened, the novel is still very probable. Dictators such as Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin influenced it. The novel is full of contradictions such as “Ignorance is Strength”. This particular one indicates that if you believe exactly what you are told and do not think for yourself, Big Brother then has the power to say and justify whatever it wants. Along with the party insisting that everyone be ignorant, a new dictionary is made, by the name of Newspeak. It was made to limit thoughts and replaced all intelligent and detailed words with ones that were dull and unorthodox. Newspeak went hand-in-hand with thought crime being that if an idea could not be expressed into words, it could not be thought.
The novel also enhances the ideas of science being only mental. Saying, "Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual mind, which can make mistakes, and in any case soon perishes: only in the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal." (205) During interrogation, Winston realizes that if he wants to float in the air, all he has to do is imagine he is floating. As long as he believes it, it is true.
The political monstrosity of 1984 is unbelievable. I would suggest for everyone to read this novel because it changed my whole outlook on the government and my rights. Privacy is something I am now very thankful for and I no longer take it for granted. Though the vulgarity may be an issue to some, I think it makes the piece more real and easier to relate to. 1984 is a great book!
Madison Mantz
“Diary entry on the outcome of Julia’s note”
Dear Diary,
Today was one of the most confusing days of my life. Well I’ll begin by recalling last week when I went and visited Mr. Charringtons shop, down in the proles’ quarters. Since at this shop I can escape reality and try to remember the past, I purchased an antique paperweight. As I was on my way home, I strolled down a dark deserted ally. When out of nowhere my eyes met another pair and I realized the dark haired girl was coming towards me. A haze of fear swept over me as we past each other within seconds. I have always had a feeling that this girl was different; her presence struck me as mysterious as opposed to all of my other ordinary comrades. I knew nothing about her yet I could feel the danger, for all I knew she could be a member of the thought police, stalking me prepared to kill me at any minute. When you think about it, it fit her image quite well; dark, mysterious, unreadable and always near. Just minutes after our encounter the thought dawned upon me to chase her down and smash her skull in with a cobblestone. I still can’t remember what changed my mind, but I must have had some positive outlook. Just five days after this encounter brings us to today, which held event I will never forget.
Upon waking early this morning, I headed towards the lavatory. It must have been déjà vu because yet again I met her gaze, down the dark hallway. Although this time was different because her arm had been injured. She was only a few feet away from me when she tripped and cried out in pain. I puzzled whether to help her or not but I acted on impulse and helped her to her feet. Very conspicuously she slipped a note into my hand before wandering away. This note caused me great agony in knowing I could not read it yet. I completely overanalyzed everything and thought of the worst possible outcome. If she was a member of the thought police, it could say that they were onto me and tell me to commit suicide. You never know, she could always be a member of the brotherhood, a different secret union. Well against my better judgment, I decided to hope for the best and just wait and see. It felt like hours before I got back to a long awaited stack of papers and could read the note without fear of the telescreen. As I gently unfolded the paper, my mouth dropped as it read “I Love You”. What could this mean? I wondered.
I suddenly began to think of my slump of existence that I had been living in for several years now. I don’t remember anything of the past or my childhood and since I work in the ministry of truth, I know good and well that the past has been altered and what I do remember is no longer in existence. I break many rules including writing in my diary and my constant trips to the proles quarters and yet for some reason I could care less. I know the probable outcomes of my choices through stories that I have heard. All I know is that I hate Big Brother for some reason, yet I would never know how to take him down. It suddenly hit my through this wide flutter of thought that I had never really had a purpose for living… until now. For some reason this note has given me some sort of hope that I have never had before.
Thoughts and worries are hitting me fast right now; I can’t get Julia out of my mind yet I know that my chances of seeing her alone are slim to nothing. As I lay in bed, trying desperately to scribble my rush of thoughts in silence, I suddenly have some time to think without the telescreen picking up on my insane expressions. What should I do? I want to scream but I cant knowing that the telescreen is only a few feet away. I must see her, I must. I thought this over and over again; my only hope is to try the cafeteria. All other ideas seem hopeless, as I have no idea of her working area, her living area or even her name. Well there is no sense in staying up all night writing, I’ll worry more tomorrow morning and plan out the meeting in the canteen. I’ll write again soon!
This is what Winston last wrote.
Winston’s Missing Diary Page
By: Tony Evenson
I had been beaten, tortured by the party. All they are are monsters, creatures from Hell! What baffles me is why, why did they let me out? I run the scenario through my head again and again and all I get are the same results, I should have been shot. O’Brien has gone; I do not talk to him. Julia has also gone. Here is the scenario that has plagued me so many times…
The thought police had captured me. Scared for my life, I followed every rule they had set up. Confessed again and again. Made my way through beating after beating, wishing for my mother to save me, wishing for her to come to my rescue, but this was only after I had my first day of rest, she was in my dream for the next few sleeps.
The dream was in the old abandoned church where the nuke was dropped, but the church was still whole. The dream must have been real because it felt so real. The dream was from when I was a small boy. My mother was pregnant with my sister, and my dad was still there, an almost mirror image of me, except his eyes were different. They were full of joy. They held the tint of happiness that I once had. We were walking around a tree near a fountain. The church bells rang their tunes and all seemed peaceful.
Before I was able to see what happened next, I always awoke to a jolt. This dream continued up until the three-step process that O’Brien, a traitor through my eyes, had explained to me. After that, dreams disappeared nothing was left in me. After a few days, they let me out, without a word, or without an explanation. Nothing seemed to be different; we were at war, still, like we always were. The only thing that seemed different was the fact that everything seemed duller than before. Almost like life was pointless. That I must seek out the exit of a maze that I was trapped in.
I pondered this for many hours, many times I came to the thought that O’Brien, who part of the thought police, had been mistaken, in thinking I was cured. It could be that they needed the room, and I was unimportant enough to be shot. O’Brien turned up more often then anything else. Maybe he shows pity for some more than others, I just don’t know.
Mr. Parson has returned and seems like everybody else, hollow. An empty walking body among the earth as everybody else is. Every week I am apart of the two minutes of hate, Goldstein seems to have the right ideas, but I don’t let that stop me from faking it. O’Brien sends me a message or two in newspeak sometimes, just to check up on me. I ask him about how his department is doing, what are they working on; nothing ever changes over there. He always says they are working on something that involves more adjectives or something like that.
Something continues to come to mind, the girl at the Ministry of Love. Smith, she had something about her that always stuck out, and then she just vanished. She said that she might be my mother, I don’t know though. Something doesn’t make sense, I don’t know why, but she seemed too poor to be my mother, but time changes people.
It has been a few weeks since Julia had talked to me, it was her that revived the rebel in me, I couldn’t believe it. The only thing that O’Brien did do was suppressing the idea that I was a rebel; he didn’t anticipate that it would return for strike two.
I have to thank him for giving me the truth about Big Brother and Goldstein. It is thanks to him that I know the truth, the lies, and now that I know that a rebellion hasn’t been made, there will be one known to everybody that thinks against Big Brother, I must start by beating the party, Big Brother, the Thought police. Beat the laws, not get caught, and make sure I am safe.
I want anybody reading this diary entry to know that I, Winston, am the soul creator of the rebellion,and Julia was the only one to have loved me, and that I Hate Big Brother, and I want the to fall to their knees and beg for forgiveness by the citizens they control but where none will be given because of their actions.
Ashley Barlow
Mr. Parsons 3rd
1984 Book Review
The book 1984 was a heart-pounding book that opened the mind to paranoia. Throughout the first book of 1984 the author makes known that the government controls everything. Thinking the wrong thought will lead to death. The book is based on trying to survive a nonrealistic government and the mental baggage that comes along with it. In 1984 just the simple pleasures in life are shut down and not even thought of. For me George Orwell wrote an amazing, eye-opening book.
When this book was written the threat of an atomic bomb was evident. I believe that this inspired Orwell to write something like 1984 as kind of a warning. The book illustrates true fear in a controlling government. Throughout the book the government is referred to as Big Brother. Big Brother is a representation of a strong over powering figure. Everywhere in the book it talks about Big Brother is always watching. The government can see almost everything they do. There are teleascreens in every room and even everywhere out side. There are spies that try to befriend the rebellion people the turn them in to Big Bother lovers.
The book did a great job on detail throughout the novel. The author paints a dreary picture of the horrible place. Then the author put a false hope that is shutdown at the end of the book. George Orwell is a very futuristic type of writer. He makes us all stop and think what if? We shouldn’t fear our government. We should control our government. Remember a government by the people for the people. George Orwell makes the consequences very clear on complete government rule. The message of the book is very clear, there is no hope in complete government control.
The main character of the book, Winston goes through many hard times. He could’ve been easily killed right on the spot for many of the things he did. Winston made one brutal mistake that led to his demise. He wrote in his diary “ down with Big Brother” over and over. Then he confided in his friend who was really a spy the whole time. This is just a fact in everyday life for the people in this book.
In my own option, I think 1984 was a great book right up till the end. My perdition was very wrong about the book. At the end I was completely on the edge of my seat. I didn’t see the ending coming, which I love. Why would I want to read a book that I know what’s going to happen. 1984 was a great book.
Haylee VanHoose
2nd Period
12/11/08
Propaganda Posters
Over the times in history, propaganda has been a big success and still continues in today’s life. Pope Gregory XV contributed this word in 1622. Propaganda is a way to share ideas as well as influence the ideas and viewpoints of others. Propaganda can be done by hanging posters and distributing fliers, but by also the parroting of ideas.
In older times, the posters and fliers were much more popular, but in modern times, spoken propaganda has become more popular. In past conflicts, propaganda has been used to mainly influence the ideas of the masses, and to recruit soldiers for war. During WW1 and WW2, propaganda was used with slogans like Uncle Sam’s “I Want You,” telling men to enlist for the protection of their country, and “It Can Happen Here,” trying to influence the people to keep the war going. In major conflicts, there is usually a lot of propaganda, simply because the ideas and views of the opposing sides are different, and each side is trying to influence as many people as possible to believe like they do.
Each of the nations which participated in World War One from 1914-18 used propaganda posters not only as a means of justifying involvement to their own populace, but also as a means of procuring men, money and resources to sustain the military campaign.
Propaganda is still used today, but not so much in posters as it is in speeches by leaders, newspaper articles, television, and media coverage. Today, we are continually manipulated by the ideas of others. In things such as presidential elections, and new laws in Congress, the masses are always being manipulated into thinking the same way as others. Though propaganda has changed it’s medium, it is still widely used today as a way to make an opinion known.
Work Cited
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=JlcPgPt17KcC&dq=Propaganda&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=o4jvYoQOSo&sig=4VCps3ZRR2isaGft2Vb0OIJ27ik&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA21,M1
1984 Extra Credit
12/11/08
Amanda Harris
Parsons 2nd period
Diary Entry
Dear Diary,
I cannot hold it in any longer. I have tried so hard to keep quiet I just can’t anymore. The feelings are burning inside me and I cannot tame them. They are like lions that are being taunted with fresh meat but cannot get to it. I have to tell someone, but I cannot. If I tell someone what I am feeling then I will die, execution by Big Brother. That is why I bought you; as soon as I saw you I knew I need your help. Diary, you are the only person that I can share my true feelings with. I know you will not tell anyone unless you are forced. And at some point I know that the thought police will discover you and all my secrets will be revealed. And I don’t care, if I do not get my feelings out then I will do something crazy. I will run through the streets screaming “Down with Big Brother. I do not love you, and nor will I ever!”
Things are just getting worse in my little town of Oceania. What used to be is no longer. Big Brother has completely taken over; there is nothing that they do not control. And I do mean nothing. They control the past, the present, and the future. They control who people love, they control what people do, they control what people think, and how they feel towards others that they want to be known as their enemies. I cannot take this anymore. We are all human beings and sometimes we cannot control what we think or say. For instance Mr. Parsons, my little neighbor from across the hall was sent to prison because his children turned him in for committing thought crime. But, he was not in control of his actions. When he committed this so-called thought crime, the act in which someone thinks about or against Big Brother, he was asleep. As he was dreaming he managed to say “Down with Big Brother”. It would have been a little different if he was wide-awake and aware of the words he was saying, but he was not. The government however did not care; in their eyes he was guilty no matter what, so they punished him.
This has gone on long enough, we should not have to sit around and be controlled by a government. That is not right, and it is not fair. As humans we should be able to live freely. We should be able to say what we feel, to think the way that we want to think, and love whoever we feel is worthy not whom the government chooses for us. And we cannot help the feelings that we have. I mean the lust that I have for women, as a man is not always my creation. I do not sit down looking for a girl just so I can say ‘Oh, she looks like a person that I would want to lust for’ It just happens. I cannot control it; I cannot control the urge of wanting to feel a person’s warmth next to me. It is human instinct we all have it. Even the party members have it, and they cannot deny that. The people who make up Big Brother have those desires and thoughts at some point in their lives. We all have thoughts, we all have feelings, and we all have desires that we need to fulfill or we will not be satisfied. Something has to be done. We cannot keep living this way.
Another thing that I have mentioned that I cannot stand about the party is that they want to turn people who are in love against one another. Like O’Brien told me he wants the world to have no love that is not for Big Brother. How can that be? Our world will not survive if that is true. I am a strong believer in the words, “Love makes the world go ‘round.” If the only thing we love is Big Brother then that is all there will ever be, and if they control us to where we do not have the desire or the lust for sexual pleasures then the population will die. The love of Big Brother will die along with the last slave. Yes! I said it, there will be no more people created if there is no love other than that for Big Brother. The love for the party will die with it’s last citizen. Which, honestly that may be what the world needs.
Oh no.. Someone is banging on my door. They keep screaming my name. This is my last hour. The thought police must have seen me through the telescreen. But how? I am nowhere near it. Maybe they planted something else in my house. I don’t know but I know I am done for. This will be the last thing that I ever write. They will kill me because I refuse to love them, they can torture me but I will give up nothing. Whatever happens to me will not be for the sake of Big Brother, but for the sake of man kind. DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, DOWN WITH..
Zach Liles
Mr.Parsons
Advanced English II
December 18, 2008
Book review of '1984'
The book '1984' was written by George Orwell and published in 1949. So the tense of the book is in the future. Overall this is an interesting book and can keep your attention, but like most books it starts off pretty slowly. This was a well written novel, and would be classified as a science fiction novel. The voice of the novel is in third person. The book is pretty descriptive, it can give you a sense of what the area looks like and how the characters are feeling. This book will make you think what could happen. 1984 also shows a lot of hatred in it. The protagonist of the story Winston Smith is angry with "Big Brother" and writes in a diary that he has "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER" over and over again. "Big Brother", being the antagonist of the novel.
I personally like the book for the great story it tells, some think it can be boring and
disappointing, but I think it is perfectly written. The book is set in, well, the year 1984 and tells the story of a rebellious man Winston Smith and his quest to take down the "Party". He changes so much throughout the book and really makes you want to read more. The book is probably not suitable for younger kids or for anyone who is appalled by sex. Yes, the book has sex in it, but it is used as a very key theme in the book. It is one more way the author makes you think deeper about the major theme of the book. It really makes you think about not take the small freedoms that you do have for granted. George Orwell is a fantastic writer and can really twist things. He can also be very informative and he deals with a lot of political issues. It is surprising that he was able to write during the times of war, he showed a lot of courage there. He lived a short life and accomplished a lot and got his point across. His real name was not actually "George Orwell" it was actually Eric Arthur Blair.
Anyways I would definitely suggest this book to a friend, personally I do not like to read a lot of books but this one I did, it kept my attention and was just a fun read. What's really fun is how you can identify the totalitarian government in the book and relate it to World War II and Hitler’s rein. This book was very good.
Casey Gullett
Mr. Parsons
Adv. English ll
Book Review
Eric Blair, or later known as George Orwell, writes wonderful political pieces. One of his best political pieces is 1984, which he published a year before his death. It was published in 1949. Orwell created a wonderful and exciting novel, which will keep you reading.
In book one, the main character Winston Smith doesn't have the same views and thoughts about the government or Big Brother, as the other people of Oceania. Big Brother is an imaginary icon that the party uses to scare people. Though he later found a man named, O’Brien, whom Winston thought has the same views as him. He’s not completely sure of O’Brien’s views. Smith has a diary that re hinds and writes in regularly. In the diary, is where he commits his first thought crime. He writes, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER:” over and over again. The people of Oceania are separated in to different social classes. At the bottom are the proles, which are the social out cast. After the proles comes the outer party, than inner party.
In book two Winston meets Julia. They both come to realize the want to take down Big Brother. Book two is where they officially meet. Julia hands Smith a note that said, “I love you.” After that Smith tried everything he could to find her alone on their lunch break so they could talk. Julia and Smith meet at one of Julia’s secret hideouts; they ended up breaking several crimes during that one meet. They try and break as many crimes as the can. Julia and Smith find out O’Brien is apart of the Brotherhood. The brotherhood is an organization of people who don’t believe in Big Brother. They confess everything they’ve done to O’Brien. O’Brien tricked them into believing there was a brotherhood. Winston and Julia later get caught committing a crime, and taken away to the Ministry of Love.
In book three Winston wakes up after his arrest he finds himself in a cell with four telescreens surrounding him. O’Brien tortures him so he will tell the truth. When that doesn’t work he takes him to a room that gives the ultimate torture. O’Brien is a government agent. His real job is to find people that are against the party and turn them into the perfect party member.
George Orwell did a wonderful job on 1984. The book puts like in a different perspective that you never even dreamed out. I will make you be thankful for having privacy when the people of Oceania had absolutely none. I suggest this book to anybody that is willing to read it.
Book review of 1894
By: Austin Stringfellow
1984 the name of the book don’t even sound extractive to most, just some other ordinary book off on the shelf that you over look. In fact the novel 1984 is a outstand book, that is why most schools in America choose to read it as a class. It makes the reader think a lot more then what a normal book would ever do, it does indeed have a few very controversial explicit parts that take place just mainly in the 2nd section but, it talks about sex all threw out the story.
The first thing I want to talk about in my book review in the 1st section of the book is what the world is like in Oceania, the people there have no rights really they are always being watched or heard from a telescreen. There is a party of people in the book there are referred to as Big Brother, they run a dictatorship and have total control of everything for example the people, history, the future, and sex. A slogan they repeat in the book is “war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength” and another is “big brother is watching you”. If you had read the book before you can agree with me, it gets off to a very slow start and there are some characters I want you to keep thinking about all threw out that story that I’m going to tell you about. 1st character is Winston he is the main charter of the book he buys a diary from a shop and he begins writing down what he thinks, to big brother that a crime called thoughtcrime. 2nd character is O’Brien he works
1
with Winston and he says he hates Big Brother and wants to join a group referred to as
the Brotherhood. Last character I want to talk about was a girl referred to as “the dark haired girl”. She like the privies character will play a big part threw out the book, you will soon kind out what the dark haired girls name was.
The 2nd section of the book gets better but like I said this part of the book is controversial because of the sexual context it talks about. I want to focus about talking about the dark hair girl and Winston. Winston likes this girl a lot but he can’t go up to her and talk to her because the Party will not allow that to happen. In this part of the book Winston finds a note under his door and it has a simple message on it that says “I love you” and it was from the dark haired girl, he find out her name is Julia. They soon find out ways to start talking without the telescreens show it, they meet in crowed areas and talk about where they will meet next. They find places to meet and they usually have sex at them places and will not go back to that spot for weeks because they think it is unsafe. They are keeping this relationship going on for a while but it is stopped abruptly because, a telescreen from another place shows them together and they are taken away from one another.
The last section of the book is the best of the three sections, when Winston wakes up he is in a hold cell and he is very hungry and while he is in the hold cell he keeps thinking about the breadcrumb in his pocket. The 2nd person he is in there with freaks out because he is sent to the worst place you could go “room 101”. Winston is shaken by what he sees next O’Brien. O’Brien tells him he is the mastermind behind the ministry of
2
Love. Winston is then sent to the dreaded room 101, Winston is brutally beaten and then he is strapped down and is told he will either be killed or want to be beat. He is shocked by a device when you turn the knob up the pain rises. After a while he is shocked till he starts to go insane and he asked to be killed because this is pure torture. Winston is then set free and he is turned back into a person the party wants him to be. He says he loves big brother and the only thoughts he thinks about is good one or thoughts they tell him to think about.
Sara Hardin
Honors English II
Parsons – 3rd Period
12-18-08
Propaganda
Straight from Webster’s dictionary, propaganda is described as being the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person. It can also be described as a systematic effort to manipulate other people’s beliefs, attitudes, or actions by means of symbols. Propaganda is used all over the world, on a daily basis, to get ones point across about a certain issue. Propaganda can be used in several types of ways whether is be for advertising or something more political. Either way, different propaganda techniques are used to help influence the minds of others. Propaganda is simply a process of persuasion.
Before 1914, propaganda was usually associated with religion and the implanting of ideas to be cultivated in support of existing beliefs and faith. The intention by the few to impress the many can be traced back to the ancient world in art, architecture, and symbolism. The advent of printing in the 14th century shifted the emphasis from script to print.
Propaganda is a very broad subject, because there are many different things that come along with it. For example, there are several different techniques that can be used when forming propaganda. Assertion is one type of propaganda. Assertion is more often used in advertising and modern propaganda. An assertion is an enthusiastic or energetic statement presented as a fact, although it is not necessarily true. They often imply that the statement requires no backup or explanation, but should simply be accepted with no questions asked. Most examples of assertion are found in modern advertising propaganda. Any time an advertiser states that their product is the best without providing evidence for this, they are using an assertion. Assertion, although usually simple to spot, are often dangerous forms of propaganda because they often include falsehoods or lies.
Bandwagon is also a very often-used technique when it comes to propaganda. It is the most common technique in both wartime and peacetime and plays an important part in modern advertising as well. Bandwagon is an appeal to the subject to follow the crowd, or to join in because others are doing so. Bandwagon propaganda is, essentially, trying to convince the subject that one side is the winning side, because more people have joined it.
Card Stacking is another technique used for propaganda frequently. It involves only presenting the positive information and omitting information contrary to it. Card Stacking is used in almost all forms of propaganda, and is extremely effective in convincing the public. Although the majority of information presented by the card stacking approach is true, it is dangerous because it omits important information.
Testimonials are another technique used often when dealing with propaganda. They are quotations or endorsements, in or out of context, which attempt to connect a famous or respectable person with a product or item. Testimonials are often used in advertising and political campaigns.
Glittering generalities are intense, emotionally appealing words so closely associated with highly valued concepts and beliefs that they carry conviction without supporting information or reason. Though the words and phrases are vague and suggest different things to different people their connotation is always favorable.
An appeal to ones emotions is, perhaps, more obvious a propaganda method than those utilized by some other more implicit forms. The reason propaganda exists and is so widespread is because it serves various social purposes, necessary ones, often popular yet potentially corrupting. The propagandist seeks to change the way people understand an issue or situation for the purpose of changing their actions and expectations in was that are desirable to the interest group. Propaganda has been used for centuries, and always will be used for many different issues that arise.
Congratulations to all who submitted the extra credit assignment. Your work is at a high standard, and you have all earned the 50 points available.
Post a Comment