Dystopian Journal #5 (1984)

Topic B

Winston, the protagonist, has been put in jail for “thoughtcrime.” Winston wished to disobey the party and Big Brother. When in jail, he suffered a great amount of pain. O’Brian, who was in agreement with Winston about “Down with Big Brother”, was actually just a member of the secret police. They took Winston to room 101; everybody knew that bad things happened in that room, but nobody knew exactly what took place there. Winston was tortured and beaten up while being interrogated. O’Brien and his guards were trying to get Winston to say that he would obey the party and to get him to love Big Brother because Big Brother was seen as a figure that everyone worshipped, and would keep the society in control by scaring the citizens a little bit by telling them things that they could not to do, otherwise, they would get into trouble. Of course, Winston agreed to all that just to make the pain stop, but he did not really mean it inside he did not resist much because he didn’t want the pain to continue. Winston lied to O’Brien saying that he loved Big Brother but he did not actually mean it. Then, he called him back and told him how he actually felt about the party and how he still hated Big Brother. O’Brien, after hearing Winston’s argument, ordered his guards to torture him some more and then brought out a cage full of rats. O’Brien told Winston that if he did not agree with him, he would have the rats released and let them finish off his head. Winston, being in great fear and pain, agreed to O’Brien’s wishes and was released. He, later, went to a bar where all the Party members went for taking breaks. There, he saw a poster of Big Brother and inside, felt some passion towards him due to O’Brien forcefully changing his opinion. In the beginning of the novel, Winston had resisted Big Brother and the Party, but throughout the book, his opinion began to change through events.

Word Count: 343

Dystopian Journal #4 (1984)

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/joan_thewlis/2557113272/in/pool-851409@N20

This propaganda is trying to say that if you talk out loud, then very bad things could happen. I think that this propaganda was targeted at women who were realated to soldiers of the war, because there was a rumor that the women would tell others what the soldiers' big plans were. If the enemies heard these rumors, then they could use it against them. This propaganda is trying to show a negative consequences because, if you wouldn't do what they would advise you not to do, then the situation would just get worse. This poster seems like it would get inside of people's heads and stay there, because for one, many of the other posters are like this one, and two, its short and concise.

Dystopian Journal #3 (1984)

Topic C

The message that the author is trying to put forth for the reader to understand in my opinion is pretty legit. This book was written before they really had much advanced technology, if at all back then. The society in 1984 is fairly similar to that of Soviet Russia, but, only one person’s view can be taken into consideration since as a reader, you don’t really get to understand the lives of many other people in the book. Soviet Russia was ruled by a man named Stalin, and it was a long time ago. There were very poor living conditions and lots of death under Stalin’s leadership. In 1984, the working conditions and living conditions seem to be similar, yet we only get the point of view from one of the characters in the book. Orwell doesn’t show many options for this society to take because if you thought or even showed that you opposed the party’s views, you would be sent to the Ministry of Love where you would suffer or you would simply be executed. The protagonist, although in favor of getting rid of the party as well as a couple of other people, does not seem like a very strong character that could make such a statement/argument that would change things. The actions he takes would not be seen as very convincing or even a threat to this powerful government. In the Ministry of Truth, the truth is never spoken. Everything that is from the media is a lie, so it shows that it would be really hard to go up against such a party and actually make something happen.

Word Count: 273

Dystopian Journal #2 (1984)

Symbol- Big Brother is a figure that everyone in the society worships. All over the places, such as apartments and walls, these posters of Big Brother have been put up that say "Big Brother is Watching You" sort of to get the society to run in a smooth way by scaring them a little bit. Winston, the protagonist of the book feels differently about Big Brother: "Now that he had recognized himself as a dead man it became important to stay alive as long as possible" (Orwell 27). Winston does not feel so comfortable with this Big Brother and has been thinking about getting rid of him. He constantly writes "Down with Big Brother". In this society, even thinking about commiting a crime would get you introuble, that is if you were caught. So, Winston tries to stay low so that no one can capture him.

Why does Winston hate Big Brother? What causes him to think about getting rid of Big Brother? Why does everyone else in the novel not so scared of Big Brother as Winston is?

Dystopian Journal #1 (1984)

Topic: A

“We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness, O’Brien had said to him. He knew what it meant, or thought he knew. The place where there is no darkness was the imagined future, which one would never see, but which, by foreknowledge. One could mystically share in. But with the voice from the telescreen nagging at his ears he could not follow the train of thought further” (Orwell 87).

The people in this society live in a place where the government prohibits many actions and is lead by “Big Brother.” The different tasks and names that various organizations in the society handle really don’t reflect what the people do. For example, the Ministry of Truth, where Winston the protagonist of the book works, they change everything that the media has said to eliminate any errors that the government has made and go against it. The Ministry of Plenty handles the economy and watches over the people. People are prohibited from saying bad things about the government, but even thinking about bad things about the government can end up badly. If suspicion builds up upon a person who might possibly be thinking negatively about the government, he/she could be arrested for “Thought Crime”. Also, the Ministry of Love is not “actually” related to love, rather it is a place where people who have committed crimes and have been caught go. This passage shows that Winston is thinking about staying firm against the society as he talks with another character in the book.

Throughout the novel, a Dystopian setting has been set up. There is a slogan which all the people of the society of Oceana live according to. That slogan is:

WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Word Count: 220

New Thesis

Meursault's view of the world is that there is no meaning to to human life, as can be seen by the symbolism of the light and darkness as well as the tone of the book.

Stranger Journal #9

The conclusion that Meursalt comes to by the end of the book is that those who have different views and motivation on different things and understanding them, allows for someonelse to relate to them more.

I think that Camus does want the reader to come to the same conclusion because if no one can say what is good and what is bad, then it would be hard for people shape people based on their views of that person.

I think that Meursalt does in fact get happier by the end of the book because of this conclusion he comes to. He progresses throughout the book and by the end of he 2nd half of the book, he shows his kind of happiness.

Stranger Journal #8

The symbolism of the sun and the darkness and the dynamic characterization of Meursalt represents how he expresses himself in a physical manner but not in an emotional way due to a brick wall that he has created distinguishing himself from the rest of the society.

Stranger Journal #7

Camus splits the book into part 1 and part 2 to show Meursalt has changed throughout the different parts. Meursalt begins to have varying thoughts and emotions, during his trial, at one point he had the need to cry for the first time. Through the changes of his physical and emotional life, Meursalt is seen as a dynamic character through Camus' decision in splitting the book into two parts. Also, in part 2, the sentences seem to be longer than in part 1 and the pace of the bookseems to be faster in part 2 than part 1.