1984 3/26

I did my take-home quiz on how the language in 1984 is completely different than the language we just today. In 1984 they constantly try to make words smaller by cutting out the subsidiary words that go along with them. "Don't you se that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thought-crime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed will be express by EXACTLY one word" (1984 p.52). The thought of just using one word to describe many different events in our lives seems to cut back on many of thing that we enjoy. An example that comes to mind is the description of nature. By just saying that our natural world around us is just "good" leaves out so much of the real beauty that it really holds.

The other thing that really stuck out to me was the way George Orwell brings love into this novel. Julia and Winston make covert plans in order for the to meet in secrete places, away from the eyes of the "Inner Party." I do not understand how people could possibly be happy in a place were marriage is controlled. Also, the idea of how she must express her love to Winston and the fact that he becomes stimulated by that fact that she has been with many people strikes me as interesting. That scary part is that the world that we live in today, is very comparable to the world portrayed in 1984.

The end of the book really brings out the truth of the what it really is about. In the end Winston gives into the Party. This strikes me as scary because Orwell is predicting that is what we will do ourselves to our government. When you really think about the book those who rebel against either die or become brainwashed. There is only one individual in that society and that is The Party.

1984

The beginning of this book seems to be really boring and I am having a hard time getting into it. I have hard from others that it is a good book, so hopefully it will pick up. On page 41 of the book there is a quote that really seemed to portray what the book will be about. "Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which , finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain. Winston seems to be one of the only one that really thinks for himself. He is forced to hide this for the Thought-Police and the telescreens. It makes me think about how much we use our own personal thoughts to determine what we do and how we feel. If our generation was asked to give up our thought process it would create a very bland and uninteresting world. This book seems like it will also tie into the other topics in class.

Thoreau's Challenge #2

I forgot to post half way through the week because stopping myself from using technology was hard. In all honesty I ended up using my cell phone 2 days into it. Once I started using my cell phone I began to use other technology mindlessly. This was a great experience for me because it opened my mind even more. I thought that I would be able to do something like this, but found out it is harder than I imagined. If I were to succeed at this challenge next time, I would put myself in a different environment. Being in a college atmosphere makes it harder to stop using technology. I think a cell phone, if you have one, is the hardest thing to give up. I constantly use mine for everything from waking up in the morning to keeping my schedule. Technology is a strong part of my life and I give props to anyone who can successfully complete this challenge.