Mali Music

Mali Music is my all-time favorite artist. This is a big deal since I am not so keen on having favorites. I have to be honest though, when I first heard him, I really didn’t like it. The sound was so different. My sister played his one song, “Broken Spirit” so much until it got in my head. Then, I began to listen to the lyrics, realized that there was this huge message behind his sound. I started off with about three of his songs, Broken Spirit, Higher, and All I have to give. Then my eyes were open to how profound his lyrics were and even his melody was different from anything I’ve ever heard. I fell in love with his sound. His runs, his background music, the words were all put together in a way that was just right. It helped bring me closer to God and got me through some rough times. Currently, I love listening to his song, Heart’s song. I didn’t think much of it at first but now I see how he made a soft, sweet song have such a hard and deep meaning. Here are the lyrics:

This heart of mine is a perpetual cry

Lifting up and magnifying at Adonai

I try to understand the language from within but it’s beyond words

And Every time I hear it something stirs within my soul

Lord my heart longs

To worship all the day long

Your presence is where my heart belongs

It’s beyond words

My heart’s song

This soul of mine is burning fire

Burning with passion and desire for the messiah

Bubbling deep down in my soul

Is a worship out of control

Oh Lord, I surrender to thee,

Holy, holy, holy

That’s what the angels sing

God almighty

You delivered me

From the snares of the enemy

Blessed trinity

Like a Mad Man

I came home from my piano lessons, feeling more inspired than ever. I have a tender passion for piano and want to excel to the highest term when it comes to music. My piano teacher, Chris, is really good on the piano. He plays so well and I asked him, astonished at his format, how did you get this way? I just saw how he played so freely and the notes were all so clear and I wanted to be just like that. I knew he didn’t get this way over night but I was still eager to hear his story. His story inspired me in so many different ways. He used to practice like a “mad man,” which is the term he used. He had a passion for music and was also inspired by another great pianist. He spent hours practicing and training his ear to keys. I knew that I wanted to get on a higher level with my sound and I knew I was willing to do what ever it took to get there. He shows me a lot of great techniques and add-ons to make a song more unique and I love every last one of them. I don’t have just one piano teacher; my sister is also my piano teacher. I saw her come from my level to a much higher level in music. She was dedicated and practiced day and night. Shayla, who I look up to as a musician, plays for a huge congregation and sounds great. She’s comfortable and plays amazing. This is where practicing like a “mad man” takes you and I am destined to go.

Music in Me

As I was younger, I loved music. Most of the time my taste in music was different from some of my family, although I can relate in some areas. When I was ten years old I took interest in the drums. When I told the drummer at my church that I wanted to play, he almost couldn’t believe me. The church as well as my family were not used to a girl playing the drums. It seemed like it’d be impossible for me to learn because I had no drums to practice on at home. Somehow, I managed to watch every drummer as they played. Soon after I began to play and I loved it. I’ve been playing for four years now and I never want to stop.

My mother and my sister Shayla both play the piano. Shayla who is really close to me was teaching me piano. For a moment, I wasn’t so excited about it. I thought it was too hard and I gave up. Then, artists like Alicia Keys and Mali Music inspired me to continue in playing. I am currently taking lessons and have fell in love with the piano. I love to play classical, R&B and gospel on the keys. I want to continue for as long as I can.

When I was younger, I was very shy and it would be close to impossible to get me to sing in front of a crowd. Then, one day, I managed to get the guts to sing in church in front of everyone. I was really nervous but once I closed my eyes, I felt at home again and began to sing. The church was full of very close family and friends but they never heard me sing before. They were all shocked and really encouraged me to sing more. Now, I am able to sing freely. Yes, I still get nervous but I enjoy the thrill. Music is life.

The Ending Analysis

The novel, 1984 is about a place in the future called, Oceania. This place is run by, “The    Party.” The Party and all of Oceania is ruled by Big Brother. The Party as well as the Thought Police keep the nation under surveillance at all times. The government is able to pick up any sound and watch the citizens by using a device called the telescreen. The protagonist of the story is a 39-year old man named Winston. In mid-novel, Winston falls in love with a dark-haired girl named Julia. They feel that their love is stronger than The Party and nothing could stop them from loving each other. At the end of the novel, their love is tested and unfortunately, The Party tortures them so much that they betray each other and no longer share the feeling of love. Winston has not only changed in appearance, but mentally he is different; So much, that his overall perspective of The Party has changed, all due to Big Brother.

In chapter six of part three, Winston has been released form the Ministry of Love. He half-way enjoys a drink at the chestnut café. He ends up bumping into Julia at the park. She seems disgusted with his presence and doesn’t really want to speak to him any longer. She ends up talking to him and tells him that she has betrayed Winston and how The Party drove her to really mean it. The Party drove her to actually want her life more than the love they once had. Winston also tells her that he has done the same act. There is an awkward silence and Julia makes an excuse to leave. As Winston followed her, he lost sight of her and tried to reconnect half-hearted. He then gives up and they never speak again. This is how mental and physical torture can lead to the lost of love.

Love, in the context meaning that we use today, was not the same love that is in Oceania. The only type of “love” that existed in the world Orwell illustrated was the acceptance of Big Brother. Big Brother and the Party have created a world where there are no sentimental emotions. Oceania was founded and built on hatred. A love like the one Julia and Winston once shared, cannot exist in a world that is full of hatred and hurt-filled feelings. The Party knew that Winston and Julia shared a love that was not allowed. The Party tortured out all of Winston’s feelings toward Julia, leaving him emotionless. Because he was emotionless, he began to understand the methods of Big Brother. Because he was emotionless, he was full of Big Brother. Because he was emotionless, he accepted him. He loved Big Brother.
 As I reflect on this novel, I can connect it to George Orwell’s other literary work, Animal Farm. George Orwell uses both of these novels to demonstrate how a dictatorship can lead to dreadful circumstances. Also, he shows how some humans can react under bizarre leaderships. In the book, Animal Farm, there was a farm that was run by animals and there were two boar leaders, Snowball and Napoleon. Napoleon ran Snowball off the farm and took charge. He made the animals work very hard and gave them little to no food. He swore to them that life then was much better than the time when the humans were in charge and the animals ignorantly believed him. Through this, Orwell showed how ignorant citizens can be when under a corrupt government. It connected to 1984 because The Party and Big Brother changed the past making the citizens believe that they are in better shape than how they were before the revolution. But, in this case, Winston and Julia aren’t so ignorant to this; they know what is going on and now feels a spirit of rebellion against the leaders, unlike the animals in Animal Farm. Through these two novels, we can see that George Orwell is fascinated by different forms of government. He clearly shows how, having one person in charge of everything, is not very good. He demonstrates how one corrupt dictator can completely ruin the nation as a whole. This is what I have gathered from the ending of the novel, 1984.

Fear

The book, 1984 is about a place in the future where the town is ran by, “The Party” and the head of this government is Big Brother. The novel’s protagonist is Winston a 39-year old man who falls in love with a woman named Julia. Emotions and feelings toward people are not always promoted in the party. Winston, Julia, along with the rest of Oceania has to avoid getting charged with “thought crime.” It was hard to avoid sometimes because the party watched everyone closely with cameras and picked up every sound. This is the world that George Orwell has predicted of the future. In chapter four of part three, we find Winston in his solitary confined room after he has been tortured. He has gotten much better. He has gotten fatter, he’s been working out, and the features of his body are getting back to normal. Then, Winston has a hallucination of Julia’s presence and heard him yell out her name. He knew that this would cause some damage to him and would make O’Brien torture him again. A short while after, O’Brien entered his room and directed him to “Room 101.”

In this room Winston was tormented with his worst fear, rats. O’Brien held the cage of rats so close to Winston’s face that Winston felt the cool wires on his cheeks. He smelled the musty smell of the rodents and began to get nauseous, so much that he felt he was about to pass out. Winston felt trapped and was willing to do anything to escape from where he was at that moment. He was even willing to escape and let a loved one get this punishment rather than himself. He began to say, “Do it to Julia not me.” He was willing to let Julia get injured by the rats than him. This is how fearful Winston was of rats.
As I reflect on the novel, I realize that my fear is not so different from Winston’s. I have a fear of any small animal that isn’t a dog. Cats, rodents, squirrels, you name it. One time, I was walking down the street. As I was walking, a squirrel raced down the tree. My body froze with fear. I felt that it impossible for me to just walk past it. I frantically rushed to the other side of the street. I have never been faced with or in the same room with a rat. I have seen a movie that showed how vicious and disease-causing rats can be. I don’t blame Winston for being afraid.  Everyone as a fear and in the book, 1984, Winston’s fear is rats.

Literary Analysis

            The book, 1984 by George Orwell, is analyzed as the author’s prediction of the future. George Orwell uses his literary skills to give details on what he assumes would take place in the year, 1984. There are many possible themes that can sum up this story such as, ignorance, dystopia, hatred, propaganda, sexual intercourse, irony, and profound quotes. Some quotes in the story were easy to understand and some had a deeper meaning.  In 1984 there are many things that could be revealed such as the quote Winston thought of in Part 3, what it meant, and what is considered to be a hero.

In chapter one of part three, it is said that, ”Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain there are no heroes, he thought over and over as he writhed on the floor, clutching uselessly at his disabled arm.” Winston was captured for thought crime. He was sent to the Ministry of Love to be “cured.” He was captured and in a plain room that seemed very frightening. As he waited to see what would happen to him next, O’Brien and a guard entered into the room. Winston saw the guard with a truncheon in his hand. When he noticed the weapon, he knew that he would be hit but he didn’t know where. The guard struck him in his elbow, sending Winston to the floor in agonizing pain.

            A hero is a person who is admired for their courage or noble deeds. A mother is a hero. A woman goes through a tremendous amount of pain giving birth to a child. Women and mothers are very important because without them the world would not be populated. They have a big responsibility and because they go through the pain for the sake of another life is courageous and is very heroic. The quote that Winston was thinking of as he was in pain is very profound. “In the face of pain there are no heroes,” this means that in pain you can’t save yourself and there isn’t anyone else that can save you. When pain strikes you really just have to bear it and pray that it’ll go away. There are no courageous acts that can be done to stop pain. In Winston’s case, he couldn’t escape from it by thinking of someone he loves because when the pain is so overbearing it’s hard to think of anything else.

            The novel 1984 by George Orwell is very vast and has many different perceptions to its meaning. The novel has a lot of themes that could also be expounded on and one of them was a profound quote. George Orwell continues to enlarge the reader’s thoughts as he involves in-depth quotes in his literary work. Some of the quotes were clever and easily understood while some were deeper in meaning.   In 1984 there are many things that could be revealed such as the quote Winston thought of in Part 3, what it meant, and what is considered to be a hero.