Breaking Point

The book 1984 is written by George Orwell. The book is very popular and is seen as Orwell’s prediction of the future. Not only can we see his perspective on that but we can also see how Orwell sees and feels about other forms of government. Some governments are very bizarre and he illustrates how humans react to the bizarre nature. If something is too harsh, it might hit a person’s breaking point. A breaking point is when there’s a situation bad enough to make a person change or surrender their will.

            Part three opens up with Winston, the protagonist, finding himself captured and in a frightening place. Winston has been captured by the party who begins to “cure” him. This cure is a process in which Winston is badly tortured. Actually, tortured is an understatement. O’Brien, the coordinator of his distress, humiliates him. The party forces him to stand on one leg, they make him believe that two and two make five, they beat him, and they poke him. Besides the fact that they are starving him and making him sit in his own filth, the party still feels that they are “curing” him. They feel that the only way to “treat” him is by breaking him so they torture him, trying to find his breaking point.

O’Brien speaks on how people like Winston, who have their own mind, are an error in the pattern in which they call, Oceania. He tries to teach Winston that having the party control the past is what’s safe. After all of the pain, the worst of the torture was when Winston took a look at himself. He saw himself and feared his own image. He was balding, toothless, had a curved spine and his varicose ulcer was throbbing, red, and peeling. Winston was covered in this gray film of dirt. Even the structure of his face had changed along with a broken nose. The sight of seeing himself looking like a diseased 65-year old was still not enough. They have not found his breaking point.

            As I reflect on the reading, I feel that Winston was very strong to be able to be himself after that. My breaking point is very different from what he went through. Small animals are my breaking point. That’s right, small animals. Rodents, cats, squirrels, any small animal other than dogs, I am afraid of. If someone forced me into a room with any of these creatures, I would probably not survive. Receiving an “F” in school will make me change my ways and study more. I hate to see anything below a “B.” Although my breaking point seems silly, it’s true and everyone has a breaking point.

In the book, Orwell shows how unbelievable and inhumane a form of government can be. He also reveals what he feels will occur in the future. Orwell also teaches us that everyone has a breaking point or a point at which their willing to surrender their will. Even after the harsh treatment that the protagonist undergoes, he is still not broken because he has not betrayed his love, Julia. As you can see, finding some people can go through more then others, while finding their breaking point.

Ignorance is Strength

The book, 1984 by George Orwell, was analyzed as the author’s interpretation of his view of the future. George Orwell illustrates his views on the world and what he thinks the world would become. The author connects his lifetime and ours to the future. There are many hidden ironies and slogans throughout the novel. One of the slogans was, “Ignorance is Strength.” The book interprets what this means and I have a view on the meaning as well. This is how I reflected on this literary work.

In the novel the slogan, “Ignorance is Strength” is an ironic statement. The author gives the meaning that in a government (mainly communist), if the society is ignorant enough to believe anything someone says, that leaves a door open for the authority to have strength and manipulate the ignorant. People that don’t think for themselves are part of the reason Big Brother was able to reign so corruptly. The only reason Big Brother was able to destroy the past and create his own was only because people were ignorant enough to believe him. If the people had the knowledge and understood how wrong Big Brother was for Oceania, they wouldn’t let him rule the nation. The people were blinded by ignorance thus, giving strength to Big Brother.

My view of the slogan, “Ignorance is Strength” is quite similar to the meaning Orwell analyzed. Children are ignorant. Ignorant being defined as, the lack of general knowledge. Children do not know some things that adults know. Because children are not aware of some things that adults know, some adults manipulate them. For example, adults tell them things that are not true and they believe them because they are ignorant. A child questioning where babies come from can get an answer referring them to storks. The adults know good and well that babies do not come from storks but because children are ignorant to that fact, they tend to believe what they are told. Adults do not say these things to be mean, most of the time; the adult feels that they are protecting the child from learning something that might disturb them in life. This is how Big Brother feels with the knowledge he allows the citizens to have.

 Overall, the novel, 1984 by George Orwell was clearly written and very well-perceived as the author’s prediction of the future. I think the author was clever because of the way he input so much irony that had such a deeper meaning that most would surface. He also included slogans such as, “Ignorance is Strength,” which is a great form of irony. The slogan had many different perceptions by many people. This is how I reflected on this literary piece.

Winston's Diary

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.The protagonist, Winston writes in a diary his feelings which is against the law. This event in the novel is very important because he is able to finally express himself and get his thoughts out of his mind. In the day that we live in, it’s no big deal to write in a diary but, in the times where it was not legal to express thoughts and feelings, it meant a lot.

First, I feel that writing in that diary, for Winston, was a very courageous step to take. If I were in his shoes I think I would have wanted to write in the diary but, I honestly think I would be too nervous. Having the ability to express one’s opinion is very important because, not everyone is the same and we should all be able to voice our opinions at appropriate times. Sometimes in school, I tend to find myself wanting to say something but knowing that it is not appropriate for that time. So, instead I express myself by writing it down or speaking to my parents about it. Either or, it feels better to get my thoughts out than to hold them in.

To conclude, George Orwell’s, “1984,” was analyzed as the author’s perception how the future of England would be. He precisely described his predictions of the year 1984. The very brave event that took place when Winston wrote in his diary was very significant. This deepened my understanding of the novel because it showed how powerful our freedom of speech and expression really is. If the government had to ban it, it must have been very powerful. This has deepened my understanding of expression as a whole. 1984 was a well-written novel that is very significant in the world.

Irony in 1984

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 and irony. There are three commonly used parts of irony such as, dramatic irony, situational irony, and verbal irony. Dramatic irony is when the reader knows something the character doesn’t. Situational irony is when something occurs that was totally unexpected. Verbal irony is when the speaker says one thing and means another. In 1984 there are many examples of irony such as the slogans, Winston (main character), and the dark-haired girl.

            Admittedly, the slogans that the party promoted are a great example of verbal irony. The slogans were, “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength.” For the inner party, these slogans mean as long as Oceania is at war, the masses are able to direct their anger at an enemy and not at the party. The inner party enjoys its freedom insomuch as it enslaves the masses, and outer party members, proletariats, or workers are out in the war zone. As long as the masses remain ignorant to the truth, the party remains strong. Those not understanding the machinations of the inner party believe peace can only be achieved by conquering the world and eliminating the enemies of the party and of Oceania. They believe that to act freely would lessen Oceania's strength and lead it to possible doom. They believe that any deviation from the party weakens the nation, preferring to remain ignorant. There were meanings behind the slogans but overall they were very ironic.

            Undoubtedly, both Winston and Julia, known as the “dark-haired girl,” had ironic situations. The main character, Winston Smith, uses the "Memory hole" to deposit things. One would think that the memory hole would be place of past memories and thoughts of the past. Contrarily, the memory hole is used to dispose of documents and other items in an incinerator. Winston does this as a part of his job within the party in an attempt to get rid of all past events and history. The dark-haired girl wears a chastity belt above her waist to indicate that she has not had sex. While in all reality she has been with numerous men. Winston hated the dark-haired girl then came to a reality that he really wanted her. These situations held many depths of irony.

            As you can see, George Orwell’s novel, “1984” was analyzed as an extraordinary prediction of the future. Not only did he describe his thought well but he used the theme of irony all throughout the story keeping the reader fascinated at how dramatic the future may be.  This book was cleverly put together. In the novel, 1984, there are many examples of irony such as the slogans, Winston and the dark-haired girl.

MY BLOG!

My name is Leah and I am a pianist and I sing. I am also a first time blogger. I am doing a blog about the book, “1984” by George Orwell. 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.  The novel's protagonist, Winston Smith is a citizen of Oceania who is 39 years old. This novel has a very unique plot but can also connect back into our common lives. The story and the conflict that takes place are unbelievable. The book truly reflects George Orwell’s skill of descriptions. He clearly describes his prediction of the future; So much that I can imagine that I am there. This blog is an assignment that was given to me by my English 2 teacher. It’s a very creative assignment but not so exciting for me. I am very interested in the art of music and photography but journalism is a form of art as well. I hope that by making this blog it gets me as well as others interested in blogging in the form of leisure. For those who are in love with reading (yawn), I hope that my inputs on this book will in someway help your perspective or analysis of the book, “1984.” A reading blog was not on my “to-do list” but let’s see how this goes. Continue to visit and enjoy!