Question 8

* are there are any current situations in the world that relate to the novel? what are they, and how do they relate? does the novel shed any light on how current situations could be resolved or "fixed"?

1984 is like how North Korea is right now. In fact, I think that any government that is ruled by a dictator is like the novel, 1984. In a government ruled by a dictator, the people must do as told and cannot follow what they want or think is right. This is basically the same as 1984, except 1984 was a little more to the extreme. I don't think that countries like North Korea have microphones and cameras in each and every home because it isn't a very rich country, but the people are watched very closely. Even in subways, there is a person from the government that watches each person walking by. This is why only adults usually take the subway. Instead of talking cheerfully or feeling comfortable in public, getting from place to place looks like it is serious business. People are sent to prison camps, which seems just as bad as The Ministry of Love, for something as silly as knowing too much about the lives of North Korean leaders, or because they were caught listening to South Korean radio reports about the death of their leader Kim Il-sung. People in North Korea aren't even given a trial for going to prison and are told later on why they are in prison. In 1984, the people are also not given a trial. Another similarity is how many propaganda North Korea and 1984 have. In the novel 1984, "Big Brother is watching you" signs are hung everywhere you look. In North Korea, many propaganda is used like posters saying North Korea is the strongest country, and how America is evil, and many more are used. This novel sheds no light at all on how to fix this problem. This novel encourages the fact that nothing can change it.

Question 7

* entry of your choice

I think that George Orwell's 1984 novel was interesting. The only other book I read like 1984 was Fahrenheit 451, and even though they are similar types of books, 1984 was much better. When I first saw the book, I wasn't going to choose it because it was the thickest book out of the choices I had. I was going to read Animal Farm instead, but there weren't anymore books left, so I chose 1984. After reading it, I learned not to judge a book on how thick and long it is because I actually enjoyed it. The way George Orwell writes is easy for me to understand, and the story doesn't seem so long. Unlike Fahrenheit 451, 1984 was a fast moving novel, which made it feel like the book was really thin and short. Although I don't read these kind of books on my own time for fun, I would love to read 1984 one more time. I really like this book because it makes me wonder if life might become like that one day. It is also fun because I can relate to Winston because he wants what I have, and if I were in his position, I would also want what I have now. This novel scared me because it reminded me of how this might be what it is like in parts of the world today like North Korea. After reading this novel, I feel really thankful for the freedom I have. It is a great book!

Question 6

* are there any settings in this novel which you have found to be beautiful? or disturbing? or memorable? describe these settings and comment on why they were meaningful to you.

I found that there were beautiful and disturbing settings in the novel. Overall, there were more disturbing settings than beautiful settings. The most disturbing settings occurred at the end of the novel when Winston was being tortured in The Ministry of Love. Any type of torture to me is very disturbing because I think that it isn't right or fair to abuse any kind of mammal. When Winston was being tortured in room 101 by being threatened using his worst fear, rats, I found it very sad. While I was reading this, I had many mixed emotions. I was curious as to what would happen to him, I was mad at how a human could treat another human so cruelly, and sad for Winston having to experience so much pain. I found this meaningful because it reminds me of how older Koreans treat younger Koreans when the younger Koreans don't respect them or do what ever they ask them to do. What Winston went through is far more worse, but I think that this is the same kind of treatment, but at a lower level.
There wasn't a particular setting that was beautiful that actually stood out to me. I just thought that the times in the novel when Winston and Julia were happy together and felt what life was really supposed to be about was beautiful and meaningful. It wasn't really one setting, but little parts throughout the story that I felt this way.

Question 5

* what is the climax of this novel? what happens? how do the events of this novel make you feel?

The climax of this novel is when Winston is in room 101 being tortured by his greatest fear, rats. I think that this is the climax of the novel because this is where the result of all the hard work he did for going against the Party and Big Brother end up. No matter how hard he tried before, he is willing to follow, accept, and love Big Brother so as not to be tortured by the rats. This made me feel so sad and disappointed. If he really didn't believe the government was right, he should have stayed strong and followed what he believed in until the end, no matter what. If I were him, I would not change my mind. If I just gave in to avoid being tortured, it would be worse than dying. If I died, at least I wouldn't have to try and get by each day unhappily. In the end, Winston gives up what he always wanted and follows the Party and Big Brother. He loves Big Brother. I thought that the ending was sad. Nothing he did changed anything.

Question 4

* please choose one passage from the novel that is significant to you. why is this passage meaningful? Please type it into one of your entries and comment on what you think about the passage.

"But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."
I think that this passage is meaningful and significant because it shows the result of the story, and how even though Winston tried his best to stay against Big Brother in his mind, he did not succeed. It shows that pain can be so powerful that it can change humans minds. I was very disappointed with this passage as the ending because the whole point of what Winston wanted to change in the story didn't change. It was pointless. All he did was torture himself. I think that this passage made the story end in a sad way. The protagonist was defeated by the antagonist. I like happy endings where the protagonist overcomes his goals. Although the story was interesting overall, I think it would have been even better if it had a different ending, an ending where the protagonist, Winston, did something significant to change the distorted government.

Question 3

* what is the mood of this novel? do you find this novel saddens you in any way? why?

The mood of this novel seems to be very gloomy. There seems to be no sign of people enjoying life. The mood is also suspenseful. Since everyone lives life in such an orderly fashion for fear of being arrested, people are constantly being worried about every move they make. This novels mood is so sad because there is no sign of freedom. Life is full of so many rules that it can not be enjoyed. People always have to worry about what they should do and say next. Even in peoples homes, tension exists. No one can express their true feelings. The only thing they can express is what the government wants to hear and see.
This novel saddens me because I think that people shouldn't be watched so closely. Having cameras and microphones in homes is way too far. There is no freedom. People being tortured for having a different opinion than the government isn't right or fair. People are meant to be different and think differently. That is why we aren't robots. It seems like the people have no freedom and are always filled with fear. The government seems to be like a dictatorship.

Question 2

* who are the main characters in the novel? do you like them? why or why not? what is special about them? what do they reveal about the universal human experience?

I think that the main characters in the novel are Winston Smith, O'Brian, and Julia.
Winston is the protagonist of this novel. He is thirty-nine years old and he is against Big Brother and the Party. He went against the party by keeping a journal, secretly meeting with Julia and not believing in the ideas of Big Brother. However, in the end, he is forced by torture to change his thoughts. In the end, he loves Big Brother. I really like him because he tried to follow what he thought was right and what he believed even though he wasn't successful. He reveals that even the places we think are the safest, like our mind and thoughts, can be changed and aren't as safe as we think they are.
Julia is a member of the Junior Anti-Sex League and becomes close to Winston. She secretly is also against the Party and Big Brother. I didn't really like her because she was a very stuck up character. I also don't like her because she took the easy way out. Instead of standing strong for what she thought, she just said what would get her out of pain when she was caught going against the Party and Big Brother.
O'Brian is a member of the Inner-Party that acted like he was against the Party and Big Brother to gain Winston's trust. Then, when he gained his trust, he revealed his true feelings that he wasn't actually against the Party or Big Brother, and then tortured Winston. I don't like him at all because he is evil. He tortures people and his beliefs seem to be ones a robot would have, not a human.

Question 1

*what is the major theme of this novel? why is this theme important to a teenager living in 2007?

I think that the theme of this novel is that the government has too much control over people, and that the government and political system is all a lie. This is because throughout the story, when history occurs, the government decides it wants to change it. They erase the history and say it never happened. All the people believe this and follow what the government says because the government makes sure no record is left of what history they want to erase. People probably believe this because they cannot even keep a diary and record their thoughts, or any other way of recording the past.
The purpose of this book is to uncover the possibilities of a totalitarianism type of government. It is an example of what a dictatorship is like. In the novel, the government always watches the people, and something as small as not cheering loud enough, or showing enthusiasm for Big Brother ( the leader of the government), can cause severe punishment. It also controls information. The government destroys what information they want to and make what information they want to. It also controls what the people do and say. There are cameras and microphones to listen on to what people are saying. It is like every person is not a person, but a robot being controlled by the government. This is why I think that the main theme is to show how governments can be dangerous.
This can relate to a teenager living in 2007 because if this occurs we can be affected by it. We can make sure this doesn't happen by taking action now for the generations to come. We can write letters to the government to show what our opinions are and to show them that just because we are normal teens doesn't mean we don't know anything. It can show them that we care about what type of government we have. This way we can stay strong and keep the government from doing what ever it wants to do.