Powells Review Link

This is the link to my powells.com review:

http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780451524935-2

My review was much shorter than my independent written reflection in order to leave out spoilers.

Literary Luminary, Chapters 1-4 Part 2

Literary Luminary

"For a week after this, life was like a restless dream."  Page 111

This form of similie was used by Orwell to describe Winston's emotions after receiving a slip of paper from one of his coworkers, Julia, while walking past her in the ministry. Numerous times before this encounter Winston described various mixed feelings towards the girl, be it from sexual attraction all the way to wanting to bash her head in with the paper weight he had purchased from the Proles district, and now that she actually has recognized him Winston is in awe, especially over such a rebellious and radical statement as "I love you." To describe his week as a "restless dream" is very fitting, because he finds it hard to believe that this event actually took place; the dream aspect, and it is restless because he spends it week anticipating what Julia will do next.

Independent Written Reflection

Reflection:
2/17/11
When I read the summary on this novel, I thought it sounded very interesting. I thought the whole theme of the book was interesting; George Orwell predicted that in the future, the government would take complete control over society and actually get them to believe that they weren't being oppressed. I wanted to read the novel because I wanted to see if anyone succeeds in overthrowing the government and if it had a happy ending. I was also interested in finding out how much his novel actually compared to 1984. I learned that it didn't compare at all, so I wanted to maybe find out what the moral was and what Orwell was trying to tell the reader. After reading the novel, I was stunned at the ending and I enjoyed it very much because although it was unpredictable, many clues were given and I was so focused on Winston actually finding a way to overthrow the government that the thought of the novel ending the way it did went way over my head.

My favorite part about the novel was the whole first part. Orwell did a great job of setting and eerie, yet sinister setting to open the novel. He painted a picture in my mind so that it was easy for me to see exactly how the society looked and it actually made me sympathetic towards Winston. I also liked how he shows that Winston knows everything about the government's secrets, in fact, his job is for him to cover them up, yet he can't seem to find a way to successfully overthrow them. When I read certain parts, I couldn't take my eyes of the pages because the whole idea stunned me of how oblivious people were and how Winston was hopeless. The only part I honestly disliked was the end of part 2 when he was reading out of the booklet that O'Brien gave him. I also thought that the parts with Julia were drawn out, however I could see why Orwell did that. I think the last chapter and a half of part 2 could've been left out, as did my group members. I don't think anything could've been added. The ending was shocking and I would've never gone into the book expecting it to end the way it did, but it made total sense.

Literary Luminary Part 3 Chapters 4-6

Literary Luminary:

"His bowels seemed to turn to water." page 233

Upon seeing that what lied in room 101 was a cage of rats, which they put right by his face which was strapped down so he couldn't move, Winston immediately tells O'Brien that he wants him to torture Julia instead of him. Satisfied, O'Brien lets him go. For a while, before Winston was sent to room 101, Winston seemed to be doing just fine and was gaining weight and was agreeing with the party's policies. He soon remembered how much he loathed big brother, and yelled out Julia's name over and over. This lead to him going to room 101. After he was willing to betray Julia, they set him free.

"His thoughts wandered again. Almost unconsciously he traced with his finger in the dust on the table: 2+2=5" pg 239

This passage uses an oxymoron to show how after he was tortured in prison, Big Brother forced him to believe things that obviously weren't true that used to repulse him. Now, he doesn't even realize how much control they have over his life and he has completely forgotten how much he wants to rebel. It used to anger him how the government would make announcements that were completely false and how nobody realized it, and now he's in that very position.

Literary Luminary Part 3 Chapters 1-3

Literary Luminary:

"The door opened. With a small gesture the officer indicated the skull-faced man. 'Room 101,' said the officer." page 195

In this passage, Orwell uses a metaphor to describe the man's face that's getting banished to room 101. Later in this section, the man says he'll tell them anything they want as long as he doesn't get taken to room 101 because he has 3 kids at home. When they still don't hesitate, he said he would rather them just kill him or starve him or hang him. When that doesn't work, he said he would rather watch them slit his wife and his kid's throats in front of him rather than him go there. Orwell uses suspense and mystery to keep the reader wanting to know what room 101 is.

"...but his body was being wrenched out of shape, the joints were being slowly torn apart." pg 202

In this passage, O'Brien is revealed as a secret operative that turned him and has Winston hooked up to a machine that is shooting an excruciating pain throughout his entire body. This section uses vivid imagery that makes the reader cringe and feel badly for Winston. Winston knew that he was going to be turned in eventually because of his diary, but he had no idea it was going to be as treacherous as it was and eventually learns that what he thought he knew wasn't right at all. He is confused as to what room 101 is and whether O'Brien is trying to help him or not. O'Brien tells him he's going to make him better, but he still doesn't know what he means.

1984 Illustrator Part 2 Chapters 5-10

Illustrator:

2/9/11:

"A new poster had suddenly appeared all over London. It had no caption, and represented simply the monstrous figure of a Eurasian soldier, three or four meters high, striding forward with expressionless Mongolian face and enormous boots, a submachine gun from his hiip. From whataever angle you looked at the poster, the muzzle of the gun, magnified by the foreshortening, seemed to be pointed straight at you." pg 123

I found the imagery from the book very vivid in this passage, and very unsettling. Oceania seems to be at war with a different frequently, and they put up posters like this to scare the population and to make that country look bad. Personally, I would be extremely scared if I saw a poster like this in my town and it would make living there scary. It's also strange how everyone treats it normally and don't seem to be startled like it's a normal thing.

Discussion Director Part 2 Chapters 5-10

Discussion Director:
2/9/11

1. Do you think that since both Winston and Julia work for the party, that makes it less likely that they will be caught or punished for being together?

2. Is O'Brien and the brotherhood going to be the downfall of the party? Will Winston successfully get them to work with him to get the proles to realize that they're oppressed so heavily?

3. Is Julia as willing to put her life in jeopardy to bring down the party as Winston is? Is she going to hold Winston back from his goal of bringing down Big Brother?

4. Did Winston convince Julia to help him bring down the party when he scolded her for only being rebellious through sex? Did his scolding in turn hurt their relationship, or did it help Julia become more loyal?

5. Is Winston and Julia's inability to leave the apartment above the shop going to lead the authorities to them and ultimately lead to their demise? Are their priorities clouded by sex?