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.