Blog post#3 Bryan Ku CIN:302886537 English 102 Sec.8

Bryan Ku

Tyler Reeb

English 102 Sec. 8

22 October 2014

Blog#3

What does George Orwell's short story, "1984" reveal about the people's life and society?

Thesis: In George Orwell's novel, "1984," Winston Smith adventure through a society where any decision he makes is the difference of life and death.

             When society becomes a totalitarianism, people will start to fear and wonder why they live that life style. A lot of people will start to rebel and it will cause a revolution. George Orwell'S novel, "1984," created a society where people  are monitored and controlled using Big Brothers ideas. Citizens cannot make their own ideas and relationships must be within Big Brother's rules. The idea of "love" is viewed differently in Oceania. Love is considered evil and never to be touched at. Their emotion are always being monitored. According to George Orwell, "Today there were fear, hatred, and pain, but no dignity of emotion, or deep or complex sorrows"(30). When a person loses their will to express how they feel, they lose what makes humanity. Fear has always been the main emotion to change a way a person thinks. In 1800s, United States began to create a legal way to have slavery. A lot of slaves are controlled by fear and mental abuse. This is the same as Oceania because they both do not have the perks of making their own decisions.

            The society they live in is considered to be a dystopia. The text states, "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength"(Orwell, 4). When society is controlled by these type of rules, people are slowly losing their humanity. During the 1970s, a lot of gangs were formed and a lot of blood is shed. One of the larger gang is called "Crips". They became a huge problem, because they did not have any fear when it comes to killing. War against other gangs became a trill more than what it actually represents. Everything that is happening with Oceania is a mixture of terrible times in different countries all put into one society.       

Work cited

Orwell, George, and Erich Fromm. 1984: A Novel. New York, NY: Signet Classic, 1961. Print.

Blog post#2 Bryan Ku CIN:302886537 English 102 Sec.8

Bryan Ku

Tyler Reeb

English 102 Sec. 8

15 October 2014

Blog #2

      If society starts to govern us, we will slowly parish. In 1984, Syme, a man who works in the research department, explains the meaning to live. Syme said, "Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thought crime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it." (52). The amount of words will never exist for people to understand a simple conversation anymore. This idea makes me feel depressed and uncomfortable. Without words to express how we feel, we will not progress as humans. As Winston talks to Syme, he can see that Syme wants to improve Big Brother's ideas. Orwell explains the dystopia word they live in. The characters change and slowly they do not have the same mind set as us.

               When I make funny expressions, I always act like who I am. Winston lives in a world where improper expressions can mean life and death. Winston explains, "In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face (to look incredulous when a victory was announced, for example) was itself a punishable offence." (62). People showing improper expression violates against the Big Brothers. The world they live in creates unimaginable problems for our society. In the 1900s, Slaveholders will torture their slaves to break their spirit. When a slave sees the death of another slave, fear starts to control their actions. Slaves will not rebel against their masters for this reason. Proper expressions will keep them from getting hurt.

               As the Big Brothers start to change the way people think, it will generate an more easy way to govern. As words die, Newspeak will create a revolution. Lack of words will also mean the end of thoughts. That means that people will not understand any form of conversation. The end of freewill will end and the Big Brothers will continue ruling. 

Blog post#1 Bryan Ku CIN:302886537 English 102 Sec.8

Bryan Ku

Tyler Reeb

English 102 Sec. 8

8 October 2014

Blog#1

            There are many countries like North Korea that are struggling in providing food. When food becomes scarce, it causes a lot of situations. In the novel, 1984, George Orwell developed a scene when the protagonist, Winston Smith is debating on what food to eat. Food is limited so Winston saved his last piece of bread and ate a colorless liquid called Victory Gin instead.  Winston face changed dramatically, "Instantly his face turned scarlet and the water ran out of his eyes. The stuff was like nitric acid, and moreover, in swallowing it one had the sensation of being hit on the back of the head with a rubber club" (5). The taste of Victory Gin is horrendous. After eating the first few bites, Winston face made an puking expression. As the taste continues to flow in his mouth, he can feel an imaginary rubber club hitting his head.

            When I was a child, my family made me eat a lot of unusual food. This passage reminds me of times when I was put in the same position as Winston. Food becomes valuable and the choices to pick what to eat is limited. This is an important aspect to many other places such as North Korea. North Korea is struggling to provide food to their citizens because of how undeveloped the country is. The lack of  agriculture and random climate changes  also affects the number of food a family receives. North Korea was dictated by a man named Kim Jong Il. He was the power of how North Korea was controlled. Everything he did was a reflection of his country. Winston also stated, "As soon as all the correction which happened to be necessary in an particular number of the times had been assembled and collected, that number would be reprinted, the original copy destroyed, and the corrected copy placed on the files in its stead" (39). Just as how North Korea is being dictated, Winston's society is also being controlled.