Blog #26: Harmeet Sandhu: Period 7: 5/4/20

Blog #29 - Harmeet Sandhu - Period 7 - 5/4/2020

Harmeet Sandhu

Blog #29

Period 7

May 4, 2020

Sophomore 2020

Aim: How do George Orwell's themes of literary protest transcend time?

Do Now: 

1. Elitism is leadership by a socially superior minority group. In what ways is elitism fostered among the pigs of Animal Farm?

In this week’s class session, the class began with us discussing how elitism can be seen with the situation of the pigs and animals on Animal Farm. The class had a variety of answers, and the most common one was how the pigs were given certain benefits because they needed to use their brains.

2. Is there evidence that Elitism still exists in our society? If so, how?

For this question, the class also had varying answers. Many people brought up how some people exist on the influential and rich lifestyle level, which sometimes gives them benefits the lower class might not receive. 

Once the Do Now was completed, we were given a scenario (shown in the image above), and asked what we would do.

Many of my peers stated that they would check on the classmate who left in a hurry. One member stated that they would check on the person because if something like that had happened to them, they would want someone to check on them. Another classmate stated that they would do it because they wouldn't be able to handle the guilt. Asking the bully why they sent the image in the first place was another response.

After this scenario, we were presented with a quote by Richard Wright, an author who wrote controversial pieces about racial problems: 

“All literature is protest. You can't name a single novel that isn't protest.”

The class didn’t have a lot to say about this topic but they did say that everybody is not likely to agree, and people always find a way to disagree with something.

After we discussed this quote, we moved on to this next quote which Mrs. Peterson was very enthusiastic to share.

Irony in the Novel:

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”—George Orwell

Based on this quote, we had to answer this question: 

1. What themes are elicited from George Orwell’s Animal Farm?

The class started naming various themes present in the novel. I concluded that the two most prevalent ones were a) ignorance and its consequences and b) propaganda and the use it's put to.

After this we watched two videos: 

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChIimw3gcCg
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkzwHuf6C2U

After discussing these videos, we moved on to a different presentation which is in the same assignment on google classroom. 

We discussed Satire and Theme.

After this lesson, we were told to answer the prompts on our generation discussion board and respond to a peer.

personal thoughts and feelings on what is happening right now:

Right now the world is a very scary place for everyone. Many people are not able to access medical supplies, food, water, and necessary resources. I think that to get through this pandemic we need to stay strong and follow all guidelines. This includes but is NOT limited to washing your hands, staying home, and eating healthy. Another thing I think can be done is being appreciative. Instead of thinking about what you lack, think about what you are fortunate enough to have. However, I do not think you should cut yourself off from the world. Stay engaged, learn what’s happening, but make sure it's REAL news. 

what’s it like working from home?

I know this is different from how many others feel, but I rather enjoy working from home. However, the workload is very stressing and as relaxing as working from home sounds, it’s not. Many of the teachers don’t understand that we get work from all of our classes, and in between all the work that they assign to us, we don’t get time for ourselves, or even to study. My year is taking the AP World History exam soon, but it’s very hard to study because I have to complete all my assignments first. Other than this, I find working from home more comfortable. I can choose where I’m sitting, what I’m wearing, and I don’t ahve to worry how I appear to others. I like working from home better, but it would be more enjoyable if the workload was decreased overall.