Arianna Gold
Period 9
June 3rd, 2020
Sophomores 2020
Aim- How is the theme, “the importance of having knowledge about the past in order to understand the future” exemplified/elucidated through Winston’s time in the Prole District?
To start our remote lesson, we began to have an open discussion of any “lies/stories” that parents and school tell to younger children. The answers amongst the class ranged greatly, from childhood monsters to the current Black Lives Matter movement. The Tooth Fairy, Santa, and the Easter Bunny were stories told by parents to make their children behave better by rewarding them with candy or presents. However, when we discussed the school given “lies” we related it to schools making the civil rights movement plain, simple, easy and beneficial to the white race. However, the true reality was that they reached minimal civil rights through blood and hardship and sharp discrimination from the white population. These events are exemplified in 1984 by the government controlling people's opinions by only exposing them to set information. To further demonstrate this example, Mrs. Peterson included Thanksgiving as a tangible metaphor.
We then continued to have a group discussion about the quote “In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it.” This further demonstrates that the government is the sole controller of the majority’s thought and puts out false information about once simple ideas. Furthermore, students mentioned that this is due to the lack of information put out by the government to sway public opinion. By doing this, they show unrecognized control of the population.
Our “group work” for the day was centered around the quote “If there's hope, it lies in the proles.” We then chose to see if Winston was correct. As a class we decided that he was correct. The proles include the older population. The older population grew up in a completely different world, so they are equipped with the spark for a social revolution. Therefore hope is amongst the proles.
We then had a whole class discussion where we talked about Winston finding himself in the junk shop . We decided that this is because the junk shop is the last place where the government has little control over. There is no monitor there, therefore, big brother is not present. If a revolution would happen anywhere, it would originate in the junk shop , which is why Winston is so attracted to it.
Today’s lesson taught me not to believe everything I see. I believe this is most tangible in today's world because of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests. Many news outlets along with the BLM organizations are equally putting out propaganda. It is our duty as citizens to challenge these updates and see if they are credible or not. We are lucky that we have exposure to these outlets, however, some chose to manipulate us to make a profit. I learned this through our discussions. Many students brought up amazing examples about how today’s world could potentially resemble 1984. Winston’s character examines information and questions it, which is what we need to do today. I will use this information by thoroughly looking for credible sources and spreading the right information about the BLM movement. Furthemore, I will make sure that the people around me are receiving the best information in order to make an opinion not influenced by false propaganda.
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