Sunday, June 14, 2020
Guang Li
Period 7 Sophomores
Blogger #15
Aim: How are the readers of 1984 warned about the power of manipulation?
Do Now: THINK/PAIR/SHARE
Winston thinks, “They could not alter your feelings; for that matter, you could not alter them yourself, even if you wanted to.” Think about and discuss the nature of feelings and emotions.
1) Can you alter your own feelings by force of will? Why/Why Not?
2) Can someone else alter another person’s innermost feelings?
Notes:
The class was asked to think about what feelings are, and whether we, or anyone else, can control our feelings. We had to consider different feelings we feel, and how and whether we could change them. For example, anger. When you’re feeling angry, you might do some exercises or breathing techniques to calm yourself down, which is essentially taming your feelings.
Tell yourself to calm down. ...
Force yourself to leave the situation. ...
Use visualization to calm down. ...
Count to 10 (or 50… or 100) if you feel like you're about to do or say something harmful. ...
Splash some cold water on your face.
Slow down and focus on your breathing.
How to Control Your Anger
https://youtu.be/sfaeD-50rMs
How to Control Your Emotions
https://youtu.be/hYZmK46--Mc
However, this is far from foolproof. You know the feeling when you just have a breakdown, and the emotions come pouring out? When you erect a tiny wall which gets swept away. Therefore, it is arguable that we can’t really control our emotions, but manipulate them to an extent. However, there are many who believe it is possible to be in full control of your emotions, and that it comes with time or age. However, I came across this quote that stood out to me:
“If you think that emotions are completely controllable all the time, imagine how stressful that must be in moments where you aren’t able to reign in your emotions.” -Dr. Ford
And if we can control our emotions, what about depression? Is it something due to inability to control our grief?
The second part of the do now inquired whether someone else can change our innermost feelings. I feel that while they can certainly be swayed, changing one’s feelings completely is extremely difficult. A rough plan sketched out for how to encourage change in another’s feelings would be:
A) Talk about their feelings, and see what causes those feelings. If the root of the feelings can’t be changed, then encourage changing how the person perceives and feels about the situation.
B) See whether they can change, or want to change. Their ability and willingness to accept change in their emotions can be key.
However, it is very difficult, if not downright impossible, to fully change another’s innermost feelings.
TEAM WORK
Considered all that has transpired in the novel thus far. With your team, create “3” questions, and be prepared to share them with the other teams. The goal is to see if the teams can answer the questions your team created.
There are many questions to be raised, some of which can be answered or guessed at, and some of which can’t be.
What happened to Winston’s parents and sister?
Likely vanished, due to going against the party.
Who is Emmanuel Goldstein?
A traitor of the party, likely goes against their ideals.
Why does Winston hate beautiful women?
Likely something to do with temptation, and something to do with the Ministry of Love- loving anything other than Big Brother.
Evaluate the characters of Julia and Winston.
• Record Characteristics unique to each, then record characteristics that are
shared.
• How is the author warning the readers about manipulation through the
characters?
We then had to list the characteristics of Julia and Winston, and some of the characteristics that were come up with were
Julia is a very outgoing, rambunctious person. She is cunning, and extremely intelligent. She has the courage to reach out to others first.
Meanwhile, Winston is very generic. He is your average face in the crowd, a frail, aging man. He is cautious, and often worries about being caught betraying the Party.
Similarities that both of them share is their love, and their mixed feelings about the Party. They both realize that something is wrong, and they’re unhappy with how things are and they are rebellious. This activity helps us to see how each character compliments the other, and how they fit well.
We were then asked to state what we did last Friday morning. Many of us had a vague idea of something we did, likely because it was something we did daily.
However, the individual unique details were hard to come by, and even though it was very little time ago, we couldn’t recall what we had done. Because we didn’t really pay much attention, or make an effort to remember the details, they slip the mind. We then discussed how this is a weakness, and how it links to what we were learning about. If we can’t remember details of the past, it leaves us vulnerable to revisionism, and people who rewrite the past to suit their needs.
https://www.verywellmind.com/explanations-for-forgetting-2795045
Working from home is an entirely new ballpark than what I’m used to. While it is supremely helpful to not have 3 hours of travel time to and from school, there are whole new challenges to working at home. Mentally, we don’t associate home with school work, and getting into a working mood can be difficult. Not having to worry about being late makes us lack drive, and this can be difficult to get used to. You are also unable to receive hands on tutelage, and communicate with your peers as freely and openly than before.
Based on the reactions to the virus, I have learned a lot about the leadership around the world. Some leaders have affirmed their inability to make intelligent decisions, and have caught the public eye with their incompetence- America, it’s healthcare system, and Trump are great examples. Nevertheless, there are those that support and defend his every action, almost similar to the brainwashed people in 1984. However, some leaders have shown great ability to utilize their resources and lead us through this crisis, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Personally, I feel very distraught with COVID-19 going around. A global pandemic was a personal fear of mine, likely due to my indulgence in science fiction. I worry about my grandparents due to their age, and I worry about the cost of a virus on my family if we get sick. Other than that, I am extremely bored. I miss hanging out with my friends, and everything that we did.
Reflection-
Looking through today’s lesson, there is much to learn and apply to our daily lives. For example, management of emotion- understanding how we feel and how others feel. Growing up with siblings, it can be useful to not always get angry. However, it is also important to note that manipulating others is not a good thing, at least not most of the time. We learned about the importance of memory, and why it is important not to let details slip through the cracks. With memory, we are more prepared if our government, or something else, tries to manipulate us. If our knowledge of the past is limited, and our actions are influenced through our emotions, we simply become the government’s puppets. The parallels between 1984 and our present day society are shocking, and serve as a stark reminder of our possible future. By applying this information to our society, and using it to be on guard, we can possibly avoid events such as that which happened in 1984.
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