Blog #59 - Lauren Peysakhova - Period 7 - 6/22/2020

Blog #26 for June 10, 2020 

Sophomores 2020

-Lauren Peysakhova Pd. 7

Aim: How are the readers of 1984 warned about the power of manipulation?

Do Now: 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?

Our class discussed both sides, stating that our feelings can be altered by our force of will and our feelings could not be altered by a force of will. For instance, after thinking through different ideas, we can alter our beliefs. On the other hand, if we are feeling an emotion, it might be difficult to change how we feel. For example, if your feeling sad, you need to get through your sad feeling in order to feel happy afterwards. Therefore, you cannot necessarily change how you are feeling, but go through it.

2. Can someone else alter another person’s innermost feelings?

Someone can alter someone else’s feelings by persuading them using different facts and other pieces of evidence. This can lead to a person having new beliefs and having different feelings. On the other hand, similar to the first question, we may need to get through certain feelings in order to change how we feel. Other people can help by encouraging us or comforting us, but they cannot exactly change our point of view.

After the do now, we all had to come up with 3 different questions that we had about the novel so far. One question asked is “Why is Julia more focused on sexual rebellion whereas Winston wants to bring back the past?” A few answers to this were that Julia is younger than Winston and therefore, more naive. She does not have the same knowledge as Winston and does not know anything about the world before the Revolution. Additionally, Julia does not remember the past as well as Winston. She has trouble remembering who Oceania was fighting four years prior, showing her lack of passion for fighting for the truth. Another question that was asked was “How do the Thought Police detect thought crime? Do they actually know what people are thinking or do they use it as a tactic to scare people?” Our class answered this by saying that the Thought Police are using it as a tactic. They are scaring people into obeying them and are manipulating them. Furthermore, the thought police do not actually know what people are thinking, but they can get a good idea of what is going on inside of someone’s head based on their actions. If someone is acting suspiciously, then the Thought Police can infer that they are thinking about rebelling.

Next, we discussed the differences between Julia and Winston. Although both characters love each other very much, they are two very different people. To start off, Winston is a lot older than Julia. Winston is 39 years old whereas Julia is only 26. This shows that Winston is more experienced and somewhat understands what life was like before the rebellion. Additionally, Winston is also very contemplative and is always thinking about what is going on. He is very observant and pays great attention to details. In the beginning of the novel, Winston was also very paranoid because he was constantly worried that someone was looking for him and was going to catch him. Winston feels that he can have one big rebellion and overthrow Big Brother in one shot. On the other hand, Julia is a lot more realistic in the sense that she wants to conquer the Party by small rebellions. She finds value in her acts of lust and is nothing as contemplative as Winston. Julia is very lustful and vibrant, as she has had sexual interactions with other people of the Party. Both characters are similar in the fact that they want to overthrow the Party, however, they both have different methods. The author is warning the readers about manipulation by stating both point of views and is showing how differently each character thinks.

Afterwards, Ms. Peterson asked us to record what we did last Friday. Not many people were able to remember past waking up and going to class. This was because most of our days are now very similar and they are all blending together. We follow a very similar routine every morning and do not really think through what we do. It is almost on instinct that we follow our routines.

Next, we had a whole class discussion. The first question was “Why was there such difficulty recording what happened?” We answered a bit of this in the last slide by saying test our days blur together and we no longer pay attention to what we do. Therefore, it is almost on instinct that we follow our morning routine and do not really think about what we do or have to do. The second question was “Why is it so easy to forget what transpired, even though only a couple of days had passed?” This builds on to the first question by saying that we as humans do not fully pay attention to minor details as well as we should. Lastly, we answered the question “How can forgetting leave people vulnerable?” This question is a very important question in the novel 1984 because the theme of forgetting the past is constantly coming up. By not remembering what happened, people are made vulnerable because they are forced to accept what other people are telling them. They can never be sure if an event really happened. For instance, not many people know how life was before the Rebellion and not a lot of citizens can remember who they are fighting their war against. Because of this, the citizens are forced to rely on the Party and everything they say. The citizens’ must obey and respect everyone in higher power.

For homework we have to read chapters 6 to 8 in Part 2 of 1984. The enrichment activities provided at the bottom of the lesson are there to help with understanding of Chapters 4 and 5.

 

Student Reflection:

• What did I learn?

Throughout this lesson, I learned about the importance of the power of manipulation. To refer to the aim, manipulation lies in knowledge. Whether people can remember the truth or not depends on if they can easily be manipulated. Manipulation can force people to do things they would have never imagined and can force people to believe in different things. In 1984, most of the people of the Inner Party were forced to believe everything they are taught in their history books. They can not remember anything before the Revolution and have nothing else to go off of. Therefore, they are influenced by those in higher power, such as Big Brother, to obey them. They believe that Big Brother is trying to help and is offering the best for Oceania, when really, he is keeping a lot of important information from them. Therefore, it is important to always question your surroundings and be on the lookout. You can never be sure of what is going on and it is important to know about your situation before blindly following a leader.

• Why did I learn it?

I learned this information because manipulation is a key theme in 1984. The whole novel revolves around the fact that Big Brother is controlling everyone by rewriting the past and not letting anyone think. By not letting anyone think, all citizens blindly respect him and obey all his rules. Winston and Julia are exceptions from the rule because they are able to think, but they are stoic while doing so. Both are planning to overthrow the Party, but they have different ways to go about it.

• How will I use what I learned?

I will use what I learned to apply to my everyday life. The theme of manipulation is an important life lesson that must be remembered. There are many people who will constantly try to take advantage of you by manipulating you, whether it is by using your lack of knowledge or your inferiority. Thus, it is important to keep a clear head and understand all sides of a story.

Personal Experience:

After reading Chapters 4 and 5 of 1984 I was very surprised as to what went down between Winston and Julia. They got much closer together during this time and are able to do it in secret. They are hiding their relationship from the public, although they wish that they didn’t have to. Both Winston and Julia have different viewpoints as to how to get rid of the party, however, they are both against the Party no matter what. Julia is a very promiscuous person, which Winston seems to like. However, I do have a few questions about these two chapters and for the rest of the book as we are reading. Does Julia really like Winston? Or is she using him like she did with the other Party members? And how does Mr. Charrington play into this? Will he expose Winston and Julia or is he a harmless character?

Working from home is a new and interesting experience. Since we have only three class periods a day, I am able to focus more on each class individually rather than all my classes as a whole. Additionally, I have had more time for things I do not usually have time for. I started reading more often and have had more time for watching TV. Furthermore, I have also been able to hang out with my family more, practice piano, and go on walks. Also, my pool recently opened up so now we can go swimming in it. Since NY is reopening, I am hoping that I will be able to visit my friends soon.

In the United States, the amount of new COVID-19 cases per day is decreasing. There are less cases and many states have started reopening. New York has recently entered into Stage 1 where construction sites are reopening as well as a few local businesses. Scientists say that they expect a second wave in November, however, with all the riots, they believe that the second wave might come sooner than anticipated. Hopefully this all goes away soon and everything can return back to normal. :)

A quick cartoon regarding the events that occurred so far:

Enrichment:

https://study.com/academy/lesson/winstons-relationship-with-julia-in-1984.html

https://study.com/academy/lesson/julia-in-1984-character-analysis-quotes.html

http://www.liceosciasciafermi.edu.it/didattica/materiali/materiali-per-studenti/lingua-e-letteratura-inglese/lying-deception-and-false-appearance-in-orwells-nineteen-eighty-four/