Crystal Sembhi
Blog #60
Period 9
June 13th, 2020
Sophomore 2020
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?
The first do now question we were given asked us to answer a question while keeping in mind Winston’s quote from 1984. Most of the class agreed that it is in fact very difficult to alter your own feelings by force of will. Feelings are created by the way that we perceive our surroundings and react to them. They are something that is natural and biologically present, so even if you tried really hard, you can’t exactly change the way you feel about something. You can of course convince yourself otherwise by repeatedly telling yourself that you don’t feel a certain way, but there will always remain a part of you, no matter how small, that can’t get rid of the original feeling.
2) Can someone else alter another person’s innermost feelings?
For this second question, the class again agreed that someone else can in fact change another person’s innermost feelings. It can be hard to see if that way because if feelings are something that are natural and a person can’t change their own feelings, then what’s to say that someone else can accomplish what they can’t? However, there is a pretty simple explanation for that and that is manipulation. People can be very manipulative and through certain reasoning, no matter how accurate or logical that reasoning is, can alter other people’s thoughts and ideologies. If they can brainwash people into believing something else, then it is certainly possible for them to convince people into feeling something else as well.
Team Work
Following the do now, the class was asked to come up with three questions that they had about events that had transpired in the book so far. One question that came up, asked about the importance of the singing lady that Winston saw in “Chapter 4.” In response to this question, one person suggested that maybe the singing lady was a spy for the Inner Party. Another suggested that maybe Winston saw hope in this singing lady, as he believed that the Proles were the only hope, being the strongest and largest force, for bringing down the Party. A second question asked whether or not we would get to meet Big Brother later on in the book. For this question most agreed that we wouldn’t because Big Brother isn’t actually a person, instead just a persona that the government created to instill fear in the public. The final question that came up, asked whether or not the events in this book could ever happen in our present day. For this, it was decided that such a dictatorship has existed many times in the past, and this kind of control over the public still exists today, however nothing today would ever be on a scale as large as the one depicted in 1984.
Group Work
After the team work activity, we were asked to analyze the characters of Julia and Winston, assigning them characteristics as shown in the Venn-Diagram above, and then think about how the readers are warned about manipulation though the two characters.
For the character of Winston, words to describe him included, restless, large scale thinker and both a pessimist and an optimist. He dreamed about change brought upon society as a whole and was eager to get there while learning more about the past. However, along with his hope for the future, came his knowledge that any intellect would be vaporized and that created his contradicting pessimistic view. Julia, on the other hand, couldn’t be more different. She was free-spirited, laid back, logical, and a small scale thinker. Julia focused on living in the moment and making the best of her life, feeling content with where she was, unlike Winston. She didn’t have large plans for society, instead made small steps towards her personal vendetta against the Party and focused on not getting caught. The only thing that these two different personalities have in common, would be their mutual hatred of the Party and their rebellious natures. However, both these intellectuals no matter how aware they were of the truths of the government, still couldn’t escape the manipulation of the Party. They couldn’t just have a two person rebellion and couldn’t escape the constant surveillance conducted by the Party, so no matter what they did, they were still under the grip of the government. This goes to show that even the most intelligent and capable can be manipulated.
Quick Write / Whole Class Discussion
Following the group work, the class was asked to independently record what they did last Friday morning. The results found that most people if not all, weren’t able to identify and record what they did on that specific day last week. This due to the fact that most people have a very similar routine everyday, so when asked to identify events that happened at a certain time on a certain day, it is almost impossible to do so, because the days just blur together. It is so easy to forget what took place just a couple of days ago because nothing really stands out. This same thing can be said for the lives of the people in Oceania. Their lives have become so repetitive that their memories can easily fail them and that is the reason why the Party is so easily able to manipulate them. They can’t trust their brains for the truth, so the Party is able to go ahead and feed information to people, twisting the truth and making them believe what they want them to believe in their vulnerable state of mind.
Enrichment Videos
1984 | Book 2 | Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis | George Orwell
1984 | Book 2 | Chapter 5 Summary & Analysis | George Orwell
Reflection
In this lesson, I learned about the power of manipulation and what kind of effect it can have on people no matter their state of mind or intelligence. The key to manipulation is memory and how strong of a memory a person has. Our memories allow us to remember the past and remember the truth, so that no matter what we are told by others, if we have a solid memory meaning the correct knowledge about an event or topic, we won’t be influenced by the different information others try to feed to us. When our memories fail us however, as seen by the majority of the people in Oceania, due to a repetitive life, we are left vulnerable to twisted truths and the control of others. This information present in George Orwell’s 1984, is meant to warn readers about this dangerous kind of control and keep them away from such things in the future. Such large scale manipulation isn’t really present in today’s society, however smaller distortions are always present here and there. I, along with so many others, can use this knowledge when face to face with stories where only one side of the story is told. It is so important to be aware of both sides and educate yourself before jumping to conclusions and spreading the misconceptions any further.
Personal Thoughts and Feelings
For this past reading, we had to read “Chapter 4” and “Chapter 5” of “Book 2” of 1984. These two chapters didn’t have major events to carry us along in the book, but they did allow readers to see more of the integration of Julia into Winston’s life and the thoughts and feelings of both characters. We were able to see how each character went about rebelling against the Party, seeing as that rebellious nature was the only thing they had in common. Julia preferred carrying out smaller actions and living her life in peace, not too concerned about the future. Meanwhile, Winston lived in constant worry about the future of society and when Julia told him about her belief in the war and her affairs with Party enemies, he was put off by her lack of concern for change and of being caught. Winston’s hope for the future was represented in these two chapters through several things. One was the paperweight, into which he constantly gazed, dreaming about living in it with Julia, free of any concerns and away from the constant presence of the Party. The second was the singing Prole lady, who also gave him hope for reform in the future, made possible only by the Proles. I think that in regards to future chapters, if any of them do end up getting caught, it will likely be Winston. Julia is too concerned about her own well-being to make some mistake that will end her up in trouble. Winston isn’t as careful and isn’t as concerned about himself, so he’s probably going to be the first one to go.
What I’m learning based on the events happening in our society right now, is the importance of our people to stand up for what is right and fight until reform is achieved. Our nation since the beginning has been a promise of equal rights and justice for all, yet that statement couldn’t be farther from the truth. Racism has been present in our nation and regardless of the laws and supposed correctional actions taken by the government, it still is present today. Segregation against black people especially, has been a constant factor in our country and that racism over time has taken root in all parts of our society from the branches of the government, to workplaces, to neighborhoods, and common households. Despite all these promises for change and protests for reform, the basic rights that should’ve been given to suppressed people over fifty years ago, still haven’t been given today. I personally don’t understand how this situation can be so complicated for some people. Everyone should be regarded as equals because essentially we are all the same, so why is it that black people still aren’t seen in that manner? Do they not deserve justice and the same guarantees as everyone else? Do their lives just not matter because of the color of their skin? I am honestly disgusted that we are still at this point in society, where instead of making advancements to better the nation, we are still fighting for people’s lives. As seen by what we’ve achieved in the last few weeks, fighting for change is the only way things will ever get better and that fighting can’t stop just yet because we still have so far to go.
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