Blog #62 - Shengrui Shao - Period 9 - 6/13/2020

Shengrui Shao
Blog #62
6/13

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?
        In our class, we discussed this question. You cannot change your own feelings by force. You can change actions, but you can’t change your own emotions. You cannot forcefully be happy when something bad just happened. You have to make it part of your experience. 
2. Can someone else alter another person’s innermost feelings?
        A person can convince another by giving them logical reasoning and facts that support an opinion. In addition, memorable actions and decisions can change how a person behaves and feels. 

We first had to create 3 questions to ask. Then we discussed the characteristics of Julia and Winston. In 1984, the author had warned the reader about manipulation. From that, we discussed memory. We had to do a quick write about what happened last Friday morning. It is harder to remember events that happened now with life being very similar day to day due to the appearance of COVID-19. We are repeating a lot of the same procedure everyday, so many things we do is easily forgotten and fades into memory. Forgetting can leave people vulnerable. It can make people not remembering what they did, leave people doubting themselves.

What did you learn in your English lessons? 
     In today’s activity of remembering and forgetting, I realized that many things that happened only a couple days ago can be foggy. Forgetting can leave a person confused and directionless. Forgets are something that some don’t take time to think about. Many see it as a daily small thing. However, once you bring this topic up, you realize how much you have forgotten and how vulnerable you can be.

What are the updates around the world? 
     In the past few weeks, there have been many events that happened. There has been many petitions and parades around America regarding racial issues. In addition, there has been still high numbers of coronavirus cases. Numbers are still high and states that originally had lower numbers are starting to rise.

What is it like working from home? 
     As the end of the year approaches, there are many events that we have to be aware of, such as junior classes, AP exams, and end of the year submissions. All of these were usually done in school, with more convenience than remotely. However, working at home has decreased the level of stress in many students. There is an increasing amount of free time.