Stella Vayner
Period 7
6/12/20
Sophomore 2020
Blog #66
Aim: How are the readers of 1984 warned about the power of manipulation?
Do Now:
The lesson started with a quote from Winston from 1984, the book we are currently studying. “They could not alter your feelings; for that matter, you could not alter them yourself, even if you wanted to.” Then, we had to answer discussion questions such as:
Can you alter your own feelings by force of will? Why/Why Not? Can someone else alter another person’s innermost feelings?
As a class, we discussed the nature of feelings and emotions. Opinions varied.
Some believed that you could change the way you feel through will power or propaganda. Classmates brought up instances in 1984 where the Party manipulates its citizen’s memories. Thus, by altering their perception of reality and history, the Party could control its citizen’s emotions. Since feelings are wrought in what we know and perceive to be the truth, by adjusting the people’s world view, their feelings could be adjusted as well. On the other hand, some classmates believed that although mind control runs deep in Oceania’s society, our feelings are too deeply ingrained in us that they are unchangeable, especially on your own. An example that was brought up was depression. When a strong negative emotion such as sadness is considered, it is naive to think your force of will could alter your emotional state. Additionally, I concluded that it was difficult to change your emotions, though not impossible. However, time is the main ingredient. You need to let your feelings run their path and escape you in their natural course.
This is a representation of the Party’s agenda. They want to control their citizens’ feelings and emotions by creating false narratives and planting themselves in their people’s heads.
On the other hand, this image depicts our inability to fully control our emotions. Though we may seem happy on the outside and plaster on a fake smile, the emotions underneath are uncontrollable and overtaking.
Team Work:
After a riveting discussion during the Do Now, we moved onto our teamwork activity. We were assigned to think of three questions and share them with the class so we could clear up any misunderstandings or misconceptions about the novel so far.
One of the questions was, why doesn’t Julia care as much about the rebellion as Winston? One classmate responded with the fact that Julia was more interested in sexual exploits than actually rebelling against Big Brother. Julia flaunts her undertakings to Winston by bragging about all the Party men she’s been with. Additionally, Julia and Winston share a twenty-year age difference. This is significant because Julia doesn’t even remember a past without the Party or who they are constantly at war against. Her naivety makes her involvement in the rebellion weaker in comparison to Winston’s burning desires.
Another classmate asked, how important is Doublethink to the Party’s control over the people of Oceania? Doublethink employs paradoxes to make the bad seem good, as discussed in our previous classes. Some examples throughout the novel include: “War is Peace”, “Freedom is Slavery”, and “Ignorance is Strength”. By being able to control the language their people use and the amount of words they know, the Party can control their thoughts and maintain power.
Finally, our line of questioning came around to the Thought Police. One classmate wondered, could the Thought Police actually read minds, or was it just a scare tactic to keep the citizens in line? Someone remarked on the ability to deduce thoughts through actions. For example, Julia and Winston walking together could suggest ulterior motives. I agree with this because rebellious thoughts are easily betrayed by actions. Thus, in my opinion, the Though Police are used as a scare tactic to keep the citizens in line, rather than an actual mind-reading organization.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/doublethink-in-1984-definition-examples.html
This is an excellent, educational video that explains the meaning of Doublethink while also describing how it is used by the Party to control its citizen’s thoughts. This fully answers our second question.
Group Work: For this section, we had to evaluate the characters of Julia and Winston. We recorded characteristics unique to each, then recorded characteristics they shared. Our main question was how the author is warning the readers about manipulation through characters?
QuickWrite:
For our QuickWrite, we had to record what we did last Friday morning. I took three minutes to sit and think and all I came up with was: waking up, brushing my teeth, and eating breakfast. This wasn’t what I remembered from last Friday however, this was just my average morning routine. In all honesty, I couldn’t remember a single thing from last Friday morning, let alone the morning after and so forth. During the class discussion, it became clear that no one remembered with much detail what they did either. The point of the exercise was to show how fragile and unreliable memories are. The musings of the everyday go unremembered unless it happens to be something special. Ms. Peterson regaled us with a story of how she painted her piano bright pink with nail polish, but barely remembered it. Additionally, she only pays attention when she puts the milk in the cupboard and sugar in the fridge, denoting that it’s gonna be a bad day for her. The purpose of this exercise was to show how easy it is easy for the Party to create fake memories and histories to control the people. Since many don’t remember these trivial details, Big Brother has effortless control over people’s perception of their past and the present.
This image also denotes how although we have some details remembered, the other pieces of the puzzle are beyond reach. This is what makes remembering trivial things so difficult.
Whole Class Discussion:
Why was there such difficulty recording what happened?
We concluded that there was a lot of difficulty recalling what happened. Although it was as recent as last Friday, none of us recorded with much detail.
Why is it so easy to forget what transpired, even though only a couple of days had passed?
It was so easy to forget because nothing out of the ordinary happened. We don’t have enough space in our brains to record every minuscule detail of every day. Thus, last Friday got mixed into the jumble of the mundane.
How can forgetting leave people vulnerable?
Forgetting makes people very vulnerable. It leaves them open to others implanting fake memories of events that never occurred. Since the space is empty in our minds, we are none the wiser and are forced to believe what is told to us. The gap in memory leaves the citizens of Oceania extremely vulnerable to Party control since they get their information spoon-fed to them from Big Brother himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4JSFSwf-og
This is a video about the Memory Whole that Big Brother creates, allowing Him to have a monopoly over everyone’s mind.
Reflection:
This lesson focused on the manipulating powers of the Party and how memory can be molded to gain control over people’s minds. We learned this since it is an important theme of 1984 and can be used to understand how the Party maintained so much political power. Since no one remembers anything before the Party, they cannot conclude whether their lives have improved or worsened. An example of this can be seen through Julia, an objectively smart and informed girl, who doesn’t even know who they are at war with. Since she is only 26 years old, she has no recollection of life before the Party, thus all her knowledge relies on others who could easily manipulate her perception. Similarly, the people of Oceania rely on the Party to dispense useful information. The Party uses this advantage to feed its citizens propaganda and secure control. By controlling the people’s memories, the Party controls their past and perception of the world they know. Big Brother could announce the sky is green and none would be the wiser to contradict him. By having control of perception and reality, the Party monitors thoughts and actions. This circles back to the Do Now where we discussed how the Party could control the people’s feelings/emotions by altering their world view. The Quick Write reinstated this fact by showing us we couldn’t even remember what happened last Friday. The most our class could come up with was vague musings, rather than actual events. Additionally, Ms. Peterson told a story from her childhood, stating the only reason she knows it was from her mothers recounting of it later on. Thus, when there is a memory gap, we count on other people to fill those holes. Whether the information is reliable or not has no indication, since we have no counter-evidence to back it up or refute any claim. The manipulation of memory is a favored tactic by the Party and ensures they remain in control by feeding their public a false reality. By controlling their minds, the Party could also control their actions. Orwell warns his readers of this vulnerability and urges them to consistently question their leaders and governments. Through this lesson, I learned not to take anything for granted in terms of the history I am taught and the memories I am given. Especially being young, it is easy for me to be manipulated since I have not yet experienced the world. By staying informed and creating my own opinions, it will be more difficult for others to manipulate my mind and memories. I will consistently fact check and try to attain my information from unbiased sources to extrapolate my own opinion.
A famous Carl Sagan quotes reads, “I promise to question everything my leaders tell me. I promise to use my critical faculties. I promise to develop my independence of thought. I promise to educate myself so I can make my own judgments.” This is very reminiscent of the message Orwell is trying to send his readers.
Thoughts:
What is it like working from home?
I like working from home. I usually complete my work by my bedroom desk which is a nice, low-stress environment. I get to finish my work at my own pace and on my own time. It’s a little difficult to manage all the assignments but I’ve been using a calendar and newfound time management skills to help. The only downside is the constant distractions, whether that be family, my phone, or a new Netflix show. However, I can say that I’m more efficient and procrastinate less now.
What are the updates around the world/community regarding the virus?
There have been many updates regarding the virus. While in the beginning medical professionals believed children were exempt from the horrible symptoms of COVID-19, it has been found out that an inflammatory syndrome that overlaps with Kawasaki disease may occur after days or weeks of contracting COVID-19. Additionally, some good news is that the peak has passed and New York’s death toll and infected cases have begun to plateau and decline. The city is beginning to open up. However, other states like Florida, which opened earlier than New York, are experiencing a second wave of infection.
Write about what you learned in your online English lessons.
In my online English class, I learned a lot about memory and manipulation. I never knew how easy it was to take advantage of someone’s ignorance to control their mind. This made me wonder whether we experience the same effects by our own government. Recently, the BLM movement has been active and protesting the death of George Floyd in the hands of police brutality. I’ve noticed how different media sources portray the events of the protests to twists their viewer’s opinions. Conservative networks report on the lootings of businesses and more liberal organizations claim the protests are peaceful and the police incite the violence. Since I have not taken part in a protest, it is easy to manipulate my perception if I only believed one source. Thus, I am using the content of what I learned in this class to help me navigate political experiences in my own life.
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