Aim: How are the readers of 1984 warned about the power of manipulation?
Do Now: THINK/PAIR/SHARE
Winstons 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.
- Can you alter your own feelings by force of will? Why/Why not?
I believe that no matter what someone does, in the end they cannot truly alter their own feelings. While they can try to suppress it, they cannot change what makes them them. Our class also believed this since if a person tries to force themselves to change, their original feelings will just eventually resurface and no change will ultimately be made in the end.
- Can someone else alter another person’s innermost feelings?
I believe that while it is extremely hard, someone else can alter another person’s innermost feelings. For example, no one in this world is born cynical. However, what that person sees and witnesses throughout his/her lifetime can change that and that person can adopt a new cynical mindset towards the world. We also discussed Stockholm Syndrome and how it also may be an example of this. Normally, someone who was kidnapped will hold disdain towards his/her captor. However, in Stockholm Syndrome, the captive changes their feelings and adopts new feelings of love and appreciation toward their captor.
TEAM WORK
My three questions were:
- Just how large is Oceania since we only get to know London, which is where Winston lives?
- How exactly can the Thought Police tell if a person is committing thought crimes?
- Is Big Brother truly the one in charge or is there something more to it?
During our discussion, we went through all of the questions that I created. First, we discussed whether or not Big Brother is real. He may just be an icon created by the Party and put into Oceania’s history, like an inverse of vaporizing someone. Next, we discuss whether or not Oceania “exists.” So far throughout the story, we only know for certain that London is part of Oceania. However, nothing is explicitly stated that other parts exist. The only thing that we know is that Oceania is fighting against Eurasia and Eastasia, both of which we do not know how big they are in comparison to Oceania. Finally, we discussed how exactly a Thought Police can tell if a thoughtcrime is being committed. We went through many ideas, some of which being that it may all just be a scare tactic and that they don’t have any way of knowing. In the end, we decided that perhaps they could tell based on a person’s facial expressions and actions.
GROUP WORK
The author warns the reader about the power of manipulation through a dialogue between Winston and Julia. In the dialogue, Winston constantly tries to make Julia remember about the time that Eastasia, not Eurasia was the enemy. While this change by the Party wasn’t made that long ago, Julia has a hard time remembering that fact. This goes to show the power of manipulation and how Orwell is warning the readers about it.
QUICK WRITE: Record what you did last Friday morning.
I woke up at around 7:30 in the morning and stayed in bed until around 8 o’clock. I then got up and brushed my teeth. After that, I ate breakfast in the kitchen and came back to my bedroom where I waited until my first class started.
WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION
- There was a difficulty recording what happened because our minds regarded what we did that morning as nothing significant and therefore not useful to remember.
- It is so easy to forget what transpired, even though only a couple of days had passed, because anything less than useful is easily forgotten. Our brains can’t keep every single detail on what we did a few days ago, so it just remembers the important ones. Even then, we will eventually forget it as time passes.
- Forgetting leaves people vulnerable because people can take advantage of the vulnerability. This can be seen in 1984 since the Party essentially replaced anything that the people forget with completely different facts for their own benefit. Another example was in Animal Farm when Squealer took advantage of the animals’ forgetfulness and slowly changed the commandments until the pigs were in total control.
- What are the updates around the world/community regarding the virus?
After 3 months of quarantine, New York City is planning to reopen. As of June 8, NYC has begun phase one on the reopening plan. Phase one allows only construction, manufacturing and wholesale supply chain businesses to reopen. These industries pose the least threat for infection and therefore are slated to reopen first. Phase two will allow more places like offices, outdoor dining, salons, places of worship to reopen at 25% capacity. Phase three will mainly include the hospitality industry and finally phase four will allow schools, entertainment and recreation businesses to reopen.
- What are you learning about your world/community based on the reactions?
What I am learning about my world/community based on the reactions is that everyone is trying their best to contain this virus. Everyone is doing their part in the process of recovery, whether it be staying home or working on the cure. As long as we keep this up, we will eventually beat this virus and return life back to normal.
- Your own personal feelings and thoughts about what is happening right now.
So far, 2020 has been both the most tragic yet interesting year I have witnessed. From global tensions in the beginning to the outbreak and now civil unrest across the US. The recent riots across America was a result of the death of African-American George Floyd, who was murdered by a white officer. His death sparked outrage across the nations and millions began protesting for the lives of African-Americans. While I believe that peaceful protesting is the best way to combat the injustices, I absolutely cannot tolerate the opportunists who take advantage of this situation in order to riot and loot. Not only are they thieves who care nothing about what is happening right now, they are also slowing down recovery by destroying businesses. In the end, while there are people like this, the majority are actually trying to fight against racism and trying to recover from all the recent events.
Student Reflection
What I learned from this lesson is the power of manipulation. Through manipulation, people can make you believe things that are otherwise completely wrong. I learned this because it warns me against this dangerous power. In an age where information is widespread, others can easily manipulate the information to make others believe totally different things. I can use what I learned to prevent the same thing that happened to Julia from happening to me
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