Warnings that the author is trying to get across

I think that the author did a good job warning us about dystopia by writing this book. He makes the whole book believable by not having any items or technology that would be impossible to create. Because the book is believable than it makes it even more scarier because we know it would be possible in our world. He also writes and makes the society as worse as he could imagine. I think that the author was scared of a society like this happening in the real world, so he created a book to show us how bad it would be and make sure we would stop it. The last line of the play says, "He loved Big Brother," The author shows in the book that if a society like this gets established, than even if there are people that want to rebel against it, than they are probably not going to stop it. He shows in the book that as soon as the government starts taking away our freedoms, we have to act against them, because if we wait too long, than we will end up like winston. I think one of the things Americans fear the most is if we did not have our privacy. In the book the people in the society have no privacy whatsoever because the telescreens can listen and see what they are doing no matter where they. I think that if the government started taking away our privacy than there would be an uproar in our country. For example when Bush ordered a phone tap without congresses approval a few years ago, it was a huge debate on the news and widly televised. He also shows how corupt people could get if they get power, because as soon as a person gets a little power, than they want more and more, and they will never give away their power.

How???

I was reading on bekah's blog and how she was talking about how she could not fathom how people didnt realize how bad their living conditions were. I think we could not understand it because we do not realize how powerful altering the past could be. If you could alter the past, you could make any changes you want and make it seem it is for the better. Altering the past means you could change what happened, so nothing is absolute anymore, nothing is for sure. In order to alter the past the governement has to practice doublethink, which is also very difficult to grasp as a concept. I think that if we were actaully living in this society we would understand so much better how no one realizes their living conditions. In our society, you would be considered insane if you said 2+2=5, but in 1984, 2+2=anything the party wants it to be, which is very scary. I just hope that this will never ever happen in our lives, because there would probably be no way to stop it.

Reality

At first, it seemed very surprising to me that people living in the 1984 society did not know how bad their life is. Than i thought about it and realized that the government controls EVERYTHING in the society. Since the government controls the past the people cannot read or learn about how people lived in the past, thus making it impossible for them to compare their life to someone elses. I think another method the governemnt uses that is very effective is doublethink, because with this the government could control every single belief the people have, even basic math, "2+2=5". Because of doublethink, everytime they make the poeples life more difficult and bare, the people think that they are getting a good deal and that the government is helping them. For example if the government was giving them 30 oz of coffee a month, and than lowered it to 20, than they could just say that they had raised it from 15, and everyone would believe it 100% and not even remember that they once got 30 oz. It is scary to think about how the people do not realize what it going on because if they do not realize it than there is no way they would even think about rebelling. I think if a society like this really existed, than it would work the best and last the longest time if they just did everything that is in the 1984 society.

doublethink

Doublethink is a very wierd and confusing concept. It is when you know something to be true one minute, and the next minute know it to be totally opposite of what it was. When Obrien is questioning Winston it was very confusing and interesting the think about at the same time. Everytime Winston knew he was right, Obrien just explained it away with doublethink or talking about the party altering the past. Winston ended up very confused on how Obrien could be right and how it was poosible.
I do not think doublethink is possible because someone would just have to be tricking themselves that something is true, but there will always be doubts in the back of his mind because he knows the real truth. The party cannot destroy the power of human reason and inteligence so there will always be people that do not believe in doublethink or believe what the party says. I am just at the point in the book when obrien is trying to convince winston that even though he is holding up 4 fingers it really is 5 because obrien says it is. I think that there is no way on earth that a person can decieve themselves that much that they would believe totally 100% that there were 5 fingers being held up.

Paperweight

One of the questions that was not numbered said, What happens to the paperweight and how is that important. When Winston was arrested the paper weight was smashed by one of the thought police. The paper weight represented his life and hit hideout. When they were arrested his whole world was crashing down and disappearing, just like when the weight was smashed. The paperweight could have also symbolized Winston's struggle to find out about the past and to over throw the party, the paper weight was smashed when he got arrested because his struggle was over and he couldn't do anything anymore.
Since he is in the custody of the thought police, he is probable not going to be able to find out anything about life of the past. I think that he will probably confess about everything when they start torturing him. He might actually get to live maybe if he follows what they say and cooperate

Safety

The articles Mr. Miller asked us to read mentioned many dangers of posting online. One of the dangers they mentioned was that if I go to a job interview 10 years from now, they might bring up the immature and foolish comments i posted online back when i was a teen. Another danger was online predators. A stalker could easily find people if they show their personal information online. Another danger was that people could get bullied from online, and commit suicide from it. I think that some of the dangers they mentioned are not very likly, but others are legitimate. I think the point that i might not get accepted for a job later in life is a legitimate risk. If I post something using profantity to make fun of someone and trash talk them, than it would not look good on my character and personality later in life when in the interview. Another legitiamate danger was online predators. I hear about them almost every week in the news and in the media, and if people post all their personal information on a website it just makes it that much easier for a predator to find that person and harm them. Three rules that might be a good idea for classroom blogging is that no one should post their address, last name, or email. Another rule that would be a good idea would be to prohibit online bullying and make it punishable by the school if you do. A third rule that would help is to make sure everyone knows that what they post on here, stays on the internet and anyone who wants to could read it.

1984

After reading the beginning of 1984, it seems very interesting to me. I chose it over 451 because i like the idea more of the story of a guy in a society than a fire fighter burning books. I think it is going to be very interesting to see what happens in this imaginary society. I like it because I can picture it in my head and i can imagine that it is actually happening. The society is dytopia and it is a very suppresive government. The government watches every move that Winston, the main character, does.