#3

 

Why do you think, according to Winston's actions and thoughts, what was his biggest weakness? I personally felt like O'brien was Winston weakness and not Julia. Ever since the beginning, he was always  awed by O'Brien and almost convinced he was a part of the of the revolutionary group called the Brotherhood. On page 17 he says "I am with you, O'Brien seemed to be saying to him. I know precisely what you are feeling. I know your contempt, your hatred, your disgust. But don't worry, I am on your side!" But in the end of the book, when Winston is caught with Julia, he realized that he was a powerful member of the Inner Party. What i thought was interesting was that he let his fear get the worst of him and he let O'Brien torture and destroy the little ounce of hope he had left. When Winston confessed that it was all Julia, i was devastated. It was sad because Winston went through soo much and fought so hard and it was definitely a huge twist to the whole story. If you were given the chance to re-write the ending of "George Orwell 1984" would you? Or did you like how the whole story ended?

Blog #2

Which slogan was the most significant in the story?

I believe the slogan, "war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength" played such a significant role in the story. Propaganda is used many times to emphasize the importance it portrays. Throughout the book, you can see this slogan brought up over and over again. The whole purpose is for the government to control the people. They hate rebellion, and even the slightest bit of thinking can get you taken away from the thought police. I realized that this is a form of double speech. Which we went over in class, It's like saying one thing but meaning a whole other thing. I found the picture above to be so accurate to what was happening in-the book. In the first one it shows how the party was telling us what to believe and not to believe. The 2nd block is saying, how they are going to give us "freedom" but still watch our every move. In today's society that's like they were a parent who doesn't trust their child, so they keep watching them. But by doing that, they just broke the trust relationship between them. In Oceania, they were always in war, so the 3rd block shows how they are holding missile but demanding "peace". They totally contradict each other. Which quote from the book stood out to you more?

Totalitarian Goverement

 

How does "Big Brother" connect to a totalitarian government?

Hey Guys! I am reading George Orwell 1984, and it is a very interesting book. There are so many ways you could take  look at things from a different perspective. This story helped me be more aware of the situations going on.

A totalitarian government is a political system in which all authority is in the hands of the state. It is like we are all puppets, and the government is watching and directing us. Ordering us around, and having control over everything. Basically, nothing is a secret, private becomes theirs. The term "Big Brother" is often said in the book "George Orwell 1984". "It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran (page 2)." I found it very interesting how the author wrote that in Bold and emphasized it a lot. He talks about a society that has so much control, they even monitor their very own thoughts in their mind.

That particular section of the book, Orwell is feeling overpowered, it was more like a threat. The way he described his gaze said a lot about what Orwell thought. Big Brother, can sometimes be seen as a brotherly figure, or one who protects them...."What big brother was saying. It was merely a few words of encouragement, the sort of words that are uttered in the dim of battle, not distinguishable individually but restoring confidence by the fact of being spoken (page 16)."It was a little  comforting as well.  Both "big brother" and the Totalitarian government seemed to go off one rule. Which is to control everything. Since they monitor thoughts, Orwell writing in his journal was a big risk for him. How would you feel if you had your privacy invaded? Would you like it if the government watched us all the time?  

#3 - Charcters

Everyone has someone special in their life that shapes them. It might be a parent, girlfriend, boyfriend, aunt, or teacher. In Jazz's life it was his girlfriend Conny. Conny has been there for Jazz ever since his dad went to jail. She gave him moral support, and without her presence i feel like Jasper would have definitely give into his fathers wishes and would have turned into a serial killer as well. When Conny heard that Jasper had to go with the New York Police officer to help with a crime. She lied to her parents, sneaked out of the house and fought to stay with her boyfriend. A thing i found interesting was revealed alot latter in the story. Jasper noticed that all the people his father murdered were white. So the real reason Jasper was dating Conny was because she was an African. Jasper wanted to have something that wouldn't be taken away easily. He wanted to keep her safe. "Jazz would loose confidence in himself that he wouldn't be able to control who he turned out to be. But Conny was  tough, and firm, and tells him that this is who he is. " I know, there's this stuff buried in you, and you're afraid it will erupt, like it's going to be triggered". He's feels guilty because he has emotions and feelings that are human and not monstrous.

In my life, the person that shaped me was my mom. She has always been there for me and my family. She always put our needs first before her own. She has always been my hero, my bestfriend, my sister. I want to grow up and be like her one day. Whenever i have a problem i can talk to her about anything and she gives me courage and strength to handle it. Without her i would not be half the person i am today. She is the very reason, i am so strong in my faith. Whenever i was loosing hope about anything she would cheer me up and always tell me that if God brings you to the obstacle, he will definitely bring you through it. I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful person like her in my life. So who's the person you can't live without? The person that changed your life, and shaped it for the better?

# 2 - New York City

When we hear the place "New York city", we might think of the statue of liberty, or the crowded streets, and especially the beautiful tall buildings come to mind. With 26,000 people living in each square mile.It is one of the largest cities in the world.In the book "Game", Jazz is still struggling and fighting to prove that he is not a killer like his father. While that plot is going on, Jazz has a wonderful girlfriend who loves him, and a bestfriend who sticks by him no matter what.  The three of them together were trying to get Jasper's life back in order. Just when things were going dandy, a New York Police officer knocks on his door, and asks him for help on finding another serial killer. Wow, alot to handle right? Imagine walking in Jazz's shoes. Just when there was little peace, chaos entered back into his life. Did you ever go through a situation in your life where everything was perfect one moment and the next, everything seemed to go downhill ?

City life really impacted the action of the story because most of the plot takes place there. Jasper finds out more of who he is. Even though he is battling this good vs evil all of the time, he knows deep down that he never wants to hurt anyone. So Jazz takes the offer and goes to New York City. Since Jasper had been trained ever since he was little, he had a lot of knowledge on the subject of "Serial killing". He was very smart and he used that as a weapon in helping to find out clues that the detectives missed. Jazz helped the police a lot in figuring out many details of the crimes. While he was helping the police, he tried to not to be intimidating or scare them into thinking he was a monster. He didn't want to fall into the trap his father has created for him. Although his father was hidden away he still had a voice of authority in Jasper's mind. In some parts of the book,  the dialogue was Jazz's thoughts and his father telling him that he could take complete authority of a person. be in charge, show them that you are to be feared. " Upstate, to the killer, might as well be the moon. New York City was home. New York City was safe. New York city was the hunting preserve (189)."

Blog #1

 Hey Guys! The title of the book was what first caught my attention. The book i am reading is called "Game".  This book is written by Barry Lyga, it is  the 2nd one of three books in the "I Hunt Killers Trilogy". Its a really neat book cause he writes this book with many perspectives of  the characters. So the hero and the villain's point of view is expressed. This book was a little scary at times but once i got to know the characters it changed my point of view. The main character of this book is Jasper Dent. Jasper is not your everyday teenager. He is a guy with a very dark past. His father, Billy Dent is the worlds most feared serial killer. Think about it, how would you feel growing up with a serial killer as your dad? The bedtime stories that Billy read to Jazz were more like how to kill someone, so it definitely messed with Jasper's head. The book begins with Jazz finding out that his father broke out of jail. Now that was the moment everything went wrong for Jazz. Since he was raised by a serial killer, Billy always expected Jazz to go into the family business and take off after him. But Jazz isn't like that, but throughout the book you can see how he is constantly worried that he might snap one day and turn out to be a killer just like his dad.

 "People are real, Jazz told himself, repeating his mantra. People matter"(pg.25). All Jazz wants is to be a regular seventeen year old. But, his past keeps dragging him down. Its not easy being the son of a serial killer. Sometimes its better not to follow the footsteps but create your own. The past is what is behind us. I don't think a person's past really defines their future.  We write our own destiny. But, there is always a chance. Just like the guy in the picture, we can choose the right way or the wrong way. Sometimes the path may not be clear to us but  in the end it is our decision who we want to become. 

http://thedailylove.com/your-past-doesn%E2%80%99t-define-your-future-you-do/  

The link above is an article about an inspirational story on how your past doesn't define you. I have felt that sometimes my past has had some influence on my life. But in the end it is how you see yourself. The past can be a stepping stone, or a thing  to forget. What do you think, can a person hide or run away from their past? Or are you stuck with it forever?