After finishing the book, write about your over-all reaction. Write down the most significant quote from the book and explain why it is crucial to the meaning of the book. Also, if we had read this as a class, how would you recommend doing that. What assignments would you give to help students better understand the book?
I don't have any one quote that pertains a crucial meaning in the book, but how I saw the book was enlightening. Imagining all of what was in Brave New World as reality was scary. I would never want to belong with everyone and made from severely split ovary eggs. It doesn't appeal to me at all. I would give an assignment for Brave New World that either creates their own 'perfect world' or what they imagine the world that is being described. Than you see what other people believe is 'perfect' or what their imaginations get from the words in he book and all the descriptions.
ReplyDeleteCrystal Nybo
ReplyDeleteMy over-all reaction to the book is that they where all helpless and had no own character. This one quote, "he had sat silent against the wall, jostled by dirty bodies, too preoccupied by fear and the pain in his belly to take much interest in his surroundings" (pg 187). I feel like the only way this society was created was through fear and that was the only real way it could have been when people are frightened they stop caring about other people an din the end betrayal is seen. Once people stop caring for each other. I believe it's a devastating time. If this book was read in class I still think little discussion groups would be a good idea.
Kiera Wesley
ReplyDeleteP. 3
"Ending is better than mending. The more stitches, the less riches." (pg. 49)
This quote explains one of the main themes throughout the book Brave New World. The book has a lot to do with consumerist society and this quote showcases that nicely. It serves as a warning for what could possibly happen and in a lot of ways, I think that this was a true outcome. Often people tend to throw away their clothing after it has been torn instead of try to mend it themselves which I feel is a true shame. I think if we were to read this as a class we could have done it chapter by chapter, instead of just every 30 pages. I think there are a lot of discussions that could take place around this book, including conversations about consumerism, sexuality, drug use, religion, and politics. There has been virtually no class discussion and I think that is too bad because I would really like to hear about people's thoughts on these topics.
Bridget Cook
ReplyDeleteOverall I thought the book was eye opening and gave me a sense of what society could be like if this was the way things were. Most of the book is quite shocking and very sexual. The quote that stood out the most to me was: "Pale, wild-eyed, the Director glared about him in an agony of bewildered humiliation. My Father! The laughter, which had shown signs of dying away, broke out again more loudly than ever. He put his hands over his ears and rushed out of the room." (pg.152) The director cannot believe that Linda is telling him he has a child. It is shocking and strangely funny to the workers that he has a child and is a "father". This is a significant quote in the book because it shows that the director was hiding something from everyone.
Overall, I thought that the book had many things to go off of. What struck me though was that basically people in my opinion were fine with being slaves. That being said, there was the few that thought to rebel would be an easy way out. Of course individuals that considered such slander were to be jailed and brainwashed. For the almighty Big Brother will continue to rule and control the human race.
ReplyDeleteThe quote that I believe best fits this book is simple. It is seen throughout the book and considered differently. It is first seen on page 7. "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH".
Samielle Foltz
ReplyDelete-Yes, this is long.
Well, I have finished both books and its sad to say that neither of the main characters succeeded in separating themselves from civilization. I’m left feeling sad, not hopeless, but sad towards civilization because if the we really wanted to succeed in separating ourselves from civilization we’d have found means to do so. Deep down they wanted to conform because John could have found some other place to live where no one could find him instead of trying to make interference away and Winston could have committed suicide with no hope of maintaining an unbrain-washed mind. Winston would have at least gave hope to someone like Julia. She may have lived knowing that Winston didn’t give in. She may have outed him in order to get out of the Ministry of Love but at least her heart would have broken knowing that he was true to her. Even if O’Brien had told her that Winston outed her just to poison he her mind she wouldn’t have had Winston to tell her. The truth would be in his disappearance.
“He had not stirred from his seat, but in his mind he was running, swiftly running, he was with the crowds outside, cheering himself deaf… Two gin-scented tears trickeled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.” (1984 pgs 244-245)
I think this quote is crucial to the meaning of the book because it shows how Winston truly feels. He may have given in to civilization, learning to love Big Brother in mind, but not in body and spirit. He’s still a rebel in a way. He’s freakin’ depressed and drowning himself in alcohol, his subconscious is willing him to be that way.
If we had to read one of these in class I think we should have had a set number of pages to read every day have a teacher lead discussion for about 10-15 minutes to discuss what happened over those pages. To help students understand the book, throughout the reading, there would be about a page paper due each week about, each week with a different prompt pertaining to the pages we had read. Then for a final assignment I would have had a major paper that would have been about the meaning of the book in relation to our own civilization and the world, probably 2-3 pages.
Craig Thomas
ReplyDeleteOverall i thought the book was kinda boring though had a few very good points. ""It was like swimming against a current that swept you backwards however hard you struggled, and then suddenly deciding to turn round and go with the current instead of opposing it. Nothing had changed except your own attitude; the predestined thing happened in any case." pg. 280
This quote is the perfect example of the book because it talks about fighting ones self. Its saying how your own emotions are like a strong current and you are a swimmer. They longer you try to swim up stream the more tired you will become until you realize its a pointless task and accept whats happening and go with the flow. If i was a teacher i would try to incorporate a project where we make something symbolizing a significant part or theme of the book
Lexy Kaftan
ReplyDeleteI didnt really have a quote that was crucial to the book. although I would have the children read both of the books and compare the two. And also i would have the kids research the ideal of communism
Sarah Hale :)
ReplyDelete1984
I really enjoyed the book; I thought it was really fast paced and easy to get into. Watching Winston struggle so immensely to repress the Party and their rules was inspiring. The ending was pretty devastating though considering after Winston had tried to hard to resist the urge to conform he fell helpless to physical pain and torture. He let the Party though because of his mental inability to withstand the fear and torture they forced upon him.
“It was like swimming against a current that swept you backwards however hard you struggled, and then suddenly deciding to turn round and go with the current instead of opposing it. Nothing had changed except your own attitude; the predestined thing happened in any case. He hardly knew why he had ever rebelled.” Pg 229 This quote is basically an extended metaphor of Winston’s entire journey through the book. At the beginning of the book he tried his best to suppress the Party’s infliction on his internal being; he rebelled. As time grew on, he grew tired and eventually gave way to the forces applied to him (torture) and numbly accepted the Party. And like O’Brian wanted, he really didn’t even know why he had attempted to rebel anymore for he had no desire for anything accept loyalty to the Party once they were through with him.
If we had read this in class I would have done the same thing with discussion groups because it gets ideas flowing and questions, clarifying or thoughtful, asked. I think it would be interesting to get the class to create some sort of artwork depicting how they felt about the book, perhaps a collage would be interesting.
Jenn Hergert
ReplyDelete--1984--
Personally, I liked this book a lot. It's very dark (don't worry that is not why I like it), and is certainly an interesting reflection on our society. The dystopia that Orwell creates in Oceania is a terrifying thought, and an important thing to think about in our current world, especially where things like red light cameras are concerned. I can't speak for others, but I myself quite dislike the idea of having Big Brother's eye constantly watching you. 1984 serves as a warning against too much power (considering it was written during the time after World War II when communism was a major fear of the American people and government), and I believe people should do the book justice by reading it and remembering that we, as Americans, are very lucky.
I was actually fairly shocked and depressed by the ending of 1984. Throughout the story, I knew Winston would eventually be captured by the thought police and probably tortured to within an inch of his life, but I always held onto the belief that he would get through it with his humanity intact. But in the end he was reduced to just another Party-worshiping (oh wait they don't worship anything in Oceania), or rather, Party-adoring, mindless clone. This is where my most important quote comes in: "2+2=5." The Party was finally able to make Winston believe the impossible, by breaking him and turning him into an empty, thoughtless shell of his former self. The fact that Winston was ultimately destroyed is what makes the story so disturbing, and what reminds us that freedom is a very great gift to have.
Christine Nafziger
ReplyDeleteI read 1984 and thought that the book was good. It showed some of the possible problems with security and privacy in our society. It was sad that at the end of the book Winston gave into The Party and did not try to rebel against it. There were parts of the book that were boring at times but overall the book was good. If we had read this book as a class I think that a good assignment would have been comparing and contrasting the society with our today.
A quote that I thought was significant to the story was, "And when memory failed and written records were falsified-when that happened, the claim of the party to have improved the conditions of human life had got to be accepted, because there did not exist, and never again could exist, any standard against which it could be tested.” (pg. 79). I see this quote as showing the overall theme that the party can manipulate and control everyone. The Party gets rid of facts if they feel, they are not good. The Party has so much control and no one is able to do anything because they don’t know about the past.
Savannah Guillen
ReplyDelete“Nothing will remain of you: not a name in a register, not a memory in a living brain. You will be annihilated in the past as well as in the future. You will never have existed” (210). ~1984
I think this quote is crucial to the meaning of the book because it shows how society is completely controlled by the Party. The life of an individual is completely meaningless in this world, because once you die, no one will ever remember you or care that you are gone, which is a very scary thought.
Overall, I really liked 1984 because I thought it was interesting to compare the horror of Winston’s world to the relative freedom and safety of our own. The ending was depressing because I was hoping that Winston would be able to break away from Party control, but unfortunately, he was turned into a Party-loving fool just like everyone else.
I think it would be interesting to learn about some of the more detailed aspects of the book, such as the Shakespeare and communism references. Character analysis would also be good because I don’t think I fully understood the characters of Julia and O’Brien.
Jaina Shah
ReplyDeleteBrave New World
“O brave new world,” he began, then suddenly interrupted himself; the blood had left his cheeks; he was as pale as paper. “Are you married to her?” he asked.
Am I what?
“Married. You-know-for ever. They say ‘for ever’ in the Indian words; it can’t be broken”
I didn’t really enjoy the book; I thought the book was really boring. Starting of the book, there was a lot of science behind it. I don’t really like reading book about science. Even though I didn’t enjoy the book there was a lot of good quote from the book. And it relates to our life today. The quote above relates to society today to some couple. In Indian words it is definitely true and other parts of the country as well . Also married mean forever, you can’t break it, even then you don’t like. (In other words suck it up).
Nik Toor
ReplyDeleteI thought 1984 was a ok book, but a little over dramatic. I get what Orwell was trying to do with the book, but I think he went a little over board, like the thought police was a little much. I think if Orwell would have kept it a little more realistic I would have liked it more.
"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." (1984)
I think this quote was among the most important in the book because it really captures what Orwell was trying to get across. The government is in control and there really isn't anything you or anyone can do because the government is changing everything, even the past, to fit them and give them even more power. I think Orwell was trying to say if you give up to many rights for security you won't have any right at all eventually because the government will always want more power even if they have to lie to their citizens.
If we read this book as a class I think the best way would be the way we've read every other book, you assign some pages to read and we talk at the start of class about what happened. I think a good assignment would be for us to create a list of things that came true and things that didn't, with varying degrees of how true they actually became.
Erik Enselman
ReplyDeleteI thought that 1984 was a pretty good book. It gave a good point on what things could have looked like if communism had taken over the United States. It had actually mentioned some things though that had become real such as cameras in the streets watching us. Overall it was pretty interesting but like nik said it did go over the top a tiny bit.
"I think I exist he said wearily. I am concious of my own identity. I was born and I shall die. I have arms and legs. I occupy a particular point in space. No other solid object can occupy the same space simultaniously. In that sense, does Big Brother exist?" pg 214 1984. This is a really good quote from the book and explains that the people really think they exist. The government makes then seem like they are not important and really have no identity. It seems like thats how things could have turned out in a communist country. If we were to read this as a class, I would have daily discussions like we have had with past books but also make it so that we can read in class and not to so much every night.
Laura Ahlrep
ReplyDeleteMy overall reaction to the book 1984 was that it was very interesting to read about how our society could end up if we lived in a country where there is a high amount of repression. It was very eye opening to the ways that governement can control and use people to believe and do what they want. If we read this book as a class I would suggest maybe as the whole group rather than two separate groups with two different books. This would leave more room for discussion and learning more about what others believe and think about the book rather than your own interpretation. A quote I thought represented the book as a whole well was "He had won victory over himself. He loved Big Brother" (pg 245). I thought that it was significant because pretty much it went from trying to break the repression the governement had over him to being brainwashed back into fitting in. It was a pretty upsetting ending knowing that he fell into the ways of Big Brother. Some assignments I would give for this book would perhaps be a compassion of the society we now live in and the one in 1984.
Breanna Taylor
ReplyDeleteMy overall reaction is that this was a great book it really gets your imagination going and makes you look at things from a different perspective, even stuff from other books like just the completely endless oppertunitys of what lifestyle you may live and how people are conditioned to live with them and if their not conditioned to live one life they cant live the other, it shows you to be prepared for anything and never assume anything like that whole "almost sex scene" with the savage and Lenina. My favorite quote was
"She thinks of herself that way, she doesn't mind being meat" (p 93)
its because she's raised in a society where it doesnt really matter how she thinks of herself because the guys think of themselves the same way its just the way to think. But the savage is raised in a place where people like that are shameful but there doesnt really seem to be the same shame system (5xfast) in each society, like in our we are all made to believe the same things and anyone who thinks differently is classified as an outcast and whatnot.
Anna Billmaier
ReplyDelete-1984-
I thought that the book had a very interesting perspective on the way a society would be if the government had complete control over our thoughts. I found it intriguing how the book continuously brought up the point that our thoughts are the center-point of our freedom. It's scary to think of a society in which the government not only controls our actions, but also our morals and our thoughts as well.
"You don’t give a damn what they suffer. All you care about is yourself" (page 240).
I found this quote to be a little ironic in the sense that the Party takes away all independence, yet they let Winston free for betrayal and only thinking of himself. I believe like this quote explains Winston's feeings throughout the book, from the time he first writes in the diary up until he admits his love for Big Brother. For most of the book, Winston is only thinking about himself. He doesn't care what the Party thinks is right, he does what he wants despite the fact that he knows he could be tortured and sentenced to death. The Party's views seem to be quite opposite of this, however. They thrive off of the people living and thinking for Big Brother and for the Party. This just seems like an interesting statement to make because it contradicts with the purpose of the party, which came across as a major theme throughout the book.
I would continue to have class and/or group discussions on the book if we were to read it as a class. I am a very visual and hands-on type of student, and therefore would suggest some sort of project that ties into the theme of the book or a project based off of a major quote that sums up the main idea of the book. (Kind of like the time project you had us do earlier this year).
Leslee Fall
ReplyDelete1984
When i read the end of this book it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. It was a depressing ending because i was really hoping that Winston could beat the Big Brother and change the way of life with his rebellion. But instead he conformed like everyone else. A quote that stood out to me was on page 240 when Julia was talking to Winston. "Sometimes they threaten you with something - something you can't stand up to, can't even think about. And then you say, "Don't do it to me, do it to somebody else, do it to so-and-so. And perhaps you might pretend, afterwards, that it was only a trick and that you just said it to make them stop and didn't really mean it. But that isn't true." This quote seemed to explain the theme of this story to me, that in the end everyone conforms, even if they don't want to believe that they did. If we read this in class together i think finding important quotes and talking about them together would be a good way to talk about the book. It has a lot of good ones in here that caught my eye.
Katie Martens
ReplyDeleteA quote that I feel is significant to the overall book is when Mustapha Mond describes their lifestyle with “Call it the fault of civilization. God isn’t compatible with machinery and scientific medicine and universal happiness. You must make your choice. Our civilization has chosen machinery and medicine and happiness” (234). This is important because it shows why the people believe in the way that they are living, even though it does not seen normal to use as the reader. They believe that God does not supply them with happiness.
If we were to read Brave New World as a class, I would suggest having us write several short papers, about every 5 chapters. I think it would be a good idea to give everyone the same prompt because then we can discuss ideas with each other.
Tori Weisel
ReplyDeleteI thought that 1984 was an ok book. It was a lot easier to read and understand then some of the other books we read earlier this year. It was interesting how dark the book was and it showed a whole new perspective of what life would be like if everyone was being controlled by one main power.
“In describing the kind of thinking which is dominant in 1984, Orwell has coined a word which has already become part of the modern vocabulary: “doublethink.” (pg 264)
This quote is about the idea of doublethink. I think this is a very important idea to the book because doublethink is where a person will believe anything that the party tells them is true yet it contradicts what they have grown up and learned to be the truth. Like for example when the party tells them 2+2=5, yet they know that what they learned in the past is that it is really 4. This is just another way for the Party to control everyone.
If we were to read this book as a class I would say that we should read only a couple sections at a time and then do class discussions about those sections. Then at the end of each of the three books I would have the class either write a short essay to show their understanding or do a small project.
April Dick
ReplyDeleteBrave New World
I liked being able to compare and contrast Brave New World to 1984. Both involve a form of dictatorship government attempting to control the population, though they approach it differently. "In the past you could only accomplish these things by making a great effort and after years of hard moral training. Now, you swallow two or three half-gramme tablets, and there you are. Anybody can be virtuous now. You can carry at least half your morality about in a bottle." (Brave New World). Artificially creating happiness is an interesting yet scary way to think about a powerful leadership governing a people. You would think that as long as people think they are happy, there will be no loopholes in society and the people will remain under control. The book suggests that experiencing happiness freely without a drug or a government forcing it on you is a freedom we must value.
To study the book further, I would suggest socratic seminars followed by a few short essays throughout the book.
Jade Baumann
ReplyDelete1984:
I thought this book was very strange. Just the whole idea of it, having a society like this, rulled by an organization that is constantly watching you everywhere you go, and has so many ridiculous rules. In the end, i was really hoping that winstin would beat out the torcher, and rebel against the society. I thought it was a sad ending to have him not finish out the rebellion, and giving in the party and big brother.
A quote that i thought represented the book really well was "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." This quote just shows how much of life the party had control over. EVERYTHING.
I would reccomend this book to others, mainly because it's a good learning experience becoming familiar with the past, and it's a nice read that will keep you engaged. But if we were reading it as a class i'd definantly say that class seminars would be helpful, because there are some parts which are very confusing.
Brian Gleadle
ReplyDeleteIm pretty much too lazy to find a specific quote from one of the books, however I dont think there is one specific quote that I would say is better than any others. Personally i think that the idea of creating humans through gene-splicing and creating the perfect human seems like a good idea. It would be annoying if everyone was exactly the same and all perfect however that would also eliminate a lot of stereotypes and anger in the world. As far as an assignment, no assignment would be a good assignment, I think that people just need to read it by themselves and figure out how to get the most out of the book. They werent hard books to read and reading them as a class would have been hella annoying.
Brody Hovatter
ReplyDeleteBrave New World
After reading the book, I have a somewhat different outlook on modern day technologies and they way we are moving in our society, especially with things like genetic engineering. It's not that far-fetched to think that someday we may live in a society in which people are made in test tubes and people are born into a role in society, conditioned to believe what everyone else believes. This book can be considered a wake up call to people who worry too much about the "social norm." One of the most important quotes in the book is the motto of the society, "Community, Identity, Stability." This clearly shows what this futuristic world is all about.
If the book is to be read as a class, I would recommend daily discussions, as a lot of the book can be confusing. Talking with others can help clarify things and bring up new ideas. Also, writing assignments discussing how modern technologies we have today relate to ones described in the story would be a good way to study the book.
Reading 1984 was very intreguing because it made me think of what it would be like to live in a world where you were monitored all the time. It is true that in recent years government has grown, but in my mind it will never get close to what big brother and the party was in the book. It was also inspiring to me in the way that Winston rebeled against the party and tried to break free from big brother. Of course I don't live under the same opression that he did, but it made me conscious of my own personal freedoms and how I take them for granted. I thought that the most important quote from the book was the quote that I wrote for last week's blog. "And when memory failed and written records were falsified--when that happened, the claim of the Party to have improved the conditions of human life had got to be accepted, because there did not exist, and never again could exist, any standard against which it could be tested." Pg.79. For future years in reading this book, I would give students comparitive questions relating our society to the one in 1984.
ReplyDeleteWill Quattlebaum
ReplyDelete1984
I didn't fully finish 1984 yet, which I intend to do, but I liked the book. I thought Orwell wrote a good story on what he thought communism and socialism could do if the entire world was consumed by it, but I do think it was a little over dramatic. I also think, that since this book was written in the 40s, that it would take longer than 40 years for the government to totally control everything to the extent in the book, so that contributes to the over dramatic part.
An important quote to me was the party slogan of "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength." These three phrases are all the complete opposite of what the average American would believe, yet Big Brother in the book was able to get everyone to believe these three things, which was a complete shocker to me. It kind of makes you lose faith that the masses could be changed so quickly than the powerful government would be able to weed out the rest, but I don't think that could ever happen.
If we were to do these books in the class, I would suggest first having the class learn about what communism and socialism really are. Next, while reading, I think the class would have to be thinking of what the similarities of today/in the worlds, and also point out everything that relates to communism and socialism, with short notes taken during class discussion and at home. At the end, there would be a short paper about the book, what you thought, and then talking about the notes you took on the similarities and the stuff that dealt with the two government ideologies.
Gina Chenoweth
ReplyDeleteI thought 1984 was a good book. I like the way we read it as a class, having two groups, the other reading Brave New World. I think it is more beneficially to our understanding to discuss in smaller groups because a lot of quieter people have important things to say that only get out in small groups. My favorite quote from the book, if I'm allowed to say so, is the entirety of the appendix (246-256). I found The Principles of Newspeak to be extremely funny and accurate to the rest of the book.
Denisse Manrque
ReplyDelete1984
"War is peace, Freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength."
I am aware that this quote has been used already but it is the best quote and I didn't want to use another. I found this quote to be one of the most crucial quotes of the book. It goes to the main theme of the book. It sums up what big brother does to a society into three lines. I liked the book mostly because it was shocking how much our society now is similar to that of the book. Many of us might not realize that our liberties our infringed upon because it has happened gradually over time. I personally would have liked to discuss the books as class then in individual groups. I feel that it would have been even better comparing the books as a whole class also. As far as assignments i would make one in which the class compares and contrasts our society now to that of the books. I feel that doing so would be beneficial to the class in better understanding the books.