"Between the Pages" -- Period 1

W12, #7: Seems Like A Lot of Effort

I'm sure you're not the only one to have asked yourself this question:

• If Big Brother controlled everything...
• If O'Brien had been monitoring Winston for years...
• If the thought police had plenty of evidence already...

...why go to all this trouble to a) trick, b) catch, and c) torture Winston?

5+ sentences, please.

W12, #6: How Did O'Brien Get This Way?

How do you think O'Brien came to believe all that he says/does?

• Was he like -- Winston -- just a normal guy in the "party" who eventually was brainwashed?
• Was he more like Big Brother from the beginning, never brainwashed because he always believed what he told Winston?
• Or do you imagine some 'other way' that he developed his view of the world?

5+ sentences would be very helpful.

W12, #5: A Film By A Different Name

I'm curious.

Other than the obvious choice -- Minority Report with Tom Cruise playing the police officer that can predict when someone is thinking of committing a crime (aka "a precrime") before they actually do it -- can you think of another film that plays around with the same themes and ideas as 1984?

Your challenge:

• Name the film (or films).
• Give us a short description -- 5 sentences would be great! -- of why there is a strong connection in your mind between our novel and another film.

For those who are curious, here is the film trailer for Minority Report:

W12, #4: Friend, Foe, or John Doe?

I'm curious.

Do you think that at the end of the novel that O'Brien is a real friend of Winston?

Seems possible, right? 

• He is 'honest' with Winston.
• He knows everything about Winston.
• Winston seems 'loyal' to him. 
• Oh, and since there aren't typical 'friends' in this society, is it possible that O'Brien is the closest thing that he can have to one?

What do you think?  Friend?  (Foe or John Doe?)

5+ sentences would be great.

W12, #3: Re-Writing the Future

We know how Orwell 'ended' 1984. 

At the same time, we are left with a few questions as to what really happens to Winston in the coming days, weeks, months, years.

Make a prediction.  Support your ideas with proof from the novel (to get credit).  A quotation (or two) would be great.

W12, #2: Peering Into Room 101

For you, what would be in Room 101?

Explain why.  7+ sentences.

W11, #4: What Would Your Paperweight Be?

As you all remember, Winston purchases a glass paperweight -- with a piece of coral in it -- from the antique shop...and sneaks it home.  When he later rents the apartment to hide with Julia, he keeps it there, too.  It becomes a symbol of something he is trying to understand/remember, even more than just being something beautiful.

For Winston, his glass paperweight represents a link to a 'missing history' he does not want to forget. It is also a link to an 'imaginary future' he dreams about.  In some ways, it helps him keep sane when everything around him seems beyond understanding.  Maybe this is what matters most to him.

Imagine this:

• Imagine you suddenly woke up to find yourself in an apartment like Winston, with a blue uniform on, listening to a telescreen in the background.  In other words, you found yourself as a character in the book itself.  And there is no escape.
• Imagine that you knew the 'truth' about Big Brother's world...but you also realized that you'd be a 'thought criminal' (and killed) if you told anyone what you knew.  There would never be a way to change this. Again, there is no escape.  Your only choice is to find some way to let your imagination continue to live.
• Imagine you could buy or find (1) object -- like Winston's glass paperweight -- that would help you remain 'sane' and maintain 'hope' for the future.

Challenge:

• Identify what the (1) object would be.  Be creative.  Anything is possible.
• Explain why this (1) object would help you keep sane and maintain hope.
• 5+ sentences.

W11, #3: Identify 3 Parts of Goldstein's Book

Note: 

Wait until you have finished all of Goldstein's book -- The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism -- before you do this entry.  You'll need to read through page 217.

***

Challenge: 

• Identify (3) different quotations/ideas you find interesting from Goldstein's book (history, etc., of the world Winston lives in). 
• Explain why you found each quotation/idea interesting.
• 2+ sentences for each quotation/idea you choose.

Please follow these directions:

1. Choose one quotation/idea from pages 184-195
2. Choose one quotation/idea from pages 196-208
3. Choose one quotation/idea from pages 209-217

W11, #2: Did Hollywood Get It Right?

Now that we're reading Goldstein's secret book -- The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism -- let's take a look at how Hollywood tries to explain this part of the novel (including when O'Brien gives him the book):

Challenge:

• Do you think that this part of the film is an accurate portrayal of the book as your mind is picturing it?
• Did they explain enough of Goldstein's book (and ideas) to help a person watching the film (who has never read the book) understand what you now know?
• What should they have added?  What should they have left out?

Here's the clip (about 10 minutes long):

W10 #4: Going Back in Time

Speaking of movie versions of 1984 (see W10, #3), I'm curious what you think of the way Hollywood advertised the original film version of the novel back in the year 1956.

Certainly an interesting visual way to attract people to watch the film.

Challenge: In 5+ sentences, analyze this film poster.

Does it work?

Does it surprise you?

Why do you think this is the way they tried to advertise the film back in 1956, only 7 years after the novel was first published?

W10, #3: Did Hollywood Get It Right?

While we haven't read the entire novel yet, all of you have a certain 'image' (in your heads) of what this story 'looks like'. You might even have a vision for how you'd create a film version, too.

A few years ago, Hollywood created their own film version of the novel, 1984. Note: the film was originally done decades ago (see W10, #4 to learn more).

Below is the original 2-minute trailer/advertisement.

I'm curious what you think.

Challenge: In 7+ sentences, do you think that this film trailer accurately portrays the 'atmosphere' and 'ideas' of the novel as you understand them? How did Hollywood get it right? And how did Hollywood get it wrong?

W10, #2: A Surprising Pop Culture Moment

Almost a decade before you were born, a young technology company released one of the most famous television ads in modern history as an 'attack' on a larger technology company:

It featured a striking visual image that almost riveted viewers to the screen.

It featured a familiar film theme (can you name it? he smiles).

It also featured a stunning 'message' to customers of a competing technology company (that many of you may also be familiar with) that they should 'revolt' and consider a different company's technology (that many of you are also very familiar with).

Challenge: 5+ sentence reaction to the video (on YouTube) that includes...

part 1: what you think of the actual television ad

part 2: any connections to 1984 that catch your attention

W10, #1: How Big Brother's Control Began

We're soon going to be learning a bit about the historical creation of the 'party' and Big Brother's government. In fact, we're actually going to read one of the documents that helped create this world.

With that said, what is the one rule, Big Brother slogan, or piece of 'party' propaganda that you'd like to learn more about?

Challenge: In 5+ sentences, tell us.

Image: One of Orwell's original hand-written manuscript pages.

W9, #6: Predicting the Future

So, it dawns on me that 'nothing' has really happened in the story so far. Odd. Because even though very little has happened, the discussion ideas are limitless. Kind of fascinating, huh?

But something must happen. Right? Eventually, Winston must 'do' something in terms of plot action. Right? Or not?

Will he rebel against Big Brother?

Will he fall in love?

Will he be put in prison or killed?

Or will something else happen that is beyond our understanding at this point?

Now that you've read 7 chapters of 1984, what do you think is going to happen to Winston once he moves beyond just learning to 'think' again?

Response: You have 2 choices:

a) A 5+ sentence explanation/proof of one idea, or

b) List 5 predictions that are different but logical based on the first 7 chapters

Image of the actor who played Winston in the original film.

W9, #5: The Irony of Pleasure

In chapters 6 and 7, Orwell spends quite a bit of time discussing the ironic idea of removing pleasure or desire from any intimate/sexual act.

As many of you have already asked, this makes it difficult to increase the population, but Big Brother seems to have that figured out. At the same time, the government also allows certain parts of society to have pleasures in a way to 'control' them.

What do you think Orwell is trying to say about the issue of a) pleasure, b) letting only certain types of people have pleasure, and c) controlling all parts of society in these ways?

Response: 5+ sentences. Try to use a specific part of the text (a quotation!!!) to make your point. But feel free to expand creatively, too.

BTW, this was a real cover for the book in the first few years it came out.

Why do you think the publishers went with this cover design given what you've already read?

Feel free to add to your original answer if you'd like.

Hint, hint, hint.

W9, #2: "It's All In Your Head"

In class, we read a Wired magazine article by Clive Thompson entitled "It's All in Your Head: Why the next civil rights battle will be over the mind."

Clearly there is a connection to 1984 for us to think about.

Response:

Part 1: Identify the part of the article that grabbed your attention the most.

Part 2: Tell us whether you agree or disagree with the author's theory/idea(s).

Part 3: Briefly explain whether you think Orwell (the author of 1984) would find this article similar to his own novel's ideas.

Image link.

W8, #4: If You Could Ask The Author...

Based on having read the first 3 chapters of 1984 (due by Friday, April 4), what questions would you ask the author, George Orwell, to help you better understand the world he has created?

Challenge: Ask 5 questions.

W8, #2: What is Orwell Trying to Say?

During the daily "Two Minutes Hate", Winston and all the other citizens of "Oceania" have to take part in a large rally with a film, chanting, etc.

Winston makes the following observation:

"At this moment the entire group of people broke into a deep, slow, rhythmical chant of "B-B!...B-B!...B-B!" over and over again, very slowly, with a long pause between the first "B" and the second -- a heavy, murmurous sound, somehow curiously savage, in the background of which one seemed to hear the stamp of naked feet and the throbbing of tom-toms.  For perhaps as much as thirty seconds they kept it up.  It was a refrain that was often heard in moments of overwhelming emotion. Partly it was a sort of hymn to the wisdom and majesty of Big Brother, but still more it was an act of self-hypnosis, a deliberate drowning of consciousness by means of rhythmic noise." (page 16)

Challenge:

• What does this idea of "self-hypnosis" really mean? 
• What do you think Orwell is trying to say about the way people are acting?

Responses: 5+ sentences