Sunday, October 7, 2012
What's Eating Winston?
You have read Book One of 1984, by George Orwell. In these opening eight chapters, what seems to bother Winston the most about Oceania, the superstate in which he lives? What does Winston think is wrong with his society? Do you recognize any of these same concerns in our own society? Use specific examples from the reading to support your response. Remember, 150 words or so. Remember, also, to comment on at least one peer's response.
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Winston, I believe, thinks there are a number of things wrong, and I myself can think of two key things that Winston thinks is most wrong. He hates the lack of truth and the lack of history, which both coincide. Where he came from and what things were like before is something that dogs him constantly. He cannot recall a time when things were better, but like he said, instinctually he knows things were better. Like when he described the food he eats and the shortages of things. He knows that everything is a lie, and things are told as lies. The men, Aaronson and Rutherford, who were innocent, and the chocolate rations, that were just reduced but is celebrated a day later as being raised. Our society, while not quite in the state they are in, lies somewhere closer than I'd like it to be. How many lies are we told everyday by the media or the government? The media plays a large part in how they portray things...they can angle it from a certain perspective. For instance, when I listen to one news station, I get hopeful hints about the economy and how it's all turning upwards. However when I flip a channel or look on the internet, it says how everything is desperate and worse and we aren't much better off than before. It makes me question things. Freedom of speech means you can say anything...even lies.
ReplyDeleteyeah, media plays a huge part in what information the average person knows about present-day topics it's hard to tell what's really true. for instance, did you know that 73% of statistics are completely made up?! ;)
DeleteYou make a lot of good points on 1984 stuff and present day issues. Media is a large problem today because some stations are just so completely bias it's hard to get a good, honest opinion.
DeleteI agree that the media is a large problem in our society. The biased opinions make it hard to get the actual facts.
DeleteI also agree that the media today is a large problem in our society. Yes, we have freedom of speech but that doesn't mean we should lie about those types of things.
DeleteYa media is a big issue. Its good we have freedom of speech but the convincing lies that media can broadcast can be really bad.
DeleteI agree: the media can make you believe a lot of things that aren't true, myself included. But we give the media that power. Like in 1984, our willingness to believe gives them power to tell even more lies. The only way to stop it is to realize what's going on and not get rapped up in unimportant media information, and I don't see this happening in the near future.
DeleteI think Winston's main problem with the Party is how they completely take away citizens rights especially privacy. He realizes that because of the complete government control the quality of life for people is pretty crappy. They have no individuality and they live in a world with no love and where their only happiness comes from what the Party says can make them happy such as when the little kids wanted to go watch the hanging. Besides the media changing stories to cover for famous people or scare or comfort regular people, I don't think we are lied to very much today. Reporters make big money getting stories from reliable sources and quoting witnesses and we have laws protecting the truth rather than protecting lies like in 1984.....or do we? o.O
ReplyDeleteI agree that his main problem is the no rights to privacy. He really just needed to be born in a different time period.
DeleteI hope we aren't being lied to too! I also wonder if the media and government are keeping things from us.
DeleteI think that what bugs Winston the most about Oceania is that he doesn't actually have any privacy. He doesn't liked to be watched 24/7. But that is the whole point of the party. He wants to just be able to be who he is and do what he wants to do. He doesn't want to have to get up every morning and do the exercise jerk. He seems to prefer to just do his own thing on his own time. I don't think from the way he presents himself at work that he agrees with the idea of falsifying documents and then destroying them. I do think that our government does not tell us some things even though we do have the right to know whats happening in our system. The teloscreen can be related to the camera in your computer because the government can hack in anytime when its active and see or hear what you are doing...creepy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Winston's dislike for falsifying docements. When he is explaining this to Julia and she seems so uninterested with the past and doesn't even know who Oceana is at war with, Wintston seems to get irritated.
DeleteI didn’t even know that the government could do that on your computer. That is really creepy. I also agree with you that Winston hates to destroy history; it really seems to bug him.
DeleteI agree with you about Winston not having any privacy at all and that he is being watched 24/7. He hates the idea of not getting the chance of being himself, which would really stink. I think it is really creepy that the government can hack us anytime , it actually sounds really crazy.
DeleteI completely agree with Amanda on this. Winston wants to be who really is but he can't. He would rather do his own things, on his own time.
DeleteI completely agree with you that they arent given any privacy and that he would like to live a normal life without having constant control
DeleteI believe what bothers Winston the most about Oceania is the lack of freedom he has. I believe he wishes to be free spirited, and does not have the choice to do so. If Winston had his choice of how he wanted to live, I think he would most likely choose to live with lots of freedom, and not live with the constant fear of Big Brother. I also think Winston really hates the lack of privacy, and thinks it is a wrong part of the society he lives in. Winston states his profound hatred of the telescreen throughout the book as well. Winston can't even write in his own diary without the fear of being watched, or more seriously, being convicted of thoughtcrime. In my opinion, themes addressed in the book such as thoughtcrime or the Thought Police, are not close to any concerns that are currently in our own society.
ReplyDeleteLaurie English
1st hour
I agree. He definitely seems to dislike knowing how controlled his life is and how little he can do about it. I think it really started becoming a problem after he met with Julia, because he can't be seen as happy with her.
DeleteWinston's problem is his lack of privacy. He feels as if he is always being watched, which he is, so he has a difficult time coping with this. He obviously has not gotten used to the fact that there is a group of people watching his every move. I feel that Winston will never be truly happy, until Big Brother is over thrown. The whole concept is rather dumb, so on that note, I agree with Winston.
ReplyDeleteMaddie Parker
1st Hour
I agree that Winston won't be happy until Big Brother is over thrown. It is scary to think about different this society is from ours.
DeleteMaddie I agree 100% Winston feels a lack of privacy
DeleteI agree with you that he feels like he is always being watched. I also agree that he won't be happy until Big Brother is no more!
DeleteI think that the fact that there is no privacy and that the past is basically destroyed makes Winston dislike Oceania. Winston shows his interest in the past when he loves the basic paperweight that has a piece of coral inside it. That would be a basic item, but to Winston it seems to hold great value as an object from the past. In society today, people find value in old things. Most things that still hold value aren't as simple as a glass paperweight, though.Winston shows his curiousity of the past by trying to get information from the guy in the bar. Today, people still try to dig up things from the past and discover new things about how life used to be.I think that it would be extremely frusterating being watched all the time and being in constant danger of the Thought Police.
ReplyDeleteErik Johnson
2nd Hour
I agree that trying to learn about and connect to the past like Winston has attempted is something that occurs a lot in society . I think frustrated would be an understatement if we were being watched all the time and in danger of the thought police.
DeleteI also agree with you with the whole connecting to the past idea. I feel as though Winston, unlike many of the other people within the Party does have a small connection to the history of the past.
DeleteI think Winston's main problem is that he doesn't have any privacy. I Think Winston is also very paranoid that he is being watched at all times. In our society people can track down where you are and listen in on phone calls which is creepy. We are slowly losing more and more privacy and hopefully we don't end up like Oceania. Also everyone but Winston and selective few seem to be brain washed by Big Brother which is scary to think about because they don't even have history books that tell the real history.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Sabo
2nd hour
I think Winston's main concern with Oceania is the lack of honesty and ignorance in the lower class. On honesty, he can't even comprehend the lies his government has declared, because they change on a daily basis. He works in the records department of the Ministry of Truth so his job is to basically destroy the truth. Winston finds it hard to imagine sometimes what is real and what is false and this makes him extremely uncomfortable in his society. He is also frustrated with the proles. They have more freedom and privacy than party members, but are too ignorant on the situation to use their freedoms properly. I think some of this really relates to our country, with the rich controlling a big percentage of wealth and therefore control in political matters. At least right now with don't have telescreens or thought police.;p
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, especially where you mentioned him as being uncomfortable in his society. I also liked how you mentioned the rich controlling a big percentage of wealth. I really hope we don't end up with telescreens or thought police as well!
DeleteIndeed, thank goodness we haven't gotten to the level of thought police or constant monitoring. I do agree that there is frustration with the proles lack of awareness despite their greater freedom. The only people with the numbers to do anything, and they don't know that they can.
DeleteBlohm 1st hour
While reading this book earlier I was picturing what life will be like in fifty years. Fifty years from now we could be hustling together trying to obey our government and stay alive. I would think back to my childhood where I was ignorant and selfish and think of how those were the goodtimes. The thought was scary and realistic.
DeleteI think Winston struggles most with his society's ability to completely take all sources of accurate information and replace it with the lies made by the party to cause an appearance in higher standing.
ReplyDeleteI think sometimes people believe even the news today can be somewhat misleading and falsified, telling people to believe in things that can be anywhere from near-truths, half-truths, or opinions expressed as truths.
Even in 2012, falsification in the news is very apparent, especially during the race for the Presidential election. Different news' sources give different (sometimes skewed) information. For example, some reporters may interview select people to shed light upon their favored party member while interviewing another who bashes on the opposing side. Even though it may not be false, it's skewed. Which almost could be worse in the sense that it's manipulative. This not only causes a lack of trust in the government, but a lack in trust upon anything that is told to be true otherwise.
I agree with you about the misleading and falsified information in today's news, especially about the opinions that are expressed as truths. I feel that reporters and journalists can be biased, although they shouldn't be when writing investigative/news reports. A lack of trust in government is a common theme in "1984" and our own society.
DeleteThis is true. Winston writes in his journal about having evidence of these falsifications and he wanted to keep it and show everyone. He wants everyone to see these lies and expose Big Brother for what he truly is
DeleteI think Winston is most bothered by the ability of the Party to say anything they want about the past, or future, and no one can prove them wrong. He knows that the Party is lying, because he has memories of certain events about which they claim certain "facts." He remembers airplanes from his childhood, but the Party claims to have invented them. Something that really bothers him is that he did, at one point, hold in his hand concrete and physical proof of the Party's lies: The picture of three Party leaders, who had been convicted of treason, at a party in New York on the day they had admitted to being on Eurasian soil. When he received the picture, he threw it into the memory hole. But if he had possessed the picture during the time in which the book takes place, he says he would have kept it. It was proof of the Party's lies, and he knows that it's possible that there's no longer any proof in existence.
ReplyDeleteThe government in our society has stretched the truth before to make itself and its members look better, and although we do have the resources to find out the truth (unlike the citizens in 1984), many people just accept what the government tells us. For example, many of the events that happened in Afghanistan and Iraq were kept from our knowledge or downplayed. Like the motto of the party says, "Who controls the past controls the future: Who controls the present controls the past."
You have great points here. I wonder if there are any other people thinking like Winston in Oceania--if someone else remembers about airplanes or the picture of the Party leaders.
DeleteWinston is living in a society with absolutely no privacy. Telescreens come are on at all times, watching your every move and Winston definately has a great desire for more privacy. You can observe this by the way he always hides in the tiny corner of his house where the telescreen cannot see and how he and Julia always run away to London and other less watched or not watched hide outs to get away from the eye of Big Brother. Winston also seems to hate the way the party lies and no one knows about it. Because he works with in the ministry he is subject to knowing things that the majority of Oceana citizens do not know. He knows some of the truths about the pasts before he falsifies documents and you can tell that he hates how the public will never know any different. The tone in the book when he describes this obviously irritated with the unfairness of it all. As for our own society, I don't think privacy is quite so big an issue. I feel currently, you have the right to privacy, as well as the right to not be private. With things such as facebook and twitter and other social media sites, privacty is smudged a little, however, people can opt out of being a part of these things and have that privacy still. I would find it going a little overboard with the government tapping into my phone calls or using my laptop camera to spy on me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of the things that bother Winston, both of them are very prominent things in the book. I also agree with what you have to say about the privacy and our government, things are pretty free to do what you want, and any more of push into our lives would be too much.
DeleteThere are many things in Oceania that bother Winston. in fact, almost everything bother's him. the complacency of the populace, the brainwashing, the lack of privacy, the lack of freedom of thought. The whole system. he doesn't like it that people take for granted what the Party says. Nobody but him remembers things that happened little more than a day earlier, and blindly believe that a reduction in a ration is actually an increase. There is the general gut instinct telling him that life was better before the revolution, that food was not crap, that people had friends, not comrades, that there once had been love in the world, and nobody but him remembers that.
ReplyDeleteCaleb Blohm, 1st hour
Great point Caleb. Winston hates everything about Big Brother and Oceania. He wants to open his mouth so bad and start a revolution because he knows there's a better life outside the party. He hates being under constent watch and control of the Party. Even though Proles have it tough they have one thing Winston wants the most Freedom. If it was up to Winston he would overthrow the party and go back to how life use to be.
DeleteShane Skorupski
2nd Hour
All I have to say is thank goodness this prediction did not come true. I think that Winston doesn`t like any part of Oceania, but I think that his least favorite part is the destroying of history. This seems to really bother him and he is always trying to figure out the truth of what really went on. I think that this is why he likes the little piece of glass so much. He likes it, because it has not been destroyed and recreated into something that makes Big Brother look good. There are many other things that Winston considers to be wrong with Oceania. He hates that the government just lies to everyone, once a person dies it is almost as if they have never once excited. Obviously he hates that the government can see him all the time and no one can really be truly themselves because if they even showed a little about themselves that is "out of the ordinary" they could be vaporized. When Winston just wants to write in his journal he can`t do it out in the open, because then he would be seen and most likely be accused of thought crime. Everyone just always has to be aware of their every move. Our society is nowhere near this, I honestly don`t even think that we have a privacy issue. We can go home shut the door and be completely alone. Yes, they have cameras in every store and on street lights, but that’s only for our safety; they aren’t there to watch us individually.
ReplyDeleteAbby Dockery
2nd hour
I agree with you on this, the only reason that they have camera's around is for the safety of the people around, and that Winston hates the destruction of history more that anything else.
DeleteWell said. Winston definitely dislikes the destroying of history, and has a desire to learn what the past actually entailed.
DeleteRyan Galligan
2nd hour
Winston is living in a world of lies. A basic sin which the people of Ingsoc take for granted. Ingsoc is a lie. It is built of lies. Its goal is to making living perfect, which is a lie. The lies aggravate Winston the most because he holds truth in his hands everyday - like the Rutherford case (when members of the inner arty were found guilty of treason and were executed). The United States functions almost in the same way. They are capable of falsifying and hiding information from the public (like Argo and Area 51). Classified information exists because they believe it is for the safety of the people...by safety it means the mass hysteria. Which is true, but hey we are living here as human beings so no one else can say what is better for us.
ReplyDeleteAlicia Ryke
1st hour
I agree with Alicia. There are some cases in which our goverment today keeps things from the public. They have the ability and capability to do that which causes much controversey.
DeleteI completely agree with you. Some of America's 'brainwashed masses' think that conspiracy theories are a load of stupid, but actually, I wouldn't be all that surprised if the government weren't hiding stuff like this. It is certainly within their capability, so why not? Isn't this what most institutions in all of human history have done--power hiding their corruptness from the masses?
DeleteI really didn't think about this before I posted my comment, but I agree with you. Our government is in some ways the same as in 1984. They do hide things from us to "protect" us, even when they don't know what is best for us. Could there be other things that almost all Americans believe that are actually false? It's pretty scary to think about.
DeleteMary Jo Koster
1st hour
I believe it is quite obvious what is bothering Winston. He is one of the only self conscious people in a world filled with zombies. He believes that the world should not be running like this and that something is wrong with society. He wants equal rights and freedom of speech and things that people do not even know exist. Their society is so brainwashed they think freedom is slavery, that doesnt even make sense but they follow it anyway because that is what they are told to do.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Winston's biggest peeve with society is the fact that every minute they destroy the true history of the past and make it their own, for their(meaning the Party) own personal gain, and better appearance.Along with the dislike of most of the world that he lives in, that seems to be the recurring subject that comes up. Like with the glass paper weight and the painting in the room above the antique shop, he finds a strange attachment to them, and wants things like them to stay in existence, as a relic that the past wasn't as the party says it is. I think that it is obvious that Orwell's prediction of the future didn't come true, which I think that everyone is glad of. Their are some things that did sort of come true from this book. Like the government checking your computers through the internet, cellphones, and such. We have surveillance on us, but not as constant and over-bearing. We still have our homes as a private sanctuary that we can go to if we need to be alone.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you mentioned the items from the shop to aid your point on Winston being bothered by destroyed history. He really did want some of the true history to stay in existence. You made a good point.
DeleteI think that Winston is bothered by the lack of privacy in Oceania. He and everyone around him are constantly being reminded that they are being watched by Big Brother. "Big Brother is watching you" is plastered on posters everywhere! By the end of book one Winston only has a few places he can actually be alone and think what he actually feels. His little nook in his apartment and the room he rented in the prole district keep him sane. Winston also hates the fact that history is being re-written daily. He can't distinguish between what is truth and what isn't. I think that we experience some of this in our own society. The media is constantly slanting things the way they want them to be. Sometimes its hard to know the whole truth.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there's anything that Winston actually likes about Oceania. Every person in that society is constantly being watched. Winston has no privacy at all and this seems to bother him a lot. He feels like every step he takes he is being watched or his conversation is being listened to by the thought police. Winston knows that they need their privacy and they should have equal rights but big brother is not allowing them to live a normal life. I'm glad that Orwell's prediction for the future did not come true. We still have our privacy when we are at home but in Winston's case he does not.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the lack of privacy bothers him the most. I am glad that we have privacy but I think that we are slightly more exposed than we were in the past, but mostly for the better such as preventing crime.
DeleteKathrine Marous
2nd hour
Winston hates almost everything about Oceania, but can you blame him. He is under constant surveillance, he cant write or even think. If I were in his situation, I would hate Oceania too. America is nothing like Oceania. We have private property. The government cant put a camera in your house. Also we have freedom of press, we can write whatever we want. Sure America has its problems, but America seems like a utopia compared to Oceania.
ReplyDeleteConnor Galligan 1st
A lot of stuff bothers Winston. He hates just about everything in Oceania. He hates the lack of privacy, the rationing, the thought police, and Big Brother. The USA has some similarities though. For example televisions are in almost every home, and who's to say that the government isn't watching us through them as if they were telescreens. In comparison though our problems are nonexistent.
ReplyDeleteRyan Galligan
2nd hour
I think Winston is bothered most by his lack of freedom in Oceania. He is being watched with each step he takes and is not free to make his own decisions. Everything around him is based on the Party and Big Brother and it seems like its driving him crazy. He feels isolated and as if everyone around him is brainwashed by the government. Once the dark haired girl gives him that note and tells him to meet her, he notices himself have hope in a sense and wants things to change. I think he realizes this more and more every time he changes a document to fit the wants of the Party through his speakwrite.
ReplyDeleteI think there are some things in our society today that reflect upon those in 1984. The government makes claims of what they will do better, and people believe them. Sometimes these claims aren't true, but there isn't a way for the people to know that.
Faith Lee 5th hour
I agree the Government today makes promises that they cannot always keep. This is similar to 1984 where they change history and lie to the public.
DeleteI think Winston is being bothered by the lack of actual freedom and privacy. Everyone is in oceania is being watched by telescreens, their every move is being watched. They are being controlled/are under the command of this Big brother guy. Winston seems to hate the government since you can't be yourself or live the way you want to. Anytime some one makes an attempt to act like themselves they are probably be vaporized . He is compelled to doublethink about the information he receives and the information he is to make up. Other times when he's is about to open his diary he thinks he will get in trouble by the thoughtcrime.
ReplyDeleteIn 2012 we aren't completely controlled by the government even though, somethings that the government does we isn't what we want. We don't have telescreens in our houses and we are allowed to have our own personal thoughts.
Harshjot Singh
5th hour
I totally agree with you and the fact that Winston doesn't like how individuals can't be themselves or live the way they want to. I am certainly thankful that we have the privilege now.
DeleteEmily Blahnik
5th hour
I find that Winston's main problem with Oceania is the lack of freedom and knowledge the citizens have. Since everyone is constantly being watched by the telescreens, their lack of privacy restricts various freedoms. His intelligence and awareness sets him apart from the other citizens and results in more anger toward the government. He also had a problem with the fact that the totalitarian government is lying and molding information and language into what they want. While we are not oppressed like Oceania, there are many things that are slightly parallel. For instance, there are many cameras and people watching but most people do not even realize they are being watched.
ReplyDeleteKathrine Marous
2nd Hour
I think that Winston is bothered the most by how easily things can be erased from history. He is disturbed by the fact that things like the chocolate rations can be lowered one day and then be announced that it was actually an increase the next. He is also bothered by the surveillance of the telescreens and the thought police always watching him. It is easy to see some of the surveillance in our own society, but it is not anywhere near having someone watching every minute of every day almost anywhere we go. We also don't have nearly as alterable of a past as they do in the book. The only differentiations are those of biased opinions. I could never see that many people being in belief of such obvious lies, especially if they are helping to create the lies.
ReplyDeleteBrandon Aho
2nd hour
Brandon, I agree with your point that it is astonishing that the people of Oceania could believe in the lies that they themselves created! However, I do see in our own society, people naively believing lies that are fed to them through the media and through pop culture. What's even worse if that living in a democracy like the USA, we have unlimited freedom to seek out the truth (especially with the Internet), but very few people actually do. You never know, if this trend continues we could very soon be fabricating the lies ourselves.
DeleteRoxane 2nd
In Part 1 of 1984, I think Winston is deeply annoyed with the control and deceitfulness of the Party. Winston hates how the past is always changing and it is controlled by the Party. Winston is annoyed by the fact that everything he does has to be done with care- he can't make an eye roll, he has to participate in the Two Minutes Hate, he has to stretch as far as he can in the Physical Jerks, he can't love who he wants too, etc. He has to be careful wtih every movement he does. He hates the fact that nothing is private and he is constantly being watched. Today, the governemnt does rule us but not to this extent. There are rules and there are video cameras but we do not have them in our homes. That is our privacy.
ReplyDelete1st hour
Molly Miedema
I would be annoyed if the government was like this too! I hope our government never gets to the point of Winston's government. I would definitely at some point in my life, accidently role my eyes or something and be vanished.
DeleteAfter reading part one of 1984, you can tell that Winston has strong emotions toward the Party and their control. One thing that Winston doesn't like is the fact that he is constantly controlled and monitored by the Party. He can't even write in his own journal without fear of being vaporized and erased from society. Winston is forced into participating in the Two Minutes Hate and the Physical Jerks everyday. He has no privacy and no power to change that without some help. In today's government, we certainly have more freedom and privacy than Winston had.
ReplyDeleteEmily Blahnik
5th Hour
I believe that one of the biggest things that bothers Winston is that his privacy is invaded. Winston is constantly hiding from the telescreens. Anything that he really wants to do needs to be hidden. When he wants to write in his journal he hides in a little nook, that is hidden from the screens, and anytime he wants to be with Julia they are always running and hiding, always searching for a place away from the governments all seeing eyes. Another thing I can see that bothers Winston is how much the government lies to it's citizens. Then on top of that Winston helps change everything for the government. He is one of the only people who know the truth about what really happens, and he doesn't like that the citizens will never know anything.
ReplyDeleteAs for our society, we don't need to worry that much. Yes we have rules and cameras, but nothing as severe as what happens in the book. We have our privacy and the government doesn't lie to us, or to the extent of the book.
Michaela De Jonge
5th hour
I see Winston's discomfort with the lack of privacy, too. I think he is really thankful that he has that little nook as a small escape from the all-seeing telescreen.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading a good chunk of "1984" I think that Winston is fed up with the lack of humanity displayed in his community and also the feeling of living a pointless life. Winston is really longing for compassion and company in his life. He looks for even the smallest signs of companionship and clings to them. (For example, O'Brien's look at work). He is often caught judging the coolness and lack of emotion of other party members, like Tillotson and Julia(initially). He writes in his journal about seeking out a prostitue and feeling desperately alone and hopeless after his wife- his one hope for a life-long relationship- leaves. He is also endlessly frustrated with the fact that he is living a life of doublethink that deep down, he doesn't agree with. Winston knows that he is committing all kinds of thoughtcrimes and knows death is near, and the anticipation of going through day after day of monotonous labor is eating away at him, while he awaits his vaporization. This is exhibited in his paranoia and continual rebellion of writing in his journal even though he is aware of the dire risk. Most of all, Winston is fed up with the government for putting him in such a position and creating such a horrible quality of life. Winston is at his breaking point and is looking for an alternative.
ReplyDeleteI think that the main feature of Winston's world that is exhibited in today's society is the desensitized nature in which our citizens digest the daily news and don't even bother to question sources and check facts. This is especially relevant during election season. People will believe whatever is convenient and point a finger blindly at whoever they can.
Roxane 2nd
I like your connection to 1984 and today's society. I definitely agree with it- people will believe anything.
DeleteI think you are one of the only people on here who sees this. Winston's initial irritation is the lack of humility.
DeleteGrant James
Winston is very upset because of the fact that he has no freedom at all. He is upset that he can't make his own decisions. He also does not like that the past will never be true for sure. He is overall, just upset that the government has such control over his life and all of the other people's lives.
ReplyDeleteIn our lives, obviously we are very lucky that we live in the best country in the world. However, I do think that we are slowly creeping toward more government power. I do not think that we would ever come near the extreme of this book. But I do think that we are moving in that direction
Very good point that the past will never be true I also found it interesting that you also belive that the government is slowly creeping toward more power. Great thoughts adam.
DeleteI agree with you on your point about how Winston has no freedom. On the other hand I don't think we are living in the best country in the world. Take Norway for example, their standard of living is much higher compared to ours.
DeleteWell Winston is mad in the first book because he has practically all freedom taken from him. There is always a eye on him except for the little nook in his appartment. Other than that nook all privacy has been removed from his socity. He constantly has to worry about thought crimes and is always in this parinoied state of mind.
ReplyDeleteIn the lives of us it is much different. Although, I do believe that the government is slowly becoming more involved. Even though the government seems to becoming more and more involved with our lives we will never be to the extreme that Winston is at.
Cole Conway
2nd Hour
I think Winston hates the total government control. While Winston does not remember how life was really before Big Brother, he still does not like the lack of freedom in society. He feels like the television screens cause no freedom or thinking especially since there is thoughtcrime that can kill you. Also he hates that the government can control the past and make things to say what they want so that they are never wrong and true records do not actually exist. Thankfully our government does not do this to us or anything even close. I hope we can continue to have our freedoms though people always argue that it is getting taken away. In our lives I think we have great freedom in America and I think we always will as long as we get to have free voting elections for who we want in government. Also it is good that we have many nations and not just three super nations running the world because I think having super nations would be very restricting and bad for the everything.
ReplyDeleteTom Kordupel
1st Hour
I believe Winston's main issue with Oceania is simply the Party. Because of them, he's really in a battle between two worlds. He knows that the past that the Party teaches is completely false, but he's still forced to go along with it if he doesn't want to end up in trouble with the Thought Police. His daily job is to even falsify the past. Winston knows that there were better times, and his feelings of hopelessness prove that. He wants to speak out to his society and make that point obvious, but he can't. There's so much going against him that it makes doing such a thing impossible. Winston's other main problem with society is the lack of privacy that exists. Big Brother is watching him everywhere, and that causes him to be very paranoid. Winston can't even write in his journal without worrying about someone knocking at his door and punishing him for the act. When he goes to the shop where he bought his journal, the sense of relief he feels inside of the store becomes very obvious. There's no telescreen, and it's the one place where he feels like he has actual freedom. Overall, Winston believes that his society is doomed if everyone keeps walking around like brainwashed zombies that the Party would like them to be. As for our society, I really don't see the same issues. The past that we are taught actually happened, and we still have a great deal of privacy. Yes, the government does try to intervene at certain times, but their intentions are usually good. It hasn't become an issue. Not yet, anyways.
ReplyDeleteMary Jo Koster
1st hour
I think that the biggest thing that bothers Winston in book one is the lack of knowledge of the citizens of Oceania. He lives in a society where everything is dictated by the government- past, present, and future. No one in Oceania knows anything other than what the Ministries choose to let them know. And even things that the citizens think they know- memories, for example- are constantly being altered and redefined. Winston is intelligent enough to realize that both himself and the others around him are being spoonfed by the ministries, and he doesn't like it. The entire purpose of Ingsoc is to narrow range of thought and intelligence, and that's the principle that overall leads to Winston's hatred of the party.
ReplyDeleteJennie DeBlanc
2nd Hour
Oh, wow, you're so right, Jennie! I was thinking the whole surveillance thing was what bothered him, but I guess I completely forgot about the way they rewrite everything, and how much that bothers Winston. I agree with your assessment of the situation.
DeleteI definitely agree with what you have to say about the purpose of ingsoc. It's interesting, however, that they people actually fall for it. To seriously just disregard your own memories of everything as if it never happened? It's a little mind blowing. Which is why I wonder if the people of Oceania actually believe these principles that are getting spoonfed to them.. Or if they're merely doing it as a means of survival.
DeleteI agree too. The government is changing and narrowing the English language to Newspeak, which is also narrowing the the minds of the people. And I agree with Shayna, whether all the people of Oceania are actually ignorant enough to believe every word that comes out of the Ministries' mouths,or whether there are a lot more like Winston who are intelligent enough to understand what's going on.
DeleteWell, for one thing, Winston has an ulcer on his ankle, so that’s kind of negative. He also hates being watched all the time by the telescreens; I think the constant observation is the aspect of life in Oceania he hates the most. It would be pretty creepy to have that telescreen, I agree, and to have it on at all times would get really obnoxious. Even though Winston has more privacy than most of the other Outer Party members because of the alcove in his apartment, it sounds dismal to live under constant surveillance.
ReplyDeleteWe don’t have telescreens watching us all the time like Winston, but there are a ton of security cameras most places (in a lot of places they’re justified, seeing as the footage can be useful in crime investigations) and I think the government can monitor your movements on the internet/etc. if they get a warrant or something? That ended in a question because I have no idea if that’s right. I don’t think I’m very knowledgeable on this issue - oops.
Winston hates everything about Oceania and Big Brother. Big Brother has complete control over Winston and if he does not follow the Party law he will be killed. Making the wrong face expression could get Winston taken away in the middle of the night by the Thought Police and never heard from again. Winston knows this is not the life he wants for himself or the life other people should have. Even though the Proles have it rough he knows they have one thing that the people leaving in the Party will never have and that is Freedom. Winston desires that the most because he wants to live how he use to with his family, happy and loving. Everything is wrong with the society Winston lives in and he knows that but decides so far not to try and do anything major about it other than write in a diary and make love to a girl to rebel against the Party. I do not see any similarities bewteen my society and Winston's. We preach freedom and they denounce it. The way I see it we live in two completely opposite worlds. I would never want a society like Winston.
ReplyDeleteShane Skorupski
2nd Hour
I, along with everyone else it seems, noticed that Winston has very few, if any, positive thoughts about Oceania throughout book number one. I feel as though the lack of privacy is one of the biggest things that he conveys in his thoughts. Today, there are a lot of ways in which our own "freedom" is being impeded on. The new spy equipment that the army uses could easily be used on the people of our country, and technology is at an all time high where signals and frequencies are given off no matter where you go. Winston has to hide in a corner of his room, he thinks to be uncomfortable, just so that he can write in his journal. Although this is extreme, the same ideas could be thought about in our own society. There are very few places, if you needed absolute privacy, that you could go without the government somehow finding you. The fact that everyone is always watching Winston is probably the most extreme idea of his loss of personal freedom. He continuously shows his distaste towards the government and Big Brother, but only in his thoughts.
ReplyDelete_Ben keller (2nd)
I agree that our freedom is being impeded on in many ways by the government. It's scary how much actually goes unnoticed. I liked the statement about the spy equipment, that was neat.
DeleteI agree with you that our freedom is slowly going away and that is a scary thought.
DeleteThe thing Winston hates the most is the blatant lies and disregard that the party had has for its citizens. He works in the ministry that forges truth and dissolves history, yet he is prepared to act as if it never happened. He is constantly going crazy trying to get some taste of the past that has become nothing more than a dream. His society is in a position where the very feeling of bein human has been lost. They don't question and they don't feel. One of the most prominent human feelings is physical attraction, which his society is forced to forget. He was in a loveless marriage with Katherine who referred to what we would think of as love making between a husband and wife into a chore and a "duty to big brother". Not only that, but Winston hates that the government can monitor every move and sound he makes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough our society isn't quite as bad as the society Winston lives in, we do have some common traits. Our government and media is constantly streaming lies and confusion to everyone via the Internet and the news. It's hard to tell who's who and what's what nowadays and it's even harder to figure out what people in power actually have the interests of the people in mind. Aside from that, I also believe that we, in a way, are becoming less human. We have more texting and IM's than face-to-face interaction and I think we are becoming more desensitized to the world and to everyone's feelings. Feelings and emotions are the root of being a human being and we are slowly losing touch with that and being more concerned about our corporate jobs, unlimited wants, and dirty politics. I also think that our language is becoming more and more simple as our generation progresses, which is also shown in 1984 with the invention of newspeak.
Lastly, the government has a lot of power over people in a sense that they can, just like the party, monitor our every move. Every text sent, every call made, every Internet search, every email.. It can all be screened by the government if they so chose. This accessibility is limited, so they say, but I've heard that they have the ability to tap into smart phones at any moment and listen to what's going on. I'm not sure of the truth there, but it's still a disturbing thought. I just hope we don't end up having telescreens on every wall.
Shayna Haynes
2nd hr
The amount of control Big brother has over Oceania is what bothers Winston. He is constantly being surveyed by telescreens. Every morning he wakes him up and works out by force of an instructor. He has no thoughts of his own. If he shows the wrong emotion or says the wrong thing he's vaporized, wiped from existences like he was never there. Telescreens, Thoughtpolice, and spies are all watching him. People just like himself are watching him. He lives among thoughtless people,like his wife, who are too afraid to do anything but what their told adn believe everything they are told. He's suppose sit back and be happy about a lesser food portion because Big Brother says it is more than they originally had, a lie. Winston is at work everyday aiding Big Brother in his control over all of Oceania. He works in the record department and changes history to match what is said by BB. Winston helps creates the lies and this bugs him. Everyone is afraid and no one will speak up. Big Brother uses the fear to gain more control; like rewriting the past. What he changes in history won't be questioned because people value their lives. People lie to themselves, they create a fake state of happy and pretend to be okay with how things are. The lack of privacy and lies lead to the control Winston hates so much.
ReplyDeleteI would like to think our government today is mostly truthful with us. But our level of privacy is some what like the Paroles. We don't have cameras in our homes but they are in our public places. We are however aloud to make any facial expressions we want :) and express ourselves and all sorts of ways. Our history stays the same and we are aloud to think of it however we chose. I'm happy with our society today rather than George Orwell's Oceania society in 1984.
I think what’s really eating Winston is the fact that in Oceania he is not entitled to any privacy. He hated the fact that he cant do what he wants in his own home and the fact that hes always being watched and monitored. Winston despises the telescreens because they invade his life. However there is very few places he can go to get privacy and he’s a totally different person in that privacy. When he’s with Julia in private he is care free almost and he can finally have some freedom that he wants. He also doesn’t like the fact that people can just vanish and there’s nothing anyone can do about it to stop it. When Julia and him joined the brotherhood they were overjoyed at the fact they can rise up against big brother. They will do anything to make Oceania free. Another thing that is eating at him is the fact that he cant marry Julia because of his wife Katherine. He wants to be free to love whom ever he chooses.
ReplyDelete~Tristan Urry
1st Hour
I would also agree that his main concern is the lack of privacy he has and that he always thinks that someone is watching him.
DeleteWinston is a troubled old man. It doesn't help that he has a knowledge of the past, and a knowledge of what is actually going on in the world. His job makes him change the past. Which for any intelligent person, who cares about history, would trouble. There is a possibility that he knew of a time where there weren't any telescreens or thought police constantly monitoring every thing you do. Killa Mikes song, Reagan is a great example of how some people in this time of age view the world,
ReplyDelete" Who the fuck is that staring in my window
Doing that surveillance on Mister Michael Render
I'm dropping off the grid before they pump the lead
I leave you with four words: I'm glad Reagan dead"
Everything seems to bother Winston. The coffee, the cigarretes, the food in general, the ugly beetlelike people, the ever present watching over of Big Brother, the lies. He hates his wife because she was like a robot. He hates that he and everyone else has no sure knowledge of the past. Winston thinks what is wrong with Oceania is that nothing is sure in Oceania. There are no freedoms. The only thing I think that compares from Oceania, to our society is the fact of the government lies. The government in our society isn't nearly as bad as in the book but it is definately still there as mentioned in the comments above. I'm wondering how many other people in the city think the same as Winston but just don't say anything, or how many people are in the brotherhood. Who is running the whole joint anyway? What if everyone was in the brotherhood but they didn't know it and they're all just faking each other out.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I agree with Jake; Everything bothers Winston. the point Jake made here about he thinks the reason something is wrong is because he is told there isnt anything wrong.
DeleteI agree with Jake, everything seems to bother Winston. He just doesn't like anything.
DeleteWelcome back, Jake! I'll get with you tomorrow to catch up on some things. Glad to see you're reading:)
DeleteI think that the main problem that Winston has with the society in which he lives is the lack of privacy that he has. He feels as though he is constantly being watched and that the thought police with catch him in everything he does, especially writing in the diary. Also, in his own home he has a telescreen that can see all his actions and the only way to get away from it is by sitting in a little nook to the side of it. From my perspective, I do not recognize the same concerns in our society what-so-ever. I think that as a community and as individual families, we have a lot of privacy in our own homes. The only place where we do not have privacy, I feel, is in stores. In my opinion this makes complete sense in the fact that they do not want people stealing anything.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the stores. I always feel uneasy in stores whether its the cameras, the store people, or the old people. They're always watching you.
DeleteAmong the many things that bother Winston, I think the main theme of his discomfort is the fact that the party and Big Brother have complete control of history. He is bothered that nobody knows the truth about what life was like before the revolution and he is bothered that no one really cares like he does.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that the one thing that REALLY bugs Winston happens to be his job. He rewrites history. Not only is it his job, but he is good at it and seems to derive some satisfaction out of it. Winston's continuous search for someone who can tell him what life was like gives readers an idea of what consumes Winston's thoughts.
I think another big theme that peeves Winston is the ignorance among pretty much everyone. He despises how everyone just does as they are told. I think he really wishes that the proles discovered how much power they have and finally rise up, but they are too ignorant and stupid to realize what they could do. To Winston, it may be kind of a pipe dream.
I liked how you pointed out the irony in Winston's job and the he might even get some satisfaction from it.
DeleteI think what bothers Winston the most about Oceania is the privacy that he doesn't have. Every little move he makes, someone is watching him. He can't even right in his own journal how he actually feels and feel like no one else will see it. Not only that, but he can't even think what he wants to if he doens't care for big brother. For winston his life is a lie. Every person around him is living in a lie just like he is. They can't say how they truely feel. I think that it's messed up. Not even a single bad thought about Big Brother is allowed. People need to be able to have opinions.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Winston is living a lie and he also writes them for the government.
DeleteWinston seems to be bothered most of all by the lack of privacy. Every in Oceania is constantly being watched. The fact that there are telescreens in every home, unable to be turned off, really bothers him. Winston hates the taste of the food and cigarettes and gin. He hates the fact that he clearly remembers that at one point Oceania was at war with Eurasia, but all the records say that Eurasia has always been an ally. He hates that everything in history is falsified, and its impossible to prove that anything that you remember happening had actually happened. I think our law enforcement/goverment is able to track/watch anybody they think is a threat by going through phone and credit card records, and just by tracking people by street cameras, cameras in front of stores...they are pretty much everywhere. I don't think its nearly to the extent that it is to in Winston's dystopian world.
ReplyDeleteWinston seems upset initially with the lack of passion he sees. This is exemplified in the scene where Winston watches the movie and sees the mother guard her son before they are shot.
ReplyDeleteGrant James
I think that the biggest thing that bothers Winston about Oceania is that fact that Big Brother and the Party control history. It really bothers him when he gets those documents saying one thing and he has to change them to something that the party approves of. Also i think it is sort of ironic that the one thing that he hates the most happens to be his job. I do see some similarities between the nook and now examples being how there are video cameras all over the place and how certain people have better rankings in life just like in the book. But our society today is not to the extreme like in the book. We are not monitored around every corner we go or when we sleep and we don't have a government that changes the past to make them sound all powerful. Also we have the right to think what we want about the government we are not being vaporized when we say something bad about the government. That is what i think bothers Winston the most about Oceania and how are society today is the same and different between the society in the book.
ReplyDeleteI think that the altercations of knowledge is what bothers winston the most. He seems to be frustrated and confused in that Big Brother can just change any detail of a quote or statistic and no one will notice or do anything about it because of the power that the government holds. The mindlessness of the society that he lives in leaves him feeling empty. In our society, there are definitely similarities in that we are spoon fed bull; people will believe almost anything they hear. Instead of Big Brother, we live with Mr. Brainwash.
ReplyDeleteJonah Yoshonis
I think that the main thing that bother Winston about Oceania is the lack of truth. THe irony behind that is that it is his job to rewrite history and help create the lies. He wants to believe what his brain tells him but he is afraid of the thought police. He remembers that Oceania hasn't always been at peace with Eastania but he also believes that they have been at peace. This is Big Brother creating a double think. The other thing that bothers Winston is the lack of privacy, he shows this by hiding in his secret corner and sneaking away with Julia. This is shown in our society with Facebook and Twitter sharing our personal information with the world. It can also be seen in the law that allows the government to listen to our phone calls. hopefully we never reach the extreme of Oceania, but I wouldn't be surprised if we did.
ReplyDeleteWhat seems to bother Winston the most in the opening eight chapters is the fact that he is at all times scared for his life. Big brother rules all and it scares Winston. He is always being watched and Winston tries his hardest to not be seen while being seen. Another thing about the super state in which he lives that bothers him is he knows that people believe anything that Big Brother says. For example, when he hears that they are going to have a shortage of chocolate, the next day Big Brother says they have more than ever and everyone believes it. I think Winston thinks that almost everything is wrong with the place he lives to him it seems to be more of a prison. In our society we don’t nearly have the type of problems that Winston has… but now a days you can’t go anywhere without an eye on you.
ReplyDeleteI think that Winston hates the society he lives in so much because he knows it is all lies, and he takes part in erasing the past and making it all support Big Brother. He also deludes himself that it's okay to change the past because he thinks that the past is falsified anyway. He also hates how he's not allowed to go out and search for some tail. He has to fulfill his desires by a toothless 50 year old hooker.
ReplyDeleteOceania is lacking truth. Winston finds fault in this because he is at the heart of all the lies. Government seizes all control over everything even the past. "whoever controls the past controls the future; whoever controls the present controls the past." They rewrite history in their favor and society eats it up, accepting it. The government even controls their thoughts, they watch their every move. Government sits there staring, listening, waiting for someone to slip up. The thing that bugs Winston is people accept it as life and an inevitability. Today, society is pretty darn close. We eat up everything everyone says and we accept it with no contradiction.
ReplyDelete-Madison Khem
4th hour
Although I don't think we'll ever reach the extremes that 1984 portrays, our society is on a slippery slope. We have less and less privacy, one of the things Winston is constantly surrounded by, making one of the things he hates about Oceania. With cameras in the schools and stores, the social networking sites where people post their entire life stories, and being able to find any information you could ever want on the internet, our society leaves nothing to the imagination. Along with this is the lack of pure truth in our society. In 1984, Winston knows that the government lies daily and in everything they say, because he is one of the people making it possible for them to do this. He makes up stories to tell the people of Oceania as facts to make the government seem better. This happens to a smaller degree today. In our government, there is so much corruption that we can never be sure that what we are told is accurate. If lobbyists make deals with voters in congress and people are offered money to advocate certain things, the truth becomes muddy and is only used when it will be beneficial to an authority figure. The only way to stop this is to get good people in office. This doesn't mean a certain party, such as democrat or republican. We need genuinely good people that care about our country running this nation. The problem is, with all the corruption, those people don't make it far at all.
ReplyDeleteI think what is bothering Whinston the most is the fact that the government is basically controlling everything. Big Brother and the government is watching everyone at all times and is monitoring their every move. They even have thought police that try to monitor what you are thinking. It also bothers him that everyone around him is all like believing in the government when it's all just a big lie. I don't really recognize any of the same things happening in our own society. We don't live in a "utopia", which is a good thing I guess based on this book.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that I think bothers Winston the most is that he can never have thoughts to himself or express his thoughts on the Party to others without there being consequences. I also think that Winston feels like everything is wrong with the society he lives in. No one can talk about there opinions of anything without being questioned and no one has any privacy in their lives or freedom to do anything. Most of the time all the Party members do is work and go to the Hate Week, they never get time to relax or go out and do something fun like we get to do in our society. Like Winston's society we to are constantly being watched by surveliance cameras that are now located almost everywhere that we go now-a-days. But unlike Winstons society we get a lot more freedom to speak our minds if we are against certain things that we do not agree with.
ReplyDelete