Tag Archives: Week 1

Book Review

1984 Read-Along – Part 1 Discussion

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1984

1984
By George Orwell
Written in 1948

Schedule (optional)

It’s in three parts, and I SWORE I would not make a schedule but some readers like to have a little structure so here is a brief, brief plan.

  • Read Part 1 by 12/13
  • Read Part 2 by 12/20
  • Read Part 3, finish by 12/31

Okay, so we should all be done with Part One today. I’ve spent a lot of time highlighting.

Here are some questions for week 1:

*Why does Winston keep a diary? Given the presence of the Thought Police, the constant surveillance, and the like, is it not dangerous?

It makes absolutely no sense that Winston does this. If it were me, maybe I’d do it for historical purposes to keep track of what was happening but only if I felt sure that I’d come out okay on the other side. Winston doesn’t have that confidence and yet he does it. There is a line in there about why he does it, but for O’Brien?  

*What do you think of when you are first introduced to the ministries?

Ministry of Truth (news and entertainment, education)
Ministry of Peace (war)
Ministry of Love (law and order)
Ministry of Plenty (economic affairs)

The Ministries terrified me to be honest. There are a lot of similarities to what is happening right now with certain cabinet picks. The idea that a ministry could be called PLENTY when in fact it’s there to ensure that you are poor. Ministry of Peace? Nope, all about war and making sure it never ends. Ministry of Love? No love, just punishment and torture. 

*What about this motto? How does it compare to what we are experiencing today?

War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.

The last one, Ignorance is Strength practically slapped me across the face. Keep people stupid so they don’t know what is actually happening around them, or to them. 

*In 1984, the language spoken is Newspeak. It’s a language that is designed to limit the range of human thought. Also called Double Think. It’s a paring down of meaning, for example Uncold instead of warm. It also uses excessive abbreviations. Can you detect hints of this in today’s world? Provide an example.

Acronyms in texting come to mind. The LOLs, the TTFNs, and the LMAOs. Our vocabulary, especially amongst the younger generations is waning. They lapse into cuss words to explain what they want to say for lack of a better word. This makes me think of the “dumbing down” of society. 

*The purpose of the Two Minutes Hate in George Orwell’s 1984 is to channel the citizens’ frustrations and emotions towards a common enemy, ultimately ensuring loyalty to the Party and preventing any rebellious thoughts or actions. In relation to our media sources today, is this something that is actually happening now?

Two Minutes of Hate. Would that be enough for us in today’s world? Two minutes to bash, and curse, and hate a particular person. In the book, that person is Goldstein. The idea is that if everyone directs their hate to this one person, then others will not be the target of their hatred. 

Does this happen today? In a sense, the media controls what we see and what we feel. It picks and chooses and depending on the channel, your hate will be directed to individuals or parties that are not the same. I think most people can pull themselves away when it becomes too toxic, but what happens to the ones who can’t? 

*Who is Big Brother?

Big Brother, the eye in the sky. In the book, Big Brother is always watching and listening and all for nefarious purposes. This is how the citizens are controlled. In our society today, we have a form of Big Brother. If you own a phone or an Alexa or Echo, someone is always listening. If you like a post on Instagram, someone is keeping track of that like and pushing content to you based on your clicks. Will they storm through the door and imprison us? No, but they could depending on what we choose to look at or post. Right? 

Read Part 2 by 12/20. I will post questions on that date. 

Book Review, Bookish Talk

Read Along: Of Human Bondage – Week 1

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Of Human Bondage Read Along

It’s Friday and the end of Week 1! So far, I am really loving Of Human Bondage. I thought it would be very heavy, but that is not the case at all. It’s giving me Holden Caulfield vibes but not as bratty. That’s a reference to Catcher in the Rye if you haven’t read it. 

By now, you should have read the following but of course you can read it at your own pace. For my own good, I set a schedule. 

Chapters I-IV / 1-4 (18 pp.)
Chapters V-IX / 5-9  (21 pp.)
Chapters X-XIV /10-14 (20 pp.)
Discuss the above by 10/4 here on the blog. (59 pages total)

Click here for the full schedule.

Week 1 – What’s Happened?

Poor Philip. Only 9 years old and already an orphan. I don’t know what I expected when I picked this book up but I didn’t expect to so easily fall into the story.

Philip is young and forced to live with an Uncle and Aunt he hardly knows. And he must do this without his childhood nurse. Seems extraordinarily cruel. So much change for a young boy.

But Blackstable is pleasant even if his Aunt seems quite unsure of how to care for the boy. There is the issue of money. Not much was left for the care of the boy so careful consideration of what’s necessary becomes a concern.

We learn that Philip’s mother knew of her poor health, enough so to have portraits taken so the boy could remember her. Touching.

Philip’s Uncle is the town’s Vicar so the business of church, Sunday and the like is fairly new to Philip. His rebellious nature gets him into trouble and leads to him saying a very hateful thing to his Aunt, who is really only trying to do right by the boy.

This lands him in prep school where he meets a horrible bully named Singer. Philip prays for change and is disappointed with the outcome.

As you can see, so much has happened. This first chunk was very easy to read and has definitely piqued my interest. 

  1. How do you feel about the Aunt and Uncle? Are they doing right by Philip or are they not invested in his upbringing?
  2. Philip suffers a deformity, how does that deformity shape who he is?
  3. The topic of Identity is strong in this chunk of reading. Who does Philip have to help shape his identity?

I have mixed feelings about Philip’s Aunt and Uncle. They seem to want to do right, but feel obligated to do so. There seems to be an attempt on his Aunt’s part to get to know the boy, but it seems a little forced. 

Philip’s club foot. Poor boy. We don’t spend much time with him before he moves in with his Uncle so it’s hard to say how he felt about his deformity prior to his move but with him being thrust into school with classmates all around him, it’s definitely something he battles with. 

I couldn’t help but feel for Philip. He really doesn’t have anyone to look up to. Without his childhood nurse, he finds himself fighting for his independence. The house maid, Mary Ann seems like a promising character. One who will maybe rally in his corner. 

Your turn to weigh in. What do you think so far?