Theme of 1984: Loyalty and Betrayal

One of the themes in the novel Nineteen Eighty Four is Loyalty and Betrayal. In order to remain all-powerful, the Party destroys loyalty between people: co-workers, friends, even family members. Children are encouraged to betray their parents to the state if they suspect them of Thought-crimes, as seen by the suspicious and ill-mannered brats of children who betrayed their own father, Mr. Parsons, and turned him in.

The Party has outlawed sex for pleasure and reduced marriage to an arrangement between a man and woman that exists only for reproduction purposes. Sexual urges must be repressed for fear they will lead to love, human connection, and personal loyalty, all of which threaten the Party. Winston believes that love like the love he and Julia share will eventually destroy the Party, but he underestimates the Party’s ability to destroy that love and loyalty. Winston and Julia both give in to torture and betray each other. When they are released, their love and loyalty to each other has been destroyed.

Because the Party can easily detect Thought-crimes, people always act as if they are completely loyal to the Party. No one trusts anyone else completely. Winston makes fatal mistakes when he trusts O’Brien and Charrington, both of whom betray him. His misjudgment is almost understandable, given the subtle cues both give him to indicate that they are fellow rebels. But as it turns out, they are deliberately setting a trap for him and Julia. In the end, no one can be trusted.

Are There Heroes In The Face of FEAR?

In the novel 1984, Winston was forced to face his biggest fear, rats. O'Brien sent him into Room 101 and also put a cage full of rats in there with him. O'Brien then threatened to release the rats and let them eat his face. Winston could not withstand the thought of this because it was his biggest fear and soon gave in to what The Party wanted him to do, blame everything on Julia, and admit his love for Big Brother. When someone is dealing with their fears, it is almost impossible for them to be brave.

Just as Winston I have a fear of not having freedom. My biggest fear is of not being able to express myself. This is the thing I am most afraid of in life. If someone were to strip me of my freedom one day and not allow me to express myself, I honestly think I would have a severe panic attack, and believe me, I have. If I was in Winston’s situation except with I think I would do the same thing he did. I don’t think I am capable yet of not being able to express myself, let alone, be eating by rats. Most human beings would betray anyone if they were faced with their worst fear.

This blog helped me better understand what Winston’s state of mind was while he was in Room 101. It helped me realize that it was not that he wanted to betray Julia, but that he was forced to by his worst fear. A poor reader of this book would most likely think Winston should not have betrayed Julia, but it is almost impossible to think about the welfare of others when you’re in the face of fear.

What Would I Do To Rebel Against Big Brother?

If I were to rebel against Big Brother, I would most likely covertly think out a solution to overthrow the inner party’s rule. I would probably gather as many followers as possible and try to arrange secret meeting with them. However, arranging a secret meeting may be near impossible due to the setting of Nineteen Eighty Four, so I would probably have to come up with some secret language or way of writing with which my fellow rebels and I could communicate. I would also try to infiltrate my enemy (The Inner Party) by getting a person on the inside. Once I get a person of mine on the inside, they would act like a spy and slowly bring me the enemy’s plans and information. I would have multiple spies in the Inner party which would allow the rebels greater power against them.

After obtaining knowledge on our enemy, it would then be time to launch a full scale intricately organized plot to thwart Big Brother once and for all. I would somehow organize thousands of people to turn off and/or block their telescreens at the same time. We would also charge into charge into the ministries, with some well needed violence, and disband guards, taking their weapons for ourselves. Along with the massive crowd of rebels charging the ministries, I would organize four person teams of specialized members who would covertly and stealthily destroy the enemy’s headquarters and eliminate important figures of the enemy.

I do not know if this plan would work, but I know that if I had the power to do so and I lived in the type of environment that the characters in Nineteen Eighty Four live in, that I would at least try, because with enough people behind you, anything is possible.

Is Equality Possible Among Humans?

In my opinion, equality among a vast amount of humans is impossible because of our human nature. If we were all equal, there would be no room for individuality. Human nature dictates that we always strive to be better than someone else, whether it's in the caveman days of being the best hunter or the best mate, or it's in today's times of having the best job, best salary, or the best house. People will always strive to be better than those around them. That is in our nature and just like the swiftest lion gets the food first, the best male mate gets the girl first. It's in our genes to survive and continue.

Unfortunately there will never be equality in a society where people have individual freedoms and choices. And even if we took those freedoms and choices away, people are still not equal. There still have to be levels of jobs and levels of production. Even in a pure socialist society, where everyone has the same income, the same amount of food, the same houses, there is still a leader and a government and one guy may be taking out trash while another is assigned to cooking and another is assigned to play guitar for the "king". There will never be complete equality - as humans we always strive for more and always want what the other's have. Even when we have "enough" and have what we need - we still want more.

That alone keeps us from allowing everyone to be the same. 

Life in 2084

This is not an accurate description of what life will hold for us in the year two thousand eighty-four. I am not a biology or technology major. In fact, I hold no major, but I must answer this question that was given to me. I am sure that there will be several hundred technological advances in the year two thousand eighty-four. There will be holographs, electric jet-airliners, and railroads that cross large bodies of water. Thinking positively, people will most likely have longer life spans and there will be vaccines for several of the extremely common and deadly diseases and viruses that people fall victim to every year. Technological and medical advances aside, what exactly do our personal lives in the future hold for us?

In my opinion, I feel that it is humanely impossible for the world to come even remotely close to what it was like in Nineteen Eighty-Four. I simply cannot consider one human putting another through that kind of pain, suffering, and/or depression. I believe that by the year of two thousand eighty-four, people will resolve many of the social issues that are currently plaguing the human race, such as the petty, ever repeating, quarrels that go on between many nations today. This theory came to my mind after I thought about the holocaust and how someone can be so cruel as to try to wipe out entire races of people. After pondering this, I realized that, as humans, we tend to learn from our mistakes and that we rarely see anyone today repeating Adolf Hitler’s actions. 

I think that in the year two thousand eighty-four, we will have learned from our mistakes and thus, will have reached a higher, clearer and more united way of thinking and living.

For those of you who have never read or seen Nineteen Eighty-Four, here is a short video summary of it by sparknotes.

Who is ThePunjabiKid1984 and what are his motives?

Hey everyone! My name's Sunjay and I have made this blog as an assignment for my English 2 class. As stated in the title of this blog, I am a fifteen year-old Punjabi-Indian from Illinois. My motives, however, are to express my feelings, thoughts, and ideals that are current with today's society.  As part of my assignment, I must publish ten total blogs. Four of these ten blogs may be about whatever I choose, one will be an introduction to my blog, and five will be assigned to me by my AMAZING teacher, Mrs. Davis. The five blog-posts that I will be assigned will be related to the book that we are currently reading in my class. This novel was set in 1984 and is about a dystopian London, now called Oceania where the people are always aware of Big Brother who supposedly represents their government and must be careful not to commit "thought-crime" or negative thoughts about the government. Winston, the protagonist, hates Big Brother and wants to overthrow the government but is tricked into trusting a member of the "Inner Party" or someone a part of the government. He is then brainwashed and tortured into "loving" or conforming to Big Brother again. This scary, though somewhat realistic, literary depiction of what the future may hold for the human race was started in nineteen forty-four, finished in nineteen forty-eight, and published around the world in 1949.  

Here are the questions that I will be required to answer (I will post the questions as I receive them daily from the teacher):

·         What will life be like in 2084?

·         Is it possible for everyone to be equal?

·         If I were to rebel against big brother, I would use/need...

·         In the face of fear, there are no heroes. True/False? Explain.

I really do hope that those of you that have scoured the Internet Linked Globe in search of my blog enjoy reading it. Thank you!

The "Hamburger"

Today I found out why a hamburger is called hamburger. In the early 18th century some Germans noticed during their travels to Asia, that the locals would stuff their beef between their saddles while they would ride, to help soften it for later consumption. The Germans loved the idea of soft seasoned meat, and so they brought the idea back home with them to Hamburg. As time went on, it soon became known as Hamburg Meat.

A few years later, as German immigrants made their way to the U.S., they shared the recipe for Hamburg Meat. The first record of Hamburg meat in the United States was in 1884, when the Boston Evening Journal mentioned “Hamburg Steak.” It wasn’t long before people began to put their own spin on things. The first known “Hamburger” was made by Charlie Nagreen. He introduced his “American Hamburger” at the Outgamie County Fair in Seymour, Wisconsin in 1885. His “hamburger” though wasn’t on a bun and was of course without cheese or bacon. Oh, if he only knew what he was missing. I guess like most great things in history, it just took time to develop. The first known Hamburger on buns as we know it today, took place in St. Louis in the 1904 World Fair.

Communism -vs- Democracy

Communism and democracy are two different ideologies that have rendered great impact in the world. Communism can be termed as a socio-economic structure that stands for the establishment of a classless and stateless society. Democracy is a political system of governance either carried out by the people directly or by elected representatives.

Communism is a political ideology that is based on a common ownership, mainly concerned with equality and fairness. In communism, the power is vested in a group of people who decide the course of action. It is this group of people who decide on the activities of the public. These groups of people may interfere in the public life of others. On the other hand, democracy, which also stands for equality in the society, is governed by a group of elected people. Democracy is a rule by the people and the elected representatives are bound to fulfill the wishes of the society.

A big difference seen between democracy and communism is in the term of economic systems. In communism, the government has complete control over the production and distribution of goods and all the resources and it is shared in the society equally. But in democracy, this aspect is not there.

In communism, it is the community or the society that holds the major resources and production. This helps in preventing any single person or a group of people from raising to a higher position than others or becoming rich. But in democracy, free enterprising is allowed, which means that people or groups can have their own businesses. This can lead to rich and poor in society.

Coming to democracy, there are no specific principles that define it. But democracy is based on the principle of equality and freedom. It is also based on the principle that all citizens have equal rights. Another principle that defines democracy is that the citizens have certain liberties and freedoms, which are protected by the constitution.

3rd Grade Spelling Bee Dilemma

People usually tend to view speaking in front of a crowd of people is a frightening situation because of many reasons. First, people do not practice speaking in public. They have not used to speak reasonably and choose proper words in daily conversations with their friends and families. So they fear to fail their first experience in front of a large audience. Second, People feel scared, uncomfortable, and alone when standing on a stage with everyone's eyes focused on them and judging them. These feelings make them nervous and unable to perform effectively. Finally, some people simply do not know how to write and prepare for a reasonable speech. Thus, they lose confidence and the flow of their speech.

The first time I spoke in front of a large group of people, I was unconscious. It was the 3^rd grade spelling bee. During the bee, I avoided looking at the librarian, who was giving out words. When it was reciting time, I remained speechless for a few seconds. My mouth was dry. Finally, as I could recite, my voice came out awkward and choked, but I continued carelessly. While engaging in my spelling, the librarian pressed the buzzer. The very sound of the buzzer gave me goose bumps. I had not even mentioned all the letters. Going to my seat, I became on the verge of tears. For the rest of the bee, I kept getting angrier with myself. “Why did not I manage my time up there on the stage effectively?” I thought to myself. "You did your best, it was a good effort.", the librarian said. When I heard that, I felt comfortable and more enthusiastic to perform better  and go on to win later in fourth grade.

Bullying

What is bullying? Bullying is everywhere. It’s that horrible thing that destroys people’s happiness and life. Bullying is the big guy picking on the little guys at lunch, the popular girls spreading rumors about the nerdy one, or even the mentally challenged kid being made fun of everywhere he goes. Bullying is the intelligent college student who committed suicide after being humiliated via the internet by his best friend. I’m sure just about everyone has either been a bystander to the horrors of bullying, heard about someone (most likely a student,) who decided to end their life just to get away from a bully, or have possibly even been bullied themselves. You may be wondering what kind of a person would do this, possible reasons for it, and even how they would go about bullying someone. Also going through your mind may be thoughts about the dangers to a society a bully can cause. 

 Bullying plays a very dangerous role in society. In the case of thousands of children every day, the stress of bullying is too much to even handle going to school. For others, the same stress (although probably at a much larger scale) causes them to do the unthinkable – end their misery themselves – by committing suicide. In this year alone three people have killed themselves as a result of severe bullying. Seventy five percent of all people have been bullied at some time or another. That means that three out of every four people have been trashed by a very mean person who has probably done the same thing to several other people. When you bully someone, you risk their happiness, and in some cases their life.

Now I will tell you about how you and any other person could help to stop an instance of bullying anywhere. It may sound very simple, but as you may already know it takes a very brave person to perform this act. It would be completely normal if any person had nightmares about doing it: turning a bully in. Many people never tell anyone about another person’s bullying or even their own just because they are worried about the fact that they would most likely become the bullies’ next target, or worse, being given a label such as “snitch”, or in younger grades “tattle-tale”. By stepping past your own fears and realizing how big of a difference you could make in someone's life, you will not only free the world of another bully, but you will also find a deep sense of amazement in yourself.

So that’s it. Now you know what bullying is. In summary, almost all bullies have at least one thing, (if not several,) that is giving them a reason to want to make themselves feel better by shoving someone to the ground (literally and figuratively). They will use three main forms of bullying to achieve this moment of happiness: Physical bullying, verbal bullying, and cyber-bullying. In the end, bullying is very dangerous to people of all ages, and isn’t acceptable ever. This is why you should never bully someone, allow yourself to be bullied, or just stand by and watch a peer be bullied for any reason.