1984 #8

Winston, like every other citizen, is a victim of severe isolation. The Party's main goal is to repress communication and free thinking. The difference between Winston and the other party members is that he has vague memories of what the world used to be like before the Party took over; his knowledge that the Party has not always been present leads him to have contradicting thoughts which make him feel even more detached from the rest of society. His need for communication sparks an interest in him to pursue the Brotherhood as a desperate call for communication. Upon reading Goldstein's book, Winston is able to make direct connections with another individual: "It had merely systematized the knowledge that he possessed already. But after reading it he knew better than before that he was not mad" (217). It gives Winston a sense of relief to know that he is not the only person who has these contradicting thoughts. He is completely enlightened with the book and wants to keep reading. Julia on the other hand, falls asleep as he reads. Their generational differences are evident as Julia is not as intrigued as Winston because she has not experienced the same things that he has.

1984 #6

The characters of 1984 correlate with the characters of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, which is about a futuristic society where books have been banned. Winston is very much like Montag because both have jobs that they are opposed to; however, they have to deal with them due to social pressures. Julia represents to Winston what Clarisse represents to Montag. Both female characters provide as escape for the protagonists. Clarisse gives Montag the courage to move away from the lifestyle that he is being forced to live with by challenging his thoughts and opening his eyes to new ideas. Winston undergoes the same process with Julia as he says, "'Would you believe [...] that till this moment I didn't know what color your eyes were?'" (119). Noticing the small details about Julia shows that he is becoming more observant and taking into account that her eyes have a unique color. Likewise, Clarisse makes Montag become more observant as she points out the minor details in nature and poses questions which make him think. The idea of thinking is important because in both novels the people are taught to listen and follow without questioning or making any assumptions of their own. Katherine, Winston's wife, and Mildred, Montag's wife, have been conformed to such a degree that they no longer think. All of Katherine's actions are based on her "duty to the Party" (132). Katherine is completely uninterested with the details surrounding her because she has not been taught to observe: "Look, Katherine! Look at those flowers. That clump down near the bottom. Do you see they're two different colors?" (134).  Mildred is completely obsessed with technology, which is what society endorses. She has ultimately become a robot. When Montag shows her his books, she reports him to the firemen because that is what she has been taught to do.

HOD Blog #4 (Reading #5)

An overarching theme throughout Heart of Darkness is the importance of civilization's influence on the individual's actions and morals. One's surroundings, experiences and knowledge are vital components to how the world is perceived by them. In the nineteenth century, Europeans were presumably the most culturally developed. They saw themselves as the light of the world and made it their duty to civilize underdeveloped people which in this case were the Africans. In correspondence to Myth of the Cave, Heart of Darkness portrays the process of enlightenment where the Africans are in a cave and the Europeans want to bring them out by exposing them to their culture. Ironically, the Europeans themselves are in a cave that they are unaware of. Marlow, the protagonist, presents this dismissed truth through his experience with Mr. Kurtz, who he idealizes as a greater being: "The point was in his being a gifted creature" (Conrad 124). A trending misconception throughout the development of civilization was that the Europeans were morally correct and at the highest standard they could possibly be in. This is the misconception that Marlow has of Kurtz where he depicts him as a virtuous and influential figure. Throughout his journey to the center of Africa, Marlow longs to meet Mr. Kurtz who has mysteriously and suddenly taken over his interests. Marlow, who is in a cave of his own, is curious about the things he does not know about and is looking for something beyond the ordinary. Just as the Europeans brought the enlightenment to the Africans, Marlow believes that Mr. Kurtz can bring enlightenment to him., but instead his experience becomes a "nightmare of his choice [...] peculiar blackness of that experience" (Conrad 147). Kurtz is in a cave of his own due to his excessive greed and regression from civilization. The Europeans's actions in regards to imperialism correlate with the image the reader has of Kurtz where he is seen as and acts as a moral person but has faults of his own.

Sound & Sense Blog #1: Suicide's Note

Although it is a brief poem , "Suicide's Note" embodies a contrasting theme. The diction and tone of the poem makes suicide seem like a beautiful and poetic action, when in reality it is a tragedy. The title humanizes suicide as it suggests that the note was written to the speaker by suicide itself. Likewise, the use of personification in the description of the river intensifies and romanticizes the situation in a disturbing manner: "The calm, / Cool face of the river" (1-2). The speaker is conflicted with a choice between two people: life and death. Between the two choices, the river seems to be the most compelling as the speaker says, "Asked me for a kiss" (3). Someone who is contemplating suicide has ultimately lost all hope in life, and finds that there is no other outlet except death. The river seems to be a place of peace and serenity which appeals to the victim.