1984 blog #3 - suppressing feelings

Ross Schonberg

Ms. Gubanich

English

September 30, 2015

The Suppression of Feelings

            In the book 1984 there are a lot of themes and ideas involved in the dystopian society. For 1984 the government has banned anyone from expressing feeling or emotion, and they must work for “the betterment of the party” in a way that is almost like they are mindless robots. The people are also not allowed to have sex, unless it is for the sole purpose of making new party members (procreation). Winston Smith, the main character in the book, is unsure about be apart of the party and sometimes really wants to express himself, and he also would really like for a revolution to happen against the party. At one point Winston speaks about sex and says “Not merely the love of one person, but the simple undifferentiated desire: that was the force that would tear the party to pieces.” What I think that line is supposed to mean is that if more people were to have sex than they too would feel a pleasurable experience. So in a way, he is saying that sex is going to tear the party apart and they will realize that they have been suppressing these inner emotions.It's his basic instinct to want to feel pleasure and have experiences.  A couple of other feelings could be harmful to the government, one of which is love. In Oceania, the people are not allowed to love one another, people can get married, but like before it is only for procreation. So like in Winston’s case, since he is in love with a girl, named Julia, who feels for him as well, if the government were to make her vanish, then Winston would become really angry and feel hatred towards the government. What the government does well though is “mind-control”, so whenever someone does feel hate, they will be told to use that hatred and fight against the enemies of the state, they also use propaganda for that as well, by making a common enemy for the people to rally against.  So in conclusion, what the party should really fear is not the common enemy, but the common emotions that people will eventually have and how they will maybe try and revolt against the government so that they can show their feelings and not be arrested for it.

1984 poem

Ross Schonberg
Ms. Gubanich
English
September 23, 2015

1984 poem

The poem I chose was Fire and Ice by Robert Frost

Original version: 

Some say the world will end in fire;

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To know that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

Newspeak version:

Persons speak the world will end in doubleplusun-cold;

Persons speak in cold rock

From what I have feeled of wanting

I hold with those who want more doubleplusun-cold.

But if it had to fall second time,

I think I know un-bad amount of un-love

To know that for double-break cold rock

Is also un-bad

And would do.

Three Slogans of Oceania

Ross Schonberg

Ms. Gubanich

Western Literature 

September 17, 2015

Three Slogans

           Hello outsiders to the great Oceania. In our society Big Brother is always watching us. Here we have no laws and we have three slogans to live by, which are "War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength". These three slogans are the most important and definitely the truest ideas for those of us in Oceania.  

           The first slogan is "War is peace" and since this is the first slogan, it is clearly the most important. If we are at war against another country, this creates a feeling of patriotism and loyalty to the party. When we are all united against a common enemy, there is peace among the people in Oceania because we all feel very passionate about hating the same foreign country. I feel that we believe in the idea that "War is peace" is because it implies that out of war and conflict comes peace if we are successful. We read in our history books about the many battles and it is said that when Big Brother came to help and to create order, he was there for the people when we were in peril. As Big Brother once said, “out of chaos comes order” and we listened to many of his important quotes. Now thanks to the party we don’t have to worry about this anymore because we have the Ministry of War to take care of our peace and war issues.

            The second great slogan is “freedom is slavery”. The reason that this makes sense to the people of Oceania is that if we are allowed to be “ free” thinkers and we start to do whatever we want with our lives, a person will find that they are not free because you start to crave material things. You might want things like money, electronics, homes, fancy cars, etc. Therefore, you have to keep working just to buy these unnecessary items. Also, even though there are no true laws, we do have a sense of what our place is in society (thanks to the government) and if people start to deviate from their daily lives then they might make bad choices and have to be sent away to a work camp. We all need to have someone to guide us, and we thank Big Brother for all he has done. Fortunately for us we have the Thought Police to keep everyone in check, plus our Tele-screens are always monitoring us, so that we behave properly.

          The third slogan that the people of Oceania truly believe in is that Ignorance is Strength.  This helps keep order in our country because if no one ever knows to question the authority of the party or Big Brother there will be order and that keeps the country strong. Also, if the group all thinks the same way, there is strength in numbers.

            In conclusion, as a citizen of Oceania I continue to live by these slogans and I know that they help make this country stronger. As an outsider I hope that I have given you a good description of Oceania and to follow the party and obey Big Brother.

Fictional story - Orange Day

      It was an Orange day, I had my visor and information glasses on. Everyone was wearing the shiny clothes, with their glasses. I can hardly look at someone without going blind for a few minutes. I had just taken my morning pill with eggs and hamburger. Later I went over to Fred's department, which was such a pain, because the air traffic was really bad that day. When I got to Fred's house we both sat down in front of the screen-o-vision, turned up the volume, turned on our information glasses, and closed our eyes. 

    Later in the day around 2 I was buying some apples from the market, when my P.B.D. (Public Broadcasting Device) went off. Some lucky person just won $15, they don't have to worry about paying for anything for the next two years. I hope that one day I could win the $15, but I don't think I would be willing to take that chance. As I was walking back to my department some cop-bots flew by me, making me knock down my apples. I just ignored them instead of trying to nail one of them with one of the apples.

My "Darkest" Fear

Ross Schonberg

English

Ms. Gubanich

September 12, 2015

My Worst Fear

          Everyone has a fear. Whether it be clowns, rats, or even something as serious as drowning. My own worst fear is being  alone in a dark (basically pitch black) room. This fear would mainly occur at night. I have had this fear since I was about 10 years old, over the years I have definitely had a much better control over this fear, but back when I was 10-12 if I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I wouldn't even think of getting out of my bed. Also, although I am someone who enjoys watching movies I am really not one for horror movies. those can sometimes frighten me easily, so if I ever see scary movies that involve darkness that doesn't really tend to help me.When ever I am in the darkness I will try and concentrate on something other than the fact that I am in the the dark. I will normally think of something funny, like a movie, or something that happened with my friends and I, and that usually works. The biggest reason why I have a fear of the dark is the also the fear of the unknown. It has always been the fear of the unknown that gets a little frightening, because of course when in darkness you can hardly see anything, so you are not fully aware of your surroundings. An example for me is when I am driving at night. Now I am not saying that I am afraid of driving at night, I have done that many times and it does not frighten me, but there is a difference to me when I am driving during the day v.s. at night. During the day it is easier because you can see everything and are more aware of your surroundings. At night it is a little tougher to see, having only your car headlights to help guide you and they only
shine in the front, not the sides or behind you, plus you have cars going the opposite way, with their headlights shinning in your eyes. So being alone in the darkness would have to be my biggest fear, and even though I do handle it better, being in the dark still gives me the creeps.