Blackberry Eating by Galway Kinnell

                Kinnell paints a raw, harsh picture of blackberry eating through the use of his diction and imagery. He first establishes that he goes out to eat these blackberries in late September which establishes that it is that time of year when the air becomes brisker. Also, he eats these blackberries for breakfast which means he is picking in the cold of the morning. He characterizes the blackberries as “fat, overripe, icy, black” (2). This shows us a clear picture of the blackberries, they are overripe, yet they are still firm and icy. I imagine the blackberries having dew on the sides. His diction is imperative here because he paints a clear picture of these fat overripe blackberries. He uses harsh, hard words such as icy and black which shows the tartness of the blackberries. He is definitely not eating a sweet fruit. He goes on to personify the blackberries.

                He describes them as having prickly stalks “for knowing the black art” (5). He personifies the blackberries as evil. Through this personification, Kinnell shows that the blackberries are tart and harsh, but the speaker still eats them. To continue this argument he describes the how the berries “fall almost unbidden to [the] tongue” (8). The word choice here is significant here because the word unbidden means the blackberries are coming in the speaker’s mouth uninvited. These are powerful objects with a life of their own. These blackberries or “one-syllabled lumps” (11) are nothing like the sweet taste of an apple. Kinnell uses diction imperative to the poem in line 13 when he describes the speaker as “squeeze[ing], squinch[ing] open, and splurge[ing] well”. The alliteration here makes the poem rhythmic which shows that the blackberries are a beautiful fruit, but they are not 100% sweet. Also, the words utilized here have a hard clamor to them, meaning that these words are not light and airy. This exemplifies the harshing of the blackberries. 

Poem Explication "To a Daughter Leaving Home" by Linda Pastan

              “To a Daughter Leaving Home” is a poem that relates a girl slowly biking away from her mother, to a grown woman who is leaving home for good. The poem is written in run on lines to create a rhythm. When the daughter first learns how to ride a bicycle she “wobbled away […] on two round wheels”. Also the mother is “loping along beside [her]. The words wobbled and loping symbolize childhood and fun. Yet, now the scenario is still the same because the daughter is leaving home and the mother wants to walk beside her, but not there is no more wobbling and loping. The mother is surprised by the daughter’s will and skill: “my own mouth rounding in surprise when you pulled ahead down the curved path of the park”. This shows that the mother does not know how great the capabilities of her daughter are. Also I believe this shows the difference between childhood and now. The daughter is only going down the curved path which goes easily back to home, but now she is not going on the curved path again.

                As the poem goes on, the language becomes less childlike. As the mother sees the girl in the distance she is “screaming with laughter”. The daughter is no longer wobbling and she is living life. Yet she still has “hair flapping” which shows that some part of childhood will always be with her. She is excited to move on, grow up, and experience the world. The run on lines not only create a rhythm but they also demonstrate the childhood feel of the poem. Everything new that happens is a surprise that occurs on the next line. The last line compares the girl’s hair to a “handkerchief waving goodbye”. The use of the word handkerchief shows that this departure is bitter sweet. She is waving goodbye, but it is like a handkerchief which is associated with crying. 

Poem explication "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks

We real cool. We

Left school. We

Lurk late. We

Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We                          5

Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We

Die Soon.

                In this poem the speaker ironically shows that being cool comes with many dangerous deeds. He emphasizes this idea through the use of repetition and rhyme. Each line ends with We. This shows that the mob and gang cultures arises in a group. It is not just one person. Many people may do it because they are followers of others as well. The rhyme in this poem is sing song like and light, this rhyme contrasts with the actions that are actually taking place in this poem. Although it sounds sing song like, “sing sin” and “thin gin” are not actions that are light and airy. In this poem there is end rhyme and alliteration. This artistic nature of the poem contrasts with the nature of these deeds. It is ironic to think of gangsters as singing sin. This poem is a good piece of art because it shows truth about life in a way that the reader will remember. The poem is beautiful to read, and it says truth so it is likely readers will learn a message from it.

                She starts of the poem by comparing cool and school in the same stanza. Right of the bat he shows that leaving school is cool in these people’s eyes. But throughout the poem the speaker questions this idea. Is leaving school actually cool. Leaving school is associating with “lurk late”, “strike straight”, “sing sin” and “thin gin. These are not “cool” actions. Those that leave school get involved in the crime life. They may be “cool” in their minds, but these people are not advancing at all in life. The last line is the most powerful line of the poem. It says that these actions of leaving school and hanging out with you friends will lead to death soon. This line is scary for anyone reading it. Many would think that leaving school and playing hooky is not big deal, but it actually is.

"And of Clay Are We Created" by Isabel Allende

                This short story describes a man, Rolf Carle, who desperately tries to help a girl Azucena who is stuck in clay after a volcano eruption. The themes I predict is this story are repressed memories, feminism, and corruption of society. Rolf tries to help this Azucena for 3 days straight while his significant other stays home and watches him on the television. She watches him from the sidelines. Rolf even says that he comes to love this girl more than his life partner, the narrator: “Rolf assured her that he loved her [Azucena] more than he could ever love anyone, more than he loved his mother, more than his sister, more than all the women who had slept in his arms, more than he loved me” (Allende 366). Although Rolf does not seem to be close to the narrator even though she loves him more than anything, Azucena helps his deal with his repressed pain.

                Rolf lives through the lens of his camera, but when he meets Azucena, he associates closely with her because he feels trapped in his life and memories like she is trapped in the clay. He remembers the time his father beats him and his sister. Allende also writes of an abusive husband in the other short story. This could mean something about Allende’s life. Also, Rolf’s sister was retarded which brought out even more hatred from his father. When Rolf is with her he remembers all his painful memories and he hurts more than Azucena does. Although Rolf looks courageous on the outside he suffers immensely which I believe shows that he is actually not superior to his wife who waits for him.

                In addition, this story shows the corruption of government. Rolf believe all he needs is a pump to help save Azucena’s life, but he cannot get a pump. At first it may seem because the whole town is devastated from the tornado. Yet, the town and government is not focused on saving Azucena, they are focused on creating a story out of her. She is constantly on television and camera crews come with new technology to record her: “More television and movie teams arrived with spools of cable, tapes, film, videos, precision lenses, recorders, sound consoles, lights, reflecting screen, auxiliary motors, cartons of supplies, electricians, sound technicians, and cameraman” (Allende 361). All this new technology comes to witness Azucena, yet the pump does not come. The town clearly has enough money for the pump though if they are investing in all these camera supplies. Also, the president comes to praise Azucena, but he does not deliever a pump either. This shows that the town and government are focused on the giving a media a good story rather than saving a life. This of course is extremely hyperbolic, but that is how Allende gets her point across.  

"The Gold of Tomas Vargas" by Isabel Allende

                This short story describes a selfish, abusive, cheap man Tomas Vargas who has a wife and kids. Another girl comes along saying that her baby is his. At the end of the story Tomas dies with all his gold in a swamp, and his two women live happily together. The possible themes I predict are justice and karma, money, and feminism.

                Tomas’s wife Antonia Sierra still holds her head up high even though she has grown ugly throughout the marriage widely due to abuse. When Concha Diaz comes to town Antonia no longer is able to hold her head up high, and she blames everything on Concha. Yet, with some time she starts to be a proud mother to Concha. She suffers abuse from her husband until Concha’s baby is born. This time she shows her strength even though she is a woman: “Her husband made a move to whip off his belt to give her the usual thrashing, but before he could complete the gesture, she started toward him with such ferocity that he stepped back in surprise. With that hesitation, he was lost, because she knew then who was the stronger” (Allende 79). Antonia exhibits her strength and wins. She has the power the stop her husband’s abuse and superiority.

                Tomas is a rich man because he keeps all his gold buried, and he is the cheapest man alive. He would not even pay for Concha to go to the hospital. Although he is rich and has had good fortune with money, “his good fortune did nothing to mitigate his miserliness or his scrounging” (Allende 72). Money does not make Tomas happy and it just contributes to him being an awful person. Tomas is such a horrible person that in the end he dies in the swamp with his buried gold. Allende writes his destiny purposefully and with the idea of karma in mind. Tomas’ destiny was shaped from the beginning. Something horrible is predicted to happen to him because he is such a horrible person at times it is even over the top because Allende writes hyperbolically. All he wanted in his life was his gold, and he is dies with his gold. Thus, he gets what he wants, but he dies meaning he loses. The women win in the story because they get his gold, even though Tomas dies with it. This shows the theme of karma because Tomas did horrible deeds, so he lost all his gold even though he died right next to it. 

Crossing the Bar Explication by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

                Lord Tennyson describes a the approach of death on his life. He starts off the poem saying that death is “one clear call for me” (2). The speaker is ready for death to come and retrieve he or she. The speaker also wants their to be “no moaning of the bar” (3). The speaker is not going to put up any fights to say his or her life. The speaker is ready for this passage of life to come. In the next stanza, Tennyson personifies the tide to show how death can be relaxing when the speaker is ready for it. He says that “But such a tide as moving seems asleep” (5), the tide is so peaceful that it seems as sleep. The tide is a metaphor for life because it brings life and then turns back: “When that which drew from out the boundless deep/ Turns again home” (7-8). The tide brings in life from the “boundless deep” and then “turns again home”. Tennyson describes the passage of life as serene if it is looked at from afar.

                The speaker is ready to approach his or her death and wants “there [to] be no sadness of farewell” (11). The speaker has come to terms with death. He or she does not believe that life should be lived the longest. The speaker wants to approach death with open arms. The speaker then describes life as “our bourne of Time and Place”(13). A bourne is a small flowing stream. Life can be related to this because it is a small flowing part of the huge world. Also, life is a part of Time and Place. Tennyson capitalizes Time and Place here to personify them. By personifying time and place it emphasizes life being part of the whole vibrant, alive world. The speaker wants “the flood [to] ear me far” (16). The flood signifies the whole world of people which can bring a bourne places. The speaker explains that the whole world can bring a person through a wonderful life. Tennyson uses water and personification to explain this. The speaker finishes the poem with “I hope to see my Pilot face to face/ When I have crossed the bar” (15-16). The speaker is ready for death and to see who controls life. The speaker cares about the big picture of life and the whole flood rather than just one life which is the stream. 

Dubliners “The Sisters” What themes do you anticipate based on the 1st story?

            The theme gossip vs. truth is prevalent in “The Sisters”. In this story Father Flynn dies and his legacy is made by the gossip and talk of others, not of his actions and what he thought of himself. The story starts with the protagonist describing an instance of the Old Cotter in his house. The Old Cotter speaks of Father Flynn negatively. He says he was one of those “peculiar cases” and that he “wouldn’t like children of mine […] to have much to say to a man like that” (2). The narrator becomes infuriated at Old Cotter but buries his anger inside of him. Old Cotter frowns upon the narrator having a relationship with the late Father Flynn. It is unknown what Old Cotter knows of Father Flynn that make him have these negative feelings, but these feelings of him contribute to the father’s legacy.

            Another theme in “The Sisters” is action vs. inaction. The narrator faces both the Old Cotter and Eliza speaking of Father Flynn in ways he does not agree with. Yet, the narrator takes no action against this. The narrator buries his anger when he hears Old Cotter disgracing his relationship with Father Flynn, “I crammed my mouth with stirabout for fear I might give utterance to my anger. Tiresome old red-nosed imbecile” (3). Also the narrator feels a paralysis after the death of Father Flynn. He can only think of the word paralysis when he passes the Father’s window. Also, the narrator does not act here when he simply passes the house even those he longs to go inside to see the Father. The narrator’s inaction contrasts with Father Flynn’s action. Father Flynn shows his feelings through breaking the chalice and spending his time in the church “wide awake and laughing-like to himself” (11). This shows that action may be related to death whereas inaction is necessary to staying alive in this society. 

"On the Sonnet" by John Keats and "Sonnet" by Billy Collins

                Keats describes an idea that in the sonnet the poet is bound to a structure, but they should make the poem original and be inside that structure. Collins instead believes that this poetic form is extremely easy and does not convey much by itself.

                Even though sonnets force the poet to write “dull rhymes [that] our English must be chained” (1), he believes sonnets help the poet find originality. He believes sonnets help us “inspect the lyre, weigh the stress of every chord, and see what may be gained” (7-8). He believes that through sonnets poets have a chance to find themselves. They can “see what may be gained” (8). He also describes that sonnets make “Misers of sound and syllable” (10). Sonnets lead poets to become selfish because they want the structure for themselves only. He also compares the poets who write sonnets to Midas who was a greedy king and was given the power of turning everything he touched into gold. Sonnets are comparable to Midas because the turn dull words into gold. He believes that sonnets make any old words beautiful. The structure of the sonnet does not allow the imagination of the poet to run free and it cover the words “with garlands of her own” (14).  Keats believe that sonnets disguise any words into something beautiful, but they do not allow the imagination to roam free.

                Collins believes that sonnets are extremely cliché and does not do anything to the poem. This differs from Keats who believes that sonnets can make any dull words beautiful. Collins shows that he thinks sonnets are easy by describing that 14 lines is all there is to it. He says you can get “Elizabethan and insist the iambic bongos must be played and rhymes positioned at the ends of lines” (5-7), but that is not necessary to create a sonnet. He says that in “the final six where are will be resolved” (10). This shows that Collins believes that sonnets are cliché and superficial because they are have a sweet, loving resolution at the end. He does not agree that every poem should have a happy ending. He does not end his sonnet this way. He instead mocks Petrarch for writing these sonnets about Laura. He says Petrarch should “put down his pen, [and] take off those crazy medieval tights” (13-14). He mocks Petrarch for continually writing cliché sonnets about his lover Laura.

                All in all the beliefs of Keats and Collins differ because Keats believes that sonnets mask the words and create something wonderful while Collins believes that sonnets cause words to become cliché with a happy ending. 

Blog of your choice: Analysis of ending in relation to fantasy v. reality

                Marlow’s encounter with the Intended shows that fantasy of Kurtz will live on rather than the reality of Kurtz. When Marlow visits Kurtz’s finance she mourns as though Kurtz died yesterday. She has an unwavering love for him, and she believes that Kurtz was a pure, virtuous, perfect man. I believe she looks up to him as a god like figure. She believes “it was impossible to know him and not admire him” (161). In her eyes Kurtz was a man of perfection.

                She wrongfully believes that she is the one that knew him best and that he confided everything in her: “I had all his noble confidence. I knew him best” (161). Yet, Kurtz never mentions his finance in the novel. As the girl speaks of Kurtz as godlike describing how his words and example will live on, Marlow begins to grow angry. He becomes angry because this girl is so disillusioned. Marlow instead knows that Kurtz is an “eloquent phantom” (163) an evil man whom everyone is drawn to. In this scene Marlow’s anger turns to pity for the finance. His pity shows that the girl is living in a fantasy and has no idea of the true man Kurtz was. She has barely any confidence of him. Kurtz was a suffering man who last words were “the horror, the horror”, and the girl knew nothing of that. When Marlow lies and tell his finance that in his last words he spoke her name, he allows her to continue her fantasy which she knows Kurtz well and he is perfect. Marlow wants to spare the girl of the darkness that lay inside of Kurtz. By doing this, the girl will not know the truth.

                Conrad shows that this girl lives in an absolute fantasy, and Marlow cannot bear to tell her the truth because he pities her. This shows that the fantasy of Kurtz perfection will live on as his legacy. Conrad shows that the truth is sometimes very difficult to find because it is usually very dark and depressing. This relates back to the Congo Free State. Many people did not know the truth about it because it was not published in the open. The truth about what happened is not commonly known to this day, and the truth is absolutely horrid. 

Siren Song by Margarent Atwood Explication

This is the one song 1

Everyone would like to learn: the song

That is irresistible:

the song that forces men

to leap overboard in squadrons 5

even though they see the beached skulls

the song nobody knows

because anyone who has heard it

is dead and the others can’t remember.

Shall I tell you the secret?

and if I do, will you get me 10

out of this bird suit?

I don’t enjoy it here

squatting on this island

looking picturesque and mythical 15

with these two feathery maniac,

I don’t enjoy singing

This trio, fatal and valuable.

I will tell the secret to you,

to you, only to you. 20

Come closer. This song

is a cry for help: Help me!

Only you, only you can,

you are unique

at last. Alas 25

it is a boring song

but it works every time.

            In this allusive poem the speaker describes how the relationship between men and women is too artificially based on beauty. This poem alludes to the Siren which are sister who lure sailors to rocks to their deaths by singing a beautiful tune. The speaker describes the song the sirens sing as “irresistible” (3). It forces men to forget what they are doing to find the women singing. The men “leap overboard in squadrons even though they see beached skulls” (5-6). The men forget about the death ashore because they are following this beautiful sound from the women. They are too focused on the sound that they forget about the rest of the world.

            Also, the speaker alludes that the women do not enjoy being coveting for their beauty. The speaker says, “I don’t enjoy it here/ squatting on the island/ looking picturesque and mythical (13-15). The speaker does not enjoy alluring men to her with her song. She wants something deeper than that, something that does not rely completely on outside beauty. She calls the sirens “two feathery maniac” (16). This depicts the sirens in a negative way. She then goes on to describe the sirens as “fatal and valuable” (18). The sirens are fatal because they lure men to their deaths, but they are also valuable because they grab the attention of men. The speaker believes that the irresistible song is the only thing that were lure men to women. Women have to go through so much artificial effort to get the attention of men. Men will not listen or come near a woman for her inner beauty.

            This song is a horrible thing, it is a “cry for help” (22). The speaker is crying for a man to help her end this irresistible singing. She wants a man to notice her for something more real and deeper. The speaker persuades the reader to come near and near until they are close to death. She finishes the poem by saying “Alas/ it is a boring song/ but it works every time” (24-25). This song that is irresistible is described as boring. If the men looked more critically at the song and used their brains in that situation, they would not be brought to their deaths. It is merely a boring song. The speaker wishes men and women could use their intelligence when they are together. She wishes that men would not be so easily lured to a women by the sound of her voice or by another time of artificial beauty. 

Research on Congo Free State (1885-1908)

               The Congo Free State was an area in Central Africa controlled by Leopold II who was the King of Belgium. Leopold became the leader of the international committee on civilization for the Congo. He also became the head of the humanitarian committee in central Africa which had a goal of science and peace. He used this power in these committees to convince the international committee to allow him influence in the Congo Basin. His only goal in Africa was to make a state for commercial gain, and he had a secret plan to make a trade route for ivory in Africa.

                When Leopold II was given influence in Africa he promised to stop the slave trade and keep free commerce. He pledged that he had a philanthropic and scientific agenda. Once he gained power, he did the complete opposite of his agenda. He began to limit the natives land and trade because he wanted to make money off the mineral resources and ivory. He developed a monopoly over the ivory in Africa. He also encouraged the East African slave trade because he wanted more workers for free. Plus, imposed duties on the native. Although he broke all the promised he made when he assumed power, he began a genocide when the commercial state was not doing well financially.

                He eventually forced men to work for him without pay so that he would make more profit. He would exploit the men and prosecute their families if they did not make certain quotas. There were some rebels, but Leopold’s army easily put them down. He would kill the families of men if they did not reach their quotas in ivory or other minerals. Many Congolese people were enslaved during this time as well. The Congolese population dropped rapidly due to murder, starvation, and disease. 

Metamorphosis p.37-38 AP style close reading

            When Gregor first sees his father after his transformation he first believes there is a dramatic difference in him, yet his father has not changed to such a degree. His father has gotten new clothes and a job, but he is still a weak old man. His father is an extremely dynamic character because he is “furious and happy at the same time” when he sees Gregor (37). He is furious at Gregor and what he has become, yet he is happy because he believes that since he is not the man in the house with the job, he is stronger than his son. In this excerpt there is a contrast between the two sides of his father, the weak and the strong. He wants to show that he is strong, but the old side of him which is weak disables him from doing this completely.

            Gregor notices a huge difference in the mannerisms of his father which he say may be because “he has been so preoccupied by the new sensation of crawling around” (37). He wonders if this is actually the same father would used to “lie wearily, buried in his bed” (37). He father now appears strong and energetic in contrast to the man who was extremely slow when they used to take walks together. Gregor sees a huge difference in the way his father is dressed and the way he is standing. He wears a “high, stiff collared” jacket, but his “pronounced double chin unfurled” (37). He wears this uniform which creates pictures of a strong man going to work, yet his double chin which shows laziness is still pronounced. While Gregor is amazed at this transformation, the lazy father he used to know is still there inside.

            His father wants to fight Gregor because Gregor has become a burden to the family, yet he cannot muster himself to do that showing that he really has not undergone much of a transformation. Although he raises his feet to possibly kick Gregor “he most likely himself had no idea of what he intended to do” (37). As he continues to try to fight Gregor, his old self begins to overcome him. His father becomes extremely short of breath and “for every step his father took he had to execute a number of movements” (38). Although his father wants to fight Gregor and show his strength over the family, his weakness disables him from doing so. In the end he ends up throwing fruit at Gregor. Although the fruit has a detrimental effect on Gregor, his father only threw it weakly. It is a bit comical that he is throwing fruit because that shows absolutely no strength because any human could do that. He father did come close to killing Gregor with the fruit though, and his mother had to “beg[…] him to save Gregor’s life” (38). Although he wounded Gregor and exerts his strength over the family, his weakness that Gregor remembers does not go away. 

Explication and Reflection of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer 5

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake. 10

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep, 15

And miles to go before I sleep.

Although the woods do not belong to the speaker, the speaker describes how beautiful the woods are when you simply admire them without any purpose. The speaker takes a ride with his horse through the woods that “fill up with snow” (4). These woods are not his though, they are someone who he “think[s] [he] know[s]” (1). The speaker stops “without a farmhouse near” and “between the woods and frozen lake” (6-7). There is no reason to stop in that place. The speaker merely wants to stop there to admire the dense woods fill up with snow.

While his horse questions why the speaker stops in the random place in the woods, the speaker listens to the only other sound “of easy wind and downy flake” (12). The woods are extremely peaceful and quiet which the speaker loves. He wants to stay in these woods and admire the beauty. Unfortunately, he cannot admire the beauty for long because the speaker has obligations and “promises to keep” (14). In addition he has “miles to go before [he] sleep[s]” (15). This sentence is repeated twice which emphasizes the daunting task he must complete. The speaker has to go these miles even though he wants to enjoy the spacious woods.

I chose this poem because it symbolizes how our lives can carry us away from what we truly desire. I believe the speaker and many of us humans take actions that do not lead us to our goals. The speaker wants to stop in the woods and admire it, but he has promises to keep and miles to go before he sleeps. He is unable to enjoy nature because of the obligations of the journey. This relates to many people who forget to enjoy the pleasures in life because they are so caught up in their tasks and jobs, which they many not even like. We have miles to go to complete the daunting tasks that we do not want to complete. Yet, we still complete these daunting, unenjoyable tasks because they are the “right” thing to do. I believe the poem shows that we should enjoy the woods that are “lovely, dark, and deep” instead of keeping these unfulfilling promises. Frost tells us to enjoy nature and your passions before it is too late. 

Reflect on the Novel's Ending

                The 1984 ending was somewhat predictable after Winston was released from the Ministry of Love. He was released right after he betrayed Julia. After he was released, Winston said he was better off than he was before. This led me to believe that he may possible have become part of the inner party. Also, he said he could get close to Julia now and it did not matter which again led me to believe he was upgraded in society. He and Julia no longer have a feeling of love for each other; everything is different when they meet up after they are released. Winston no longer has a sex drive. O’Brien succeeded in taking away part of Winston’s humanity from that point.

                Also, while Winston was in the Ministry of Love, he wanted to convert to the “other side” because he was suffering. He wanted to believe that 2+2=5 and into the party’s ideals, but he physically and mentally could not. At the end of the book when the narrator says, “He loved Big Brother,” it is because Winston was trained to love him. Winston’s mind was altered when he was in the Ministry of Love. This ending was very eye opening for me because it shows that with the right tools, a party or government can change a whole mode of thought. It seems that this formula to keep power that the Party contrived worked. It was even able to convert its opposition. Killing the opposition would not be enough because there will always be more, but changing the opposition can be successful. Orwell critiques that unless we change the way the world is going, this is a possible future. The novel shows that we must not let this happen, yet it will be hard to stop it from happening if a superior power has to ability to change the way we think. 

How does “the book” affect your understanding of the Party/ Orwell’s critique?

Reading excerpts from “The Book” helped me understand the party in much greater detail. It also helped me understand the many paradoxes that affect our society even if they are not readily seen.

                “The Book” is written by Emmanuel Goldstein, the main opposition to the party. Yet, the book says nothing of how to defeat the party, it just explains the party in greater detail. As Winston said himself, the book did not tell him anything he did not already know. The book explains that since the three world powers are always at war, war becomes peace. War becomes a way for the party to keep control over its citizens because instead of spending money on consumer goods, money is always spend on war. It is war without victory though. Orwell critiques out society here. During war countries take extra liberties. For example, the US took away certain freedoms in speech during both world wars. Also, when war becomes so prevalent and constant, it is not really war anymore. It is just a force to be contended with that is always there. When war is constant, peace is never known. Yet also war becomes peace because that is all there is. It is a very interesting paradox that critiques our society for constantly being at war when we know no power will indefinitely over take the other.

                “The Book” explains that ignorance is strength because without knowledge and memories there are no contradictions or oppositions. With the process of doublethink the party can change and overcome history. Thus if the party is all there ever is they will have power forever. Orwell critiques our society because ignorance of a mass of people leads to power of government. In a totalitarian state, the state has ultimate power if the people are too ignorant to realize any issues with the injustice. Ignorance does give the government or the party more strength while taking the strength away from individuals. 

"The History Teacher" by Billy Collins

Trying to protect his students’ innocence

he told them the Ice Age was really just

the Chilly Age, a period of a million years

when everyone had to wear sweaters.

And the Stone Age became the Gravel Age, 5

named after the long driveways of the time.

The Spanish Inquisition was nothing more

than an outbreak of questions such as

“How far is it from here to Madrid?”

“What do you call the matador’s hat?” 10

The War of Roses took place in a garden,

and the Enola Gay dropped on tiny atom

on Japan.

The children would leave his classroom

for the playground to torment the weak 15

and the smart,

messing up their hair and breaking their glasses,

while he gathered up his notes and walked home

past flower beds and white picket fences,

wondering if they would believe that soldiers 20

in the Boer War told long, rambling stories

designed to make the enemy nod off.

Collins uses irony in the use of humor for the reader but he also subtly preaches the message that unless children are stopped from bullying they will grow up to create more wars similar to the ones we learn in history classes. Collins starts of the poem by stating that the teacher’s motive for shielding them from the truth of the past is “to protect his students’ innocence” (1). He tells them that “the Ice Age was really just the Chilly Age, a period of a million years when everyone had to wear sweaters (2-4). He also says the Stone Age was “name after the long driveways of the time” (6). The history teacher lies to his students and tells them that these harsh periods in history were far from hard times. He understates these events in a very comical way.

Collins then goes on the explain how he tells his students that the Spanish Inquisition was “an outbreak of questions” (7), “the war of roses took place in a garden (11) and the atomic bomb dropped on Japan was merely one atom. He continues to shield the truth from his “innocent” students. Yet we find out they are not so innocent because they torment “the weak and the smart, messing up their hair and breaking their glasses” (14-16). These students are bullies. This may be partly fostered by the fact that they do not know of the violence that is prevalent in history. The History teacher teaches that only good events happen, so they are unaware that bullying can lead to anything bad. Yet, children who bully grow into children who create conflict and start wars. These kids are following the patterns of history.

As the History teacher walks home he passes “flower beds and white picket fences” (19). This is ironic because the History teacher walks home in a perfect world, but history has told the tale that the world is far from perfect. This irony emphasizes that we need to teach our children the facts so that they will not repeat the history of violence and wars.  

1984 Evolving Impressions of Julia

                In the chapters 2.4-2.6 in 1984 Julia’s personality has become clearer. At the beginning of the novel before Winston and Julia started the affair, I believed her to be more political. Winston thought she was working for the Thought Police as a spy, but I always had the idea that she and Winston would team up to work against Big Brother. After Julia gave Winston the note saying “I love you”, Winston has gotten to know her personality. Although she hates Big Brother and the party, she is happy enough living under their government as long as she can break certain rules. Julia is extremely interested in the sexual relationship she shares with Winston. She rebels against the party rules and has affairs with many men, but those are the only rules she rebels against.

                As Winston points out she does not care that the Party falsifies enormous amounts of information and that basically everything she knows in her life is a lie. When Winston explains to her his work in the records department where he basically erases past facts, “she did not feel the abyss opening beneath her feel at the thought of lies becoming truths” (154). She is perfectly content living with Big Brother as long as she can have affairs. She does not want to risk her life being a political rebel. She says, “I’m not interested in the next generation, dear. I’m only interested in us” (156). She refuses to rebel politically, but is completely willing to do it sexually.

                Also, she does not understand the government. She does not care what nonsense she is yelling during Two Minutes Hate or other rallies because she believes the whole government is a joke. She hates Big Brother, but she does not understand the entirety of its lies. She does not believe its ideas, but she has no valid reason against them except the fact that she thinks it is dumb and dislikes doing the rituals. Yet even though she hates the rituals, she does not want to rebel because it is not worth risking her life. Julia hates Big Brother yet knows little of their deceptions. She is perfectly content going through the motions of it politically as long as she can have sexual relationships. Thus, we learn that Julia may not be so helpful in Winston’s quest against Big Brother because she ignorantly believes the party’s facts even though she despises the rituals and the party. I also learned that although she breaks the rules, she is ignorant in believing the ideas of Big Brothers like many other party members. 

Predictions About What Winston Will Do Next

Winston just finished his journey to the proles live. He saw the girl from the fiction department and is now is positive that she is a spy. He just got back to his flat and is certain that soon Big Brother will come for him. Right before Winston falls asleep he thinks about O’Brien. Now that Winston knows he has been discovered by the girl in the fiction department, he may possibly approach O’Brien the next day before Big Brother vaporizes him. He could tell O’Brien the truth about what he feels about the party.

I believe that Winston is going to approach O’Brien. I also believe that Winston is correct that O’Brien is on his side. In addition, I predict that Winston will find a way to live in the apartment above the pawn shop. If Winston can sneak away to live there, he will be able to make some plans about how to overcome Big Brother because there is no telescreen there. Also, he will be able to learn more from the man who owns the pawn shop about the past. I believe he will do this because he had this thought on the back of his mind when he was talking to the man. He knows how dangerous it is, but I predict that he will find a way.

I do not believe that Winston will resume his daily life of hiding for two reasons. The author is starting part two of the book which means that there will be a dramatic change. Winston cannot go back to his regular life without hiding from Big Brother because the girl from the fiction department saw him in the proles neighborhood, which is extremely suspicious. Big Brother vaporizes anyone who looks suspicious for a second, so Winston feels the Thought Police will not continue to allow Winston to live. 

Reflect on the Ministry of Truth. What is being critiqued about Orwell’s society? Our own?

Winston works at the Ministry of Truth which is responsible for making the news, entertainment and education. His daily job involves him rewriting history so that everything Big Brother says in the present matches up with the past. Winston has to rewrite history. This is his favorite part of the job. For example, in this chapter Winston fabricates a story about a comrade Ogilvy who has unwavering faith for the party. Winston fabricates a man and knows that this is impossible to do in his world: “It struck him as curious that you could create dead men but not living ones” (47). In this quote Winston states that he can fabricate a life from nothing, but he cannot create living ones. The living people are so robotic and already dead through their unwavering faith that life is gone from them.

By describing the Ministry of Truth Orwell critiques how the dystopian society constantly lies to its people and that there is no truth to be found: “Most of the material that you were dealing with had no connection with anything in the real world, not even the kind of connection that is contained in a direct lie” (41). The dystopian society has no truth to it anymore. The party simply makes up facts and the people believe it. This critiques how ignorant people will be likely to believe anything, even if that thing is as far from the truth as possible.

In our own society there are many ignorant people who believe anything that is told to them once. In political elections the candidates take advantage of people’s ignorance and try to sway them one way or another based on their opinions that they deliver as facts. The real truth does not lie in one source.  Orwell critiques how people believe everything they hear if it is from a “reliable source”. Yet, even reliable sources do not always contain the truth. Orwell believes that people should be less ignorant and impressionable. 

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time by Robert Herrick

Gather ye rosebuds which ye may, 1

Old Time is still a-flying;

And this same flower that smiles today

Tomorrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the Sun, 5

The higher he’s a-getting,

The sooner will his race be fun,

And nearer he’s to setting.

That age is best which is the first,

When youth and blood are warmer;

But being spent, the worse, and worst 10

Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time;

And while ye may, go marry;

For having lost but once your prime, 15

You may forever tarry.

                Herrick describes a maiden’s life as one to be cherished and used wisely otherwise she will grow old without a husband; he intensifies this position by symbolizing the maiden or virgin’s life with a rosebuds. In the first stanza Herrick describes that a maiden must “Gather ye rosebuds which ye may,

Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying.” He describes both the life of a rose bud and the life of a maiden here. Rose buds will die so you have to gather them quickly. Yet, he speaks of a virgin/ maiden here too, because if she does not act, tomorrow this beauty will die.

                In the next stanza the speaker uses the path of time to describe how a virgin must hurry to marry. He describes “this race be run And nearer he’s to setting.” The speaker describes this path of time for both the rose buds and the maidens. The rose buds will come and go with time, but the virgin will not. The virgin will not be able to rebirth like the rose buds. The virgin needs to marry quickly before time runs out.

                The speaker then goes on to say how young age is so important and that being older will change the situation. He explains the rose bud connection here. He says, “That age is best which is the first,

When youth and blood are warmer; But being spent, the worse, and worst Times still succeed the former.” Young age is the best for marrying, and this option dies with time. Time will succeed the maiden. The youth and blood of the maiden are compared to the rose buds because rose buds are red and young.

                The speaker sums up his advice in the last paragraph. He says that the maiden must hurry and marry “for having lost but once [her] prime, [She] may forever tarry.” Once the virgin grows old she will not be desirable anymore. She must act now.