Group+8B

Friday, 12.6 Report: Add on: What if: Notes to Mr. Barra:
 * We discussed how the slogans "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" seemly contradict each other on the Ministry of Truth, whether they are actually illogical statements or not, and what their function was.
 * We drew a connection between Big Brother from 1984, and Ford from BNW... they are both godly figures in their respective time periods.
 * We played with the ideas of Newspeak and the way it works
 * We also reviewed parts of the book that were confusing or interesting such as memory holes, the exercise routine, Winston's past/ dreams, and the idea that love doesn't really exist anymore - even between mother and child.
 * "Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime IS death." (28). Are the consequences of an action really part of an action? Is the concept logically correct?
 * "The Hate had started" (11). VPS in BNW might be considered an analogous form of The Hate in 1984. Why do both societies need such outlets for emotion and energy and does our society have forms of VPS or The Hate?
 * What is Big Brother? He is personified, but also abstract. Is he a human, a government agency, a program, a symbol, or an abstract concept?
 * Does the whole world have thought crime or just Oceania?
 * Goldstein doesn't exist at all- he is just a figment produced by the Party to instill Hate and fear among people?
 * Congratulations Mr. Barra! Our group welcomes Vivienne to a brave new world!

Tues, 12.10

Report:
 * we discussed multiple quotes (that many of us had all picked) such as : "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four"(pg 81) and "we're destroying words- scores of them, hundreds of them, every day" (pg 53)
 * we also talked about the reason that "victory" is put in front of pleasures and if there is a limit to newspeak

Add On:

What If: Notes to Mr. Barra:

Fri, 12.13

Tues, 12.17

Thurs, 12.19