1984 Comments

KKVL said...

I liked how you saw the use of numbers in this passage, Joshua commented on my analysis of numbers and I thought I would share the wealth of knowledge, Josh suggested that Orwell's use of numbers(math) is a good comparison to how everything is controlled in 1984, how every day is the same.

KKVL said...

I found it REALLY interesting how you found out that Big Brother may be related to Herbert Kitchener. When I read 1984, I just completely accepted Big Brother as a direct allusion to Stalin, but that's really interesting to think that that may not be the case!

KKVL said...

I really liked how you connected the varicose ulcer to Big Brother's power over Winston. I never thought of it that way, but now that I think about it, the ulcer does show up throughout the book when he is going against "the rules".

Dystopian Journal 1

Passage: The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a colored poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall. It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a meter wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black mustache and ruggedly handsome features. Winston made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift. Even at the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the electric current was cut off during daylight hours. It was part of the economy drive in preparation for Hate Week. The flat was seven flights up, and Winston, who was thirty-nine, and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle, went slowly, resting several times on the way. On each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the poster with enormous face gazed form the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.


    This passage, the second paragraph on the first page of the novel 1984 by George Orwell, "Eric Blair", is very detailed and descriptive. The only blatant sensory detail in this whole passage, is describing the hallways, putting a lot of emphasis on the smell and age of it. Boiled cabbage is a very typical "bad" smell to be used to describe things, but could it have a particular cultural connection at the time? Age, and numbers in general are used quite a lot in this passage, "The flat was seven flights up", "more than a meter wide", "Winston, who was thirty-nine", "a man of about forty-five", all these numbers are used to create direct position in relation to Winston. His house is seven flights up, that man on the poster is older then him, that poster is wide, etc. Age seems to play a large role in this passage, but will that continue through the book? This meter wide poster is mentioned twice in the passage, and the size of it is mentioned three times, suggesting the size of the poster is important. The sentence "too large for indoor display" really caught my attention. Was the poster really too large, or is it the idea that the poster carries too large? It's hard to put thoughts into words, but it really stood out. Speaking of the large poster, Winston seems to "make for the stairs" right after seeing this poster of "a man of about 45 with ruggedly handsome features.". Winston running at the sight of this seemingly normal poster suggests that the poster holds a possibly more sinister aura about it. Will this poster pop up as much as it did in this one passage throughout the book? Why does Winston fear the poster so much?

Stranger Journal 6

Belief

I wasn't being reasonable

You never know what might happen

I see the sky and that's all I see

You always get exaggerated notions of things

I thought everything was very simple

And in a way I was right

I've refused to see the chaplain

I don't need to see the chaplain

None of his certainties was worth one hair

I just couldn't accept such arrogant certainty

Everybody knows life isn't worth living

Now it was all over

Nothing, nothing mattered

I don't believe in God









Stranger Journal 5

(I had made a 5th Journal, but apparently I had been logged out so it didn't save a draft, so when I went go publish it, it just sent me to a login screen, and no draft was ever saved... So here is my haphazard recreation of what I made.)

In the second part of The Stranger, Meursault undergoes a change of mood. In the first part, Camus portrayed Meursault as an emotionless, lackadaisical person. But, a few pages into the third chapter of the second part of the book, Meursault "had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me."(90) Meursault normally feels little emotion, if any. The emotion he usually shows is either sexual or irritation. But, in the second part of the book, Meursault begins to show some actual emotion. I believe Camus is showing this emotion in Meursault to show his gradual understanding of the graveness of his situation.
Another thing I noticed was the change in characterization of minor characters. We still get the same descriptions of appearance and such, but all of the minor characters introduced to us in the second part of the book do not have names. All of the jurors, the judge, the prosecutor, etc. They are all referred to as their role in the trial. This could be Meursault grouping a certain type of people together like he did with the Arabs.
Lastly, I noticed that the theme of unimportant things still persist. Meursault viewed many things as trivial, and of little importance in the first part of the book, but now in the second part of the book, I've noticed a slight change. Instead of the normal carelessness of the first part of the book, there is a dreary, sort of hopeless undertone to everything Meursault notices. "I knew it was a a silly idea since it wasn't anything funny they were after but a crime. There isn't much a difference, though--- in any case that was the idea that came to me."(83) Meursault still has his normal nonchalant tone, but in context, it has a sort of macabre undertone.

Stranger Journal 4

10. Existentialism and Absurdism draw upon connotations or randomness and despair. How does the author portray hope in the text? How does the hope help establish a theme?


Existentialism: a chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad. [www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/]


Absurdism: a philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe.[www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/]


"Nevertheless I answered that I had pretty much lost the habit of analyzing myself and that it was hard for me to tell him what he wanted to know."(65)


"I felt the urge to reassure him that I was like everybody else, just like everybody else. But really there wasn't much point, and I gave up the idea out of laziness."(66)

"I was about to tell him he was wrong to dewell on it, because it really didn't matter."(69)


"He simply asked, in the same tone, if I was sorry for what I had done. I thought about it for a minute and said that more than sorry I felt kind of annoyed."(70)


"I thought it must be Marie. It was."(73)


"I was feeling a little sick and I'd have liked to leave. The noise was getting painful. But on the other hand, I wanted to make the most of Mari'es being there. I don't know how much time went by."


Meursault doesn't need hope. Meursault "had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the sky flowering overhead, little by little [he] would have gotten used to it."(77) Camus portrays Meursault as one without hope, and without a need for hope. He can adjust to whatever circumstance he is in, to be be perfectly quaint.

Stranger Journal 3

 L'Étranger has a few definitions, but all of them fit the book in one way or another. What piqued my interest today, is the translation of The Stranger. In America, the most widely used title is The Stranger. Stranger: a person with whom one has had no personal acquaintance.(Dictionary.com) I found this definition interesting because the reader of The Stranger, never is formally introduced to Meursault, you are always kept guessing about certain aspects of his views or beliefs, or feelings for that matter. He is truly a stranger to the reader throughout the book. I feel that this translation of L'Etranger is the best fit for the book. 

Stranger Journal 2

The minor character that stood out to me the most out of the whole book, let alone the third chapter, is Raymond Sintes. Raymond got in a fight with a man, and he tries to justify everything that he has done, and it makes him come off as he's trying to cover up a crime that he committed. "You see, Monsieur Meursault, It's not that i'm a bad guy, but i have a short fuse." "So you see, I wasn't the one who started it." After Raymond explains to Meursault that he smacked his girlfriend around, he tries to support himself by saying, yet again, "You see, Monsieur Meursault, it's like I told her: ..." Raymond is constantly justifying his horrid actions, with mediocre evidence. Camus portrays Raymond as a foil to Meursault. Meursault is lackadaisical and doesn't really care about anything, and doesn't justify anything he does. Raymond on the other hand, gets extremely angry at the smallest things, and constantly makes sure everyone around him agrees with him, showing he is very insecure.

Stranger Journal 1

Cultural Journal: What stood out to me was the laziness, and easygoing nature of the French portrayed by Camus. As Meursault goes to the beach to swim he notices "there were a lots of young people." swimming is a huge part of life in Algeria, as it is very hot there. It seems that a lot of french people there have quite a lot of free time to just do what they would like, like all the people at the channel, while Meursault is simply sitting on his balcony, watching the street, he notices "the street slowly emptied out. The matinees had all started"(22) The streets are now empty, because everyone is going to the movies. Matinees must be a large part of French culture. 

Journal 1: Meursault seems very detached, and overall lackadaisical. Nothing really seems to matter, from his mother dying, to falling asleep, he doesn't really keep track of what he has done. He knows what has happened, but never really knows why, or cares to know for that matter. "Maman died today. Or Yesterday maybe, I don't know."(3) One would assume right away, that he is utterly emotionless, the death of one's mother should be a big deal. But, on page 20, he remarks that as he "hoisted [himself] up next to her" that the occasion was "nice, and, sort of joking around" He can still feel physical emotion, but while he views the act of swimming with Marie as nice, he still has that lackadaisical tone as he says that it was sort of joking around. His ability to express physical emotion is further portrayed when "Toward the end of the show, I gave her a kiss, but not a good one."(20) He is again expressing physical emotion, but with his ever persistent lackadaisical tone. Camus would create Meursault like this to possibly convey his beliefs of a mix of existentialism and absurdism.
A phrase I found that Meursault seems to repeat quite a lot, is a sort of guilty thought. "It's not my fault."(1), "it isn't my fault"(19), "I felt like telling her it wasn't my fault"(20) Whenever Meursault or someone else talks about his mother's death, he has to assure them that it isn't his fault. Why does he keep reminding everyone that his mother's death was not his fault? After Meursault has been characterized as this lackadaisical, detached person, he seems to be feeling quite a lot of hidden guilt.