1984 part 1 blog 3

Is Winston sane or insane?

Insanity is defined as a state of craziness or madness. Albert Einstein defined insanity as, "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." As we read 1984, most of us would agree with Winston's ideas and argue that he is just trying to do good for the country and is definitely in his right mind. However, the society in which he lives would classify him as insane because nobody in their right mind would dare challenge the authority of Big Brother. So while we agree with him, Oceania would classify him as insane and immediately have him vaporized. This is because different societies have different norms and views on what is okay, and views on what is not okay. Winston is definitely not okay, for he is attempting to betray Big Brother, whom everybody adores, or at least acts like they do. Also, if one were to listen to Albert Einsten, he is most certainly insane. He knows that people have tried to overthrow Big Brother before, all of them unsuccessfully. It would be insane to think that he would make any difference. The problem is too great for him to tackle, yet he tries. So while I believe Winston's intentions are good and agree with him, I would have to say that he is indeed insane by Oceania standards.

1984 part 1 second blog

Can citizens learn to worship or love a tyrant, or only to fear him or her?

I believe that most regular people are so scared of these tyrants or dictators, and want to please them so bad, that they truly believe that they love him/her. This is seen in 1984 where the Party members say that they love Big Brother, but are afraid to death that their children will call the Thought Police and have them vaporized for one shred of disloyalty. This is also applied to present day North Korea. The people "love" Kim Jong Un when he does not even feed them, has no problem killing them, and will send them to forced labor camps for no reason. In a documentary we watched in one of Mr. Leier's classes, (I really can't remember the name of it) it was shown that Kim Jong Un does not provide adequate health care to his citizens, causing many to go blind from glaucoma. When a doctor from another country comes and performs very cheap and easy surgeries to get their eyesight back for them, they weep and thank their supreme leader, when he was the problem in the first place. So I don't think deep down they actually love him, they are just too afraid to admit otherwise.

1984 Part 1 first blog

In 1984, Oceania is controlled by Big Brother and The Party in a totalitarian society where Big Brother controls all aspects of the lives of his citizens. If anybody goes against Big Brother, they are annihilated by him so he can keep control forever. There are present day countries in which totalitarian governments rule, such as North Korea. Some argue that the United States could also be turning into a totalitarian government. While I do believe that the government does continue to overstep privacy boundaries, I also do not believe that the United States could ever be as controlled as Oceania. This would be due to us having references in our history books and other works of fiction such as 1984 telling us how bad it would be, and how the government would achieve this. I also think that the American people are smarter than we give ourselves credit for, so we could see it coming. Also, many people protest the government all the time, and bad things rarely happen to these people. With smartphones and Internet access, it would be too easy for regular people to stand together and stop the government, or at least I'd hope so.