1984/Brave New World

We finished the assignment that we began on Monday, and discussed the responses.

Compare/Contrast

Students worked on the following assignment in class on Monday: Topic-Reproduction How do the different views of reproduction in 1984 and Brave New World compare and contrast? What fear is each author bringing to light? Which of these examples relates more to our culture? Explain. Which example would you prefer? Why? 1984-pgs 66-67 Katharine was a tall, fair-haired girl, very straight, with splendid movements. She had a bold, aquiline face, a face that one might have called noble until one discovered that there was as nearly as possible nothing behind it. Very early in her married life he had decided -- though perhaps it was only that he knew her more intimately than he knew most people -- that she had without exception the most stupid, vulgar, empty mind that he had ever encountered. She had not a thought in her head that was not a slogan, and there was no imbecility, absolutely none that she was not capable of swallowing if the Party handed it out to her. 'The human sound-track' he nicknamed her in his own mind. Yet he could have endured living with her if it had not been for just one thing -- sex. As soon as he touched her she seemed to wince and stiffen. To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image. And what was strange was that even when she was clasping him against her he had the feeling that she was simultaneously pushing him away with all her strength. The rigidlty of her muscles managed to convey that impression. She would lie there with shut eyes, neither resisting nor co-operating but submitting. It was extraordinarily embarrassing, and, after a while, horrible. But even then he could have borne living with her if it had been agreed that they should remain celibate. But curiously enough it was Katharine who refused this. They must, she said, produce a child if they could. So the performance continued to happen, once a week quite regulariy, whenever it was not impossible. She even used to remind him of it in the morning, as something which had to be done that evening and which must not be forgotten. She had two names for it. One was 'making a baby', and the other was 'our duty to the Party' (yes, she had actually used that phrase). Quite soon he grew to have a feeling of positive dread when the appointed day came round. But luckily no child appeared, and in the end she agreed to give up trying, and soon afterwards they parted. Brave New World-pgs 5-6 Still leaning against the incubators he gave them, while the pencils scurried illegibly across the pages, a brief description of the modern fertilizing process; spoke first, of course, of its surgical introduction–"the operation undergone voluntarily for the good of Society, not to mention the fact that it carries a bonus amounting to six months' salary"; continued with some account of the technique for preserving the excised ovary alive and actively developing; passed on to a consideration of optimum temperature, salinity, viscosity; referred to the liquor in which the detached and ripened eggs were kept; and, leading his charges to the work tables, actually showed them how this liquor was drawn off from the test-tubes; how it was let out drop by drop onto the specially warmed slides of the microscopes; how the eggs which it contained were inspected for abnormalities, counted and transferred to a porous receptacle; how (and he now took them to watch the operation) this receptacle was immersed in a warm bouillon containing free-swimming spermatozoa–at a minimum concentration of one hundred thousand per cubic centimetre, he insisted; and how, after ten minutes, the container was lifted out of the liquor and its contents re-examined; how, if any of the eggs remained unfertilized, it was again immersed, and, if necessary, yet again; how the fertilized ova went back to the incubators; where the Alphas and Betas remained until definitely bottled; while the Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons were brought out again, after only thirty-six hours, to undergo Bokanovsky's Process. "Bokanovsky's Process," repeated the Director, and the students underlined the words in their little notebooks. One egg, one embryo, one adult-normality. But a bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud will grow into a perfectly formed embryo, and every embryo into a full-sized adult. Making ninety-six human beings grow where only one grew before. Progress. "Essentially," the D.H.C. concluded, "bokanovskification consists of a series of arrests of development. We check the normal growth and, paradoxically enough, the egg responds by budding."

Tiananmen Square

Today we looked at essays, articles, and videos from the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989 and how revisionist history plays a part.

1984

Today we finished the documentary on North Korea and read a passage from 1984. The passage focuses on revisionist history. We will be looking at examples of this from history including the Tianenman Square Massacre.

1984

We have been viewing a documentary film on North Korea as an introduction to 1984. http://www.vice.com/the-vice-guide-to-travel/vice-guide-to-north-korea-1-of-3

Compare/Contrast

In preparation for our next essay, which will be a compare/contrast essay, students will read excerpts from 1984 and Brave New World. Today we began by discussion views on invasion of privacy and the limits of the government/corporations/school system/etc.

The Things I Carry

100pt essay is due at the end of the period tomorrow.

The Things I Carry

Students are working the following assignment which is due Wednesday: Write your own “Things I Carry/Carried” essay. This needs to be something you carry both literally and figuratively. The more emotion you incorporate, the better it will be! Include the weight of some of the items you carry due to this figurative condition. While writing and editing, pay close attention to your use of voice and incorporate elements of figurative language. Your final draft must include at least: ______ five similes and/or metaphors, ______ two uses of personification, and ______ one example of hyperbole. You will have time to edit and add these elements in class. Complete the brainstorming worksheet to help you decide on a topic. Some example topics include: (This is just a brief list. The options are endless.) • “The Things I Carry as the Son of a Perfectionist” • “The Things I Carry as the Daughter of Breast Cancer Survivor” • “The Things I Carry as the Black Sheep of My Family” • “The Things I Carry as a Waitress” • “The Things I Carry as Wrestler”

Big Fish

We are currently viewing the film Big Fish. We will be discussing the importance of story telling upon completion.

Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong

Today we had an interesting debate concerning women in the military. We then began reading "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" in class.

Ambush/Good Form

Today we read two more stories, completed the following assignment, and discussed the results: “The Man I Killed” “Ambush” “Good Form” “The Man I Killed” Why does O’Brien go into so much detail about the man’s life? How does he know these things? What is the focus of this story? “Ambush” This is another story about the same event. What is the reason for this? What is the focus of this story? Explain the repetition of the dead man’s description in both stories. “Good Form” What is the focus of the 3rd story dealing with the same subject? Explain why O’Brien would write the story 3 different ways with the focus and the facts changing each time.

The Man I Killed

Today we read "The Man I Killed" and students responded to the following: “The Man I Killed” Why does O’Brien go into so much detail about the man’s life? How does he know these things? What is the focus of this story?

How To Tell a True War Story

Today we began reading and discussing "How To Tell a True War Story".

Enemies/Friends

Today we read "Enemies" and "Friends". Students then completed a writing prompt based on the reading.

Spin

Today we read and discussed "Spin" from The Things They Carried. Students were then asked to write their own "Spin" type story.

TTTC

Today students began listing items that they carry on a daily basis. They then began exploring the physical and metaphorical weight of each item.

The Things They Carried

Today we finished reading "The Things They Carried" and discussed the weight of both the tangibles and intangibles in the story.

College Essay

Students finished working on the college essay today. Any student who did not turn it in needs to do so by Monday.

college essay

Students continued working on college essays. We will continue drafting tomorrow and begin peer editing as well. I would like a typed final copy by the end of the period Friday. We also read comments from members of the admissions board at JHU regarding what they look for in an essay.

College essay

Students have spent the last 2 class periods working on the college essay/career cover letter assignment. We will spend time this week and next week revising them.

College Essay

Today we began the college essay unit. We will spend the next week working on college/career essays.

Essay

Students continued working in the library on their final drafts.

essay

Students finished working on the rough draft and began the peer editing process. We will spend the beginning of next week working on the final draft.

Division/Classification

Students continued working on their essay in class. By the end of the period tomorrow the rough draft should be complete along with a peer editing sheet.

Division/Classification

Student continued working on their essay in class today. Tomorrow we should be finishing it up.

Division/Classification

Students read another sample essay (This is Paintball) and began drafting their essay. Rough drafts are due Wednesday pd 2 and Thursday pd 5.

Anthem

Students worked independently today reading Anthem or working on their essay. Anthem questions are due Monday.

The Sound of Music

Today students read and discussed the essay "The Sound of Music: Enough Already". Students were asked to analyze tone, figurative language, and audience/purpose. We then continued drafting the division/classification essay.

The Extendable Fork

Today students read "The Extendable Fork" and answered questions about the essay. We focused on audience/purpose and the use of figurative language. Students used the remainder of the period to work on their division/classification essay.

Lies

Students read a division/classification essay about telling lies. We discussed the strategies used by the author as well as the audience/purpose. Students then began brainstorming topics and examples for their own essay.

Anthem HW part II

Students received the following worksheet which is due Monday 9/30: Name: _____________________________ English 12B Anthem sections VI- XII Please answer the following questions as you read. VI. 1. What is Equality 7-2521’s punishment? VII. 1. Explain the following quote: “We are old now, yet we were young this morning” (Rand 68). 2. Why is the Council horrified at Equality’s discovery? (p. 73-74) VIII. 1. What emotion is Equality 7-2521 experiencing for the first time? IX. 1. What does Equality learn to do for the first time as he walks through the forest? (p. 86) X. 1. What is strange and unique about the house discovered by Equality and Liberty? XI. 1. What does Equality 7-2521 now realize is the goal and purpose of his life? XII. 1. What does the following quote mean to you as you prepare to graduate this year? “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers” (Rand 101).

Figurative Language

Yesterday we worked on developing imagery, and today we worked on extended metaphors and similes. Tomorrow we will work on Anthem.

Anthem

Students began reading Anthem in class today and must complete the following assignment by Monday of next week: Name: _____________________________ English 12B Anthem sections I-V Please answer the following questions as you read. I. 1. Why is the word “alone” fearful? (p.17) 2. How does Rand create Equality 7-2521 so that he stands out from his brothers? (p.18) 3. What is Equality’s great sin? (p. 21) 4. Where are men sent at age 40? (p.28) 5. What has Equality 7-2521 stolen? Why? (p. 35-36) II. 1. How does Equality feel about Liberty 5-3000? What is Equality’s name for them? 2. At what time are they sent to the Palace of Mating? Why? 3. Why was a man burned alive? (p. 49) III. 1. What has Equality 7-2521 discovered? IV. 1. What name does Liberty 5-3000 give Equality? Is this perfect for him? Explain. 2. Would you be a friend to Equality 7-2521? Why/why not? V. 1. What does Equality 7-2521 wonder for the first time? (p. 61) 2. Why don’t inmates try to escape from prison?

Valedictorian Speech

Today students read a speech from a high school valedictorian and discussed the audience, purpose, and tone. Students then began writing their own valedictorian speech considering what they have gained from high school, what they can expect in the future, who their audience is, what their purpose is, and what their tone will be.

Peer Evaluation

Today students finished their rough drafts and completed a peer editing assignment. We will spend tomorrow in the library completing the final draft.

Why I Write

Students received their first writing assignment of the year. Writing Assignment # 1: Your first essay will be titled “Why I Write.” Use any notes/handouts and class discussions to help you begin this essay. It is to be typed – MLA heading and format. This essay may entertain and/or may be informative. I am your audience. This will be my first impression of you as a writer. Find your voice and write. Due Date: ____9/11/12 Today we spent some time brainstorming and drafting. We also read a sample essay.

Elements of Voice

Students completed a handout asking them to provide their thoughts on writing and then completed a voice activity.

Process Analysis

Students are working on a process analysis essay which is due 6/5 and a process analysis video project which is due 6/7,

Research Skills

Students are currently working on the following project which is due Friday: Name: ____________________________ Research Skills Review / Argument and Persuasion The following interactive quest will take you through a review of research skills, databases, and writing an argument and persuasion essay. Please complete every single task in its entirety. 1. Choose a controversial topic for an argument and persuasion essay. This must be something you feel very strongly about. If you really want a challenge, you can choose a topic for which you have strong opinions, but then take the opposing viewpoint! For a comprehensive list of topics, visit the following: http://databases.abc-clio.com/Authentication/LogOn?returnUrl=%2F (via the High Point library site). Enter the username: highpoint and the password: wildcats. Then click on Issues, and again issues. A second database of issues is Sirs, or http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-portal-display?id=SNJ0022-0-5536 Enter the username: hprhs and the password: wildcats. Then click on Pro vs. Con, More Issues… Once you choose an issue, record it here: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ 2. Next, you need to create a thesis statement. Your thesis reflects a decision to follow a certain direction in your research. It is one sentence that displays what you will prove in your paper. In this case, you will be arguing one side of a controversial issue. Make sure your thesis is not too broad, too narrow, or self-evident. It must be a declarative statement. Also, make sure that your thesis is scholarly and does not contain “I” or “you.” The Pro vs. Con database even provides you will sample thesis statements. Record your thesis statement here: ___________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ 3. Now that you have a topic (your issue) and a direction (your thesis), you will need factual support (research) to help your argument. Visit the databases that you looked at above (SirS and ABC-Clio) and find your topic. Using these databases, find two different facts from two different articles that will help your claim. Copy these facts exactly as they appear, word for word, and copy the “MLA works cited citation” found on the bottom of the article word for word. Pay attention to details. Punctuation, capitalization, italics, underlining, etc. all matter. (For each fact, also create the in-text citation. (This will usually be the author’s last name only in parenthesis. If you are not sure what this should look like, ask me!) • Fact #1: • MLA works cited citation for Fact #1: • In-text citation for Fact # 1: o Fact #2: o MLA works cited citation for Fact #2: o In-text citation for Fact # 1: 4. You are now ready to start writing and incorporating your properly cited facts into your own thoughts on this topic. Please use the template below and read the notes within thoroughly. If you follow these directions you should have an excellent piece. (Before you are done, make sure you also complete the Works Cited page.) MAKE SURE YOU SAVE YOUR WORK REGULARLY THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS! Use the template below and type directly over the highlighted information that I have provided. Your Name Teacher’s Name Class/Subject Due Date Original Title Your introduction will begin here. A good rule for writing an introduction is to move from the more general to specific; thus your thesis statement will be the last sentence as it is the most specific piece of your introduction. Your thesis is one sentence that displays what you will prove in your paper. In this case, you will be arguing one side of a controversial issue. Make sure your thesis is not too broad, too narrow, or self-evident. It must be a declarative statement. Also, make sure that your thesis is scholarly and does not contain “I” or “you.” Place your thesis statement here. Now you can begin your body paragraphs. You are going to argue your point in one to two well-developed paragraphs. Almost all of this will be your original writing and your own ideas. Make sure you have chosen a topic that you feel strongly about. Within your own writing, you are going to incorporate two researched quotes. Make sure your facts are in quotation marks and cited correctly with the in-text citations. If you do not cite, then it is plagiarism! The following is an example of a cited quotation: One author writes that “Twelfth grade students spend plenty of time reading, writing, and analyzing literature throughout the school year. The one task that always seems daunting to them, however, is writing an analytical research paper” (Gonzalez 24). Notice it says ‘one author writes’ before the quotation marks and quote. This is a signal phrases, also known as a lead in, and must be used to lead in to your quote. You do not want a quote just stuck in there hanging around. Also you see ‘Gonzalez 24’ in parenthesis. This is your in-text citation. The ‘24’ is the page number and ‘Gonzalez’ is the author’s last name. If your sources do not have page numbers then you would simply leave them out of your in-text citation. Finally, notice that the punctuation, a period, comes after the in-text citation. Please follow this format exactly when incorporating your quotes.

PowerPoint Project

Students are working on the following project in class: You are responsible for creating a PowerPoint presentation of Exactly 6 slides. You will receive a controversial topic and must present examples for both sides of the argument. Your presentation must fulfill the following requirements: In support of (FOR) Slide 1-(Logos) A logical argument taking one side of the issue. This means you must present facts, data, or statistics that will convince your audience. Slide 2-(Pathos) An emotional argument for the issue. This means you must present something that will affect your readers emotionally in an effort to convince them. Slide 3-(Ethos) An ethical argument for the issue. This means you must present something that will convince your audience that your position is morally right. Opposed to (Against) Slide 4- (Logos) A logical argument taking the opposite side of the issue from the first 3 slides. This means you must present facts, data, or statistics that will convince your audience. Slide 5-(Pathos) An emotional argument for the issue. This means you must present something that will affect your readers emotionally in an effort to convince them. Slide 6-(Ethos) An ethical argument for the issue. This means you must present something that will convince your audience that your position is morally right.

Argument/Persuasion

We are beginning the argument/persuasion unit. Students will be looking at speeches and essays this week and working on their papers next week.

Memoir

We are continuing to work on chapters for memoirs. Student began working on their 5th assignment. A Rumor of War Friendship • In this passage, Caputo reveals details about the bonds of friendship. Write a story of friendship you experienced during your childhood. Try to write about a friend that you have not seen for a while. Do not write about a current friend. Be specific and show-don’t tell. This should be a story, so include details, imagery, and dialogue. Minimum 3 paragraphs.

Memoir

Students are working on separate chapters of their memoirs. Today the students read from the books they selected and wrote a chapter based on a theme from their book.

100pt essay

Students will spend the week working on the following assignment: For this assignment you will have the option of expanding the Allie’s Mitt/Broken Windows assignment that you have already submitted. Regardless of which essay you choose, the requirements are the same. Your paper needs to be two full pages, typed, and double-spaced. It must narrate a story and be loaded with description, details, and imagery. Your grade will be based mainly on these elements. Also, you need to edit very carefully. Don’t forget to ask yourself, “So what’s the point?” If your topic does not show something about you, then it does not have a point, and your audience will lose interest.

Catcher HW

The students have to complete the following by next Friday: Chapters 8 and 9 1) What does Holden mean by his remark that “Mothers are all slightly insane” (55)? How does this comment apply specifically to Ernest Morrow and his mother? 2) Why doesn’t Holden call anyone from the phone booth immediately after he gets off the train in New York? 3) What is the significance of the question Holden asks the taxi driver about the ducks? Why does Holden want to know? 4) What is ironic about Holden’s concern with his appearance when he enters the Edmont? Chapter 10 5) List at least two details provided by Holden when he’s describing his sister Phoebe. 6) What is the name of the main character in the books Phoebe writes? 7) Compare Phoebe with both Holden and Allie. How is she similar to and/or different from her brothers, according to Holden’s description of her? 8) In your own words, summarize Holden’s description of what it is like to dance with a really good dance partner. 9) Why is Holden sorry for having kidded “Old Marty”? 10) Why do you think Holden is so depressed by the fact that the three girls in the bar are going to see the first (Christmas) show at Radio City Music Hall the following morning? Chapter 11 11) List at least two details shared by Holden that show how well he knows Jane Gallagher. 12) Holden mentions that he refused an offer to appear in a movie short. Why was he asked, and why did he refuse? 13) How did Holden feel when he used to hold hands with Jane? Compare this feeling with Holden’s current state of mind. 14) What trait or quality about Ernie does Holden criticize? Chapter 12 15) Why is Holden depressed by hearing the women “laughing like hyenas” on the street (81)? 16) What does Holden ask Horwitz, and how does Horwitz react? 17) What is the symbolic meaning of the fish frozen under the pond? 18) Compare Holden’s reaction to Ernie’s playing with that of the rest of the crowd. 19) How does Lillian react to the news that D.B. is now living in Hollywood, and how does Holden feel about this reaction? 20) Why does Holden feel sorry for Lillian? Chapters 13 and 14 21) What does Holden mean when he describes himself as “partly yellow” (89)? What kinds of things does Holden tell us he fears? Based on the chapters we’ve read so far, do you think Holden is at all “yellow”? Why or why not? Refer to his specific actions in the text. 22) What is ironic about the name of the prostitute? 23) What makes the prostitute seem “spooky” (98) to Holden? 24) At the beginning of Chapter 14, what emotion or emotions lead Holden to talk to Allie? What does this one-sided conversation show us about the relationship between Allie and Holden? 25) What is Holden’s attitude toward Christianity? How do his views differ from those of his old schoolmate, Arthur Childs? Chapter 15 26) What indication that Sally is a phony do we see in this chapter? 27) How are Holden and his mother similar in their reactions to Allie’s death? 28) Why did Holden’s suitcases become an issue between him and his old roommate Slagle? What statement about wealth and/or social class is Holden making by telling this story? 29) With which character in Romeo and Juliet does Holden identify? What reason(s) does he give for liking and relating to this character? 30) Why does Holden compare people asking him if he is Catholic with “those suitcases” (113)? What parallel is he drawing? Chapter 16 31) According to Holden, how are the nuns’ charitable works different than those of his aunt or Sally’s mother? What attitudes is Holden expressing in comparing them? 32) Why does seeing the little boy walking with his family cheer Holden up? 33) Why is Holden depressed by the long lines of moviegoers? Why is he so critical of actors? 34) Why does it make Holden so happy that the girl he helps with her skate thanks him nicely and politely? 35) Based on his description of the Natural History Museum he often visited as a child, how do you think Holden feels about change? Chapter 17 36) Why is Holden sad when he watches the girls home for vacation? 37) How does the way Sally talks shed light on her personality? 38) What is similar about the performances by the Lunts and Ernie’s piano playing? 39) Why does Holden “sort of [hate] old Sally” (128) by the end of the show? 40) What does Holden’s “nervous habit” (130) of burning matches show about his personality and/or state of mind? 41) Why does Holden prefer horses to cars? Why does it upset him that other people are so attached to their cars? 42) Holden and Sally don’t communicate very effectively on their date. Describe at least one example of a misunderstanding or a lack of mutual understanding between them. 43) Why does Holden feel that now is the time to travel, not later? 44) How did you react to Holden’s finally telling Sally how he really feels about her? Did it surprise you, either pleasantly or unpleasantly? Chapter 18 45) What frustrates Holden about girls and the guys they date? 46) Where does Holden go to pass the time before meeting Carl Luce for a drink? Why is it surprising that he goes there? 47) According to Holden, what about the show would Jesus hate, and why? 48) What is ironic about the behavior of the woman who sits next to Holden during the film? Is her behavior unusual or similar to that of other characters described by Holden? 49) Describe Holden’s and his brother D.B.’s attitudes toward war and the military.

Catcher

Students completed the following assignment in class today: Chapter 6 1) How does Stradlater react to the composition Holden has written for him? 2) Why is Holden so “nervous” when he asks Stradlater about the date with Jane? Why do they fight? 3) Stradlater is upset that Holden breaks the school rules by smoking in their room, but he has also broken a rule by borrowing Ed Banky’s car. Why doesn’t Stradlater seem to feel regret for having broken a rule himself? Chapter 7 4) Why does Holden wake up Ackley? 5) What is ironic about Ackley’s comment just before Holden walks out of his room? 6) Why does Holden feel sad when he thinks about the gift his mother gave him? 7) Describe Holden’s emotional state when he is about to leave Pencey. Refer to specific details from the text that reflect this emotional state.

Catcher

Students completed the following assignment on Monday: Choose 1 of the following tasks to complete after reading chapter 5 of The Catcher in the Rye: 1. Allie’s Mitt Write a detailed description of an item that has sentimental value to you. You must use at least 3 different senses in your examples of imagery. 2. Broken Windows Write a first person narrative about a time in which you reacted to something emotionally. This should be a strong emotion. You must use at least 3 different senses in your examples of imagery.

Chapter 3

Students read chapter 3 and began responding to the following which is due tomorrow: What are all of the characteristics of Ackley that bother Holden? Write a descriptive paragraph about an “Ackley” you know. You may NOT use any real names. You MUST narrate the paragraph and use multiple examples of imagery and dialogue to aid in presenting your annoyance of this person.

Imagery

Today students wrote descriptive paragraphs on a topic that they chose last week.

Film narration

Today we discussed the importance of narration and how it contributes to tone. We then watched clips from films that use narration to aid the story and discussed the significance.

The Catcher in the Rye

Today student read chapter 1 of The Catcher in the Rye and began working on the following assignment which is HW: Read chapter 1 of The Catcher in the Rye and complete the following: • Characterize the narrator using at least 3 adjectives and explain using examples from the text. • List and explain 6 words that contribute to tone. • Find an example of simile and explain how it contributes to tone. • Find an example of hyperbole and explain how it contributes to tone. • Once you have completed this, you are to rewrite your paragraph on being a teenager using what you have learned. Consider the tone and diction in the novel. Things to consider regarding characterization: • How a character looks (physical description) • How a character acts • How other characters in the story react to this character Tone-The tone of a piece of literature is the speaker's or narrator's attitude towards the subject.

Narration and Description

Today we began working on our new unit-Narration and Description. Students will be reading The Catcher in the Rye while we complete various activities in class. Today students had to write a list in response to the following: "Being a teenager is tough because..." Students then had to choose 1 item from their list and write a descriptive paragraph about it with a first person narrator.

Scholarship Application & Compare/Contrast essay

Students will be working in the computer lab all week. They are to complete the college scholarship application found here and complete their comp/cont essay by the end of the period Friday. The essay is on a topic of their choice.

1984/Brave New World

Students have completed the final comparison of the 2 novels. Topic-Rebellion How do the different views of suppressing a rebellion in 1984 and Brave New World compare and contrast? What fear is each author bringing to light? Which of these examples relates more to our culture? Consider topics such as prison rehabilitation, legalization of drugs, and the use of prescription drugs. Brave New World- "Soma distribution!" shouted a loud voice. "In good order, please. Hurry up there." "Oo-oh!" said all the hundred and sixty-two simultaneously, as though they were looking at fireworks. The young man took out a handful of tiny pill-boxes. "Now," he said peremptorily, "step forward, please. One at a time, and no shoving." "Stop!" called the Savage in a loud and ringing voice. "Stop!" "Listen, I beg of you," cried the Savage earnestly. "Lend me your ears …" He had never spoken in public before, and found it very difficult to express what he wanted to say. "Don't take that horrible stuff. It's poison, it's poison." "Yes, but let me get on with my distribution, won't you? There's a good fellow." With the cautious tenderness of one who strokes a notoriously vicious animal, he patted the Savage's arm. "Just let me …" "Never!" cried the Savage. "But look here, old man …" "Throw it all away, that horrible poison." The words "Throw it all away" pierced through the enfolding layers of incomprehension to the quick of the Delta's consciousness. An angry murmur went up from the crowd. "I come to bring you freedom," said the Savage, turning back towards the twins. "I come …" "But do you like being slaves?" the Savage was saying as they entered the Hospital. His face was flushed, his eyes bright with ardour and indignation. "Do you like being babies? Yes, babies. Mewling and puking," he added, exasperated by their bestial stupidity into throwing insults at those he had come to save. The insults bounced off their carapace of thick stupidity; they stared at him with a blank expression of dull and sullen resentment in their eyes. "Yes, puking!" he fairly shouted. Grief and remorse, compassion and duty–all were forgotten now and, as it were, absorbed into an intense overpowering hatred of these less than human monsters. "Don't you want to be free and men? Don't you even understand what manhood and freedom are?" Rage was making him fluent; the words came easily, in a rush. "Don't you?" he repeated, but got no answer to his question. "Very well then," he went on grimly. "I'll teach you; I'll make you be free whether you want to or not." And pushing open a window that looked on to the inner court of the Hospital, he began to throw the little pill-boxes of soma tablets in handfuls out into the area. For a moment the khaki mob was silent, petrified, at the spectacle of this wanton sacrilege, with amazement and horror. "Free, free!" the Savage shouted, and with one hand continued to throw the soma into the area while, with the other, he punched the indistinguishable faces of his assailants. "Free!" And suddenly there was Helmholtz at his side–"Good old Helmholtz!"–also punching–"Men at last!"–and in the interval also throwing the poison out by handfuls through the open window. "Yes, men! men!" and there was no more poison left. He picked up the cash-box and showed them its black emptiness. "You're free!" The policemen pushed him out of the way and got on with their work. Three men with spraying machines buckled to their shoulders pumped thick clouds of soma vapour into the air. Two more were busy round the portable Synthetic Music Box. Carrying water pistols charged with a powerful anæsthetic, four others had pushed their way into the crowd and were methodically laying out, squirt by squirt, the more ferocious of the fighters. Suddenly, from out of the Synthetic Music Box a Voice began to speak. The Voice of Reason, the Voice of Good Feeling. The sound-track roll was unwinding itself in Synthetic Anti-Riot Speech Number Two (Medium Strength). Straight from the depths of a non-existent heart, "My friends, my friends!" said the Voice so pathetically, with a note of such infinitely tender reproach that, behind their gas masks, even the policemen's eyes were momentarily dimmed with tears, "what is the meaning of this? Why aren't you all being happy and good together? Happy and good," the Voice repeated. "At peace, at peace." It trembled, sank into a whisper and momentarily expired. "Oh, I do want you to be happy," it began, with a yearning earnestness. "I do so want you to be good! Please, please be good and …" Two minutes later the Voice and the soma vapour had produced their effect. In tears, the Deltas were kissing and hugging one another–half a dozen twins at a time in a comprehensive embrace. Even Helmholtz and the Savage were almost crying. A fresh supply of pill-boxes was brought in from the Bursary; a new distribution was hastily made and, to the sound of the Voice's richly affectionate, baritone valedictions, the twins dispersed, blubbering as though their hearts would break. "Good-bye, my dearest, dearest friends, Ford keep you! Good-bye, my dearest, dearest friends, Ford keep you. Good-bye my dearest, dearest …" When the last of the Deltas had gone the policeman switched off the current. The angelic Voice fell silent. "Will you come quietly?" asked the Sergeant, "or must we anæsthetize?" He pointed his water pistol menacingly. 1984- 'You asked me once,' said O'Brien, 'what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world.' The door opened again. A guard came in, carrying something made of wire, a box or basket of some kind. He set it down on the further table. Because of the position in which O'Brien was standing. Winston could not see what the thing was. 'The worst thing in the world,' said O'Brien, 'varies from individual to individual. It may be burial alive, or death by fire, or by drowning, or by impalement, or fifty other deaths. There are cases where it is some quite trivial thing, not even fatal.' He had moved a little to one side, so that Winston had a better view of the thing on the table. It was an oblong wire cage with a handle on top for carrying it by. Fixed to the front of it was something that looked like a fencing mask, with the concave side outwards. Although it was three or four metres away from him, he could see that the cage was divided lengthways into two compartments, and that there was some kind of creature in each. They were rats. 'In your case,' said O'Brien, 'the worst thing in the world happens to be rats.' A sort of premonitory tremor, a fear of he was not certain what, had passed through Winston as soon as he caught his first glimpse of the cage. But at this moment the meaning of the mask-like attachment in front of it suddenly sank into him. His bowels seemed to turn to water. 'You can't do that!' he cried out in a high cracked voice. 'You couldn't, you couldn't! It's impossible.' 'Do you remember,' said O'Brien, 'the moment of panic that used to occur in your dreams? There was a wall of blackness in front of you, and a roaring sound in your ears. There was something terrible on the other side of the wall. You knew that you knew what it was, but you dared not drag it into the open. It was the rats that were on the other side of the wall.' 'O'Brien!' said Winston, making an effort to control his voice. 'You know this is not necessary. What is it that you want me to do?' O'Brien made no direct answer. When he spoke it was in the schoolmasterish manner that he sometimes affected. He looked thoughtfully into the distance, as though he were addressing an audience somewhere behind Winston's back. 'By itself,' he said, 'pain is not always enough. There are occasions when a human being will stand out against pain, even to the point of death. But for everyone there is something unendurable -- something that cannot be contemplated. Courage and cowardice are not involved. If you are falling from a height it is not cowardly to clutch at a rope. If you have come up from deep water it is not cowardly to fill your lungs with air. It is merely an instinct which cannot be destroyed. It is the same with the rats. For you, they are unendurable. They are a form of pressure that you cannot withstand, even if you wished to. You will do what is required of you. 'But what is it, what is it? How can I do it if I don't know what it is?' O'Brien picked up the cage and brought it across to the nearer table. He set it down carefully on the baize cloth. Winston could hear the blood singing in his ears. He had the feeling of sitting in utter loneliness. He was in the middle of a great empty plain, a flat desert drenched with sunlight, across which all sounds came to him out of immense distances. Yet the cage with the rats was not two metres away from him. They were enormous rats. They were at the age when a rat's muzzle grows blunt and fierce and his fur brown instead of grey. 'The rat,' said O'Brien, still addressing his invisible audience, 'although a rodent, is carnivorous. You are aware of that. You will have heard of the things that happen in the poor quarters of this town. In some streets a woman dare not leave her baby alone in the house, even for five minutes. The rats are certain to attack it. Within quite a small time they will strip it to the bones. They also attack sick or dying people. They show astonishing intelligence in knowing when a human being is helpless.' There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. It seemed to reach Winston from far away. The rats were fighting; they were trying to get at each other through the partition. He heard also a deep groan of despair. That, too, seemed to come from outside himself. O'Brien picked up the cage, and, as he did so, pressed something in it. There was a sharp click. Winston made a frantic effort to tear himself loose from the chair. It was hopeless; every part of him, even his head, was held immovably. O'Brien moved the cage nearer. It was less than a metre from Winston's face. 'I have pressed the first lever,' said O'Brien. 'You understand the construction of this cage. The mask will fit over your head, leaving no exit. When I press this other lever, the door of the cage will slide up. These starving brutes will shoot out of it like bullets. Have you ever seen a rat leap through the air? They will leap on to your face and bore straight into it. Sometimes they attack the eyes first. Sometimes they burrow through the cheeks and devour the tongue.' The cage was nearer; it was closing in. Winston heard a succession of shrill cries which appeared to be occurring in the air above his head. But he fought furiously against his panic. To think, to think, even with a split second left -- to think was the only hope. Suddenly the foul musty odour of the brutes struck his nostrils. There was a violent convulsion of nausea inside him, and he almost lost consciousness. Everything had gone black. For an instant he was insane, a screaming animal. Yet he came out of the blackness clutching an idea. There was one and only one way to save himself. He must interpose another human being, the body of another human being, between himself and the rats. The circle of the mask was large enough now to shut out the vision of anything else. The wire door was a couple of hand-spans from his face. The rats knew what was coming now. One of them was leaping up and down, the other, an old scaly grandfather of the sewers, stood up, with his pink hands against the bars, and fiercely sniffed the air. Winston could see the whiskers and the yellow teeth. Again the black panic took hold of him. He was blind, helpless, mindless. 'It was a common punishment in Imperial China,' said O'Brien as didactically as ever. The mask was closing on his face. The wire brushed his cheek. And then -- no, it was not relief, only hope, a tiny fragment of hope. Too late, perhaps too late. But he had suddenly understood that in the whole world there was just one person to whom he could transfer his punishment -- one body that he could thrust between himself and the rats. And he was shouting frantically, over and over. 'Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don't care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me!'

Entertainment

Today students compared entertainment in 1984 and Brave New World and then discussed how their examples relate to our culture.

1984/Brave New World

Students turned in the following assignment today and discussed the presence of sex in modern culture. Topic-sex How do the different views of sex in 1984 and Brave New World compare and contrast? What fear is each author bringing to light? Which of these examples relates more to our culture? Explain. 1984- When he had gone with that woman it had been his first lapse in two years or thereabouts. Consorting with prostitutes was forbidden, of course, but it was one of those rules that you could occasionally nerve yourself to break. It was dangerous, but it was not a life-and-death matter. To be caught with a prostitute might mean five years in a forced-labour camp: not more, if you had committed no other offence. And it was easy enough, provided that you could avoid being caught in the act. The poorer quarters swarmed with women who were ready to sell themselves. Some could even be purchased for a bottle of gin, which the proles were not supposed to drink. Tacitly the Party was even inclined to encourage prostitution, as an outlet for instincts which could not be altogether suppressed. Mere debauchery did not matter very much, so long as it was furtive and joyless and only involved the women of a submerged and despised class. The unforgivable crime was promiscuity between Party members. But -- though this was one of the crimes that the accused in the great purges invariably confessed to -- it was difficult to imagine any such thing actually happening. The aim of the Party was not merely to prevent men and women from forming loyalties which it might not be able to control. Its real, undeclared purpose was to remove all pleasure from the sexual act. Not love so much as eroticism was the enemy, inside marriage as well as outside it. All marriages between Party members had to be approved by a committee appointed for the purpose, and -- though the principle was never clearly stated -- permission was always refused if the couple concerned gave the impression of being physically attracted to one another. The only recognized purpose of marriage was to beget children for the service of the Party. Sexual intercourse was to be looked on as a slightly disgusting minor operation, like having an enema. This again was never put into plain words, but in an indirect way it was rubbed into every Party member from childhood onwards. There were even organizations such as the Junior Anti-Sex League, which advocated complete celibacy for both sexes. All children were to be begotten by artificial insemination (artsem, it was called in Newspeak) and brought up in public institutions. This, Winston was aware, was not meant altogether seriously, but somehow it fitted in with the general ideology of the Party. The Party was trying to kill the sex instinct, or, if it could not be killed, then to distort it and dirty it. He did not know why this was so, but it seemed natural that it should be so. And as far as the women were concerned, the Party's efforts were largely successful. Brave New World- Exquisite little creature!" said the Director, looking after her. Then, turning to his students, "What I'm going to tell you now," he said, "may sound incredible. But then, when you're not accustomed to history, most facts about the past do sound incredible." He let out the amazing truth. For a very long period before the time of Our Ford, and even for some generations afterwards, erotic play between children had been regarded as abnormal (there was a roar of laughter); and not only abnormal, actually immoral (no!): and had therefore been rigorously suppressed. A look of astonished incredulity appeared on the faces of his listeners. Poor little kids not allowed to amuse themselves? They could not believe it. "Even adolescents," the D.H.C. was saying, "even adolescents like yourselves …" "Not possible!" "Barring a little surreptitious auto-erotism and homosexuality–absolutely nothing." "Nothing?" "In most cases, till they were over twenty years old." "Twenty years old?" echoed the students in a chorus of loud disbelief. "Twenty," the Director repeated. "I told you that you'd find it incredible." Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. But there were also husbands, wives, lovers. There were also monogamy and romance. "Though you probably don't know what those are," said Mustapha Mond. They shook their heads. Family, monogamy, romance. Everywhere exclusiveness, a narrow channelling of impulse and energy. "But every one belongs to every one else," he concluded, citing the hypnopædic proverb. The students nodded, emphatically agreeing with a statement which upwards of sixty-two thousand repetitions in the dark had made them accept, not merely as true, but as axiomatic, self-evident, utterly indisputable. "And after all," Fanny's tone was coaxing, "it's not as though there were anything painful or disagreeable about having one or two men besides Henry. And seeing that you ought to be a little more promiscuous …" Lenina shook her head. "Somehow," she mused, "I hadn't been feeling very keen on promiscuity lately. There are times when one doesn't. Haven't you found that too, Fanny?" Fanny nodded her sympathy and understanding. "But one's got to make the effort," she said, sententiously, "one's got to play the game. After all, every one belongs to every one else." "Yes, every one belongs to every one else," Lenina repeated slowly and, sighing, was silent for a moment; then, taking Fanny's hand, gave it a little squeeze. "You're quite right, Fanny. As usual. I'll make the effort." "Lenina Crowne?" said Henry Foster, echoing the Assistant Predestinator's question as he zipped up his trousers. "Oh, she's a splendid girl. Wonderfully pneumatic. I'm surprised you haven't had her." "I can't think how it is I haven't," said the Assistant Predestinator. "I certainly will. At the first opportunity."

1984 vs Brave New World

Students completed the following assignment over the weekend. We will continue to read excerpts from both 1984 and Brave New World as part of the Compare/Contrast unit. Topic-Reproduction How do the different views of reproduction in 1984 and Brave New World compare and contrast? What fear is each author bringing to light? Which of these examples relates more to our culture? Explain. Which example would you prefer? Why? 1984-pgs 66-67 Katharine was a tall, fair-haired girl, very straight, with splendid movements. She had a bold, aquiline face, a face that one might have called noble until one discovered that there was as nearly as possible nothing behind it. Very early in her married life he had decided -- though perhaps it was only that he knew her more intimately than he knew most people -- that she had without exception the most stupid, vulgar, empty mind that he had ever encountered. She had not a thought in her head that was not a slogan, and there was no imbecility, absolutely none that she was not capable of swallowing if the Party handed it out to her. 'The human sound-track' he nicknamed her in his own mind. Yet he could have endured living with her if it had not been for just one thing -- sex. As soon as he touched her she seemed to wince and stiffen. To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image. And what was strange was that even when she was clasping him against her he had the feeling that she was simultaneously pushing him away with all her strength. The rigidlty of her muscles managed to convey that impression. She would lie there with shut eyes, neither resisting nor co-operating but submitting. It was extraordinarily embarrassing, and, after a while, horrible. But even then he could have borne living with her if it had been agreed that they should remain celibate. But curiously enough it was Katharine who refused this. They must, she said, produce a child if they could. So the performance continued to happen, once a week quite regulariy, whenever it was not impossible. She even used to remind him of it in the morning, as something which had to be done that evening and which must not be forgotten. She had two names for it. One was 'making a baby', and the other was 'our duty to the Party' (yes, she had actually used that phrase). Quite soon he grew to have a feeling of positive dread when the appointed day came round. But luckily no child appeared, and in the end she agreed to give up trying, and soon afterwards they parted. Brave New World-pgs 5-6 Still leaning against the incubators he gave them, while the pencils scurried illegibly across the pages, a brief description of the modern fertilizing process; spoke first, of course, of its surgical introduction–"the operation undergone voluntarily for the good of Society, not to mention the fact that it carries a bonus amounting to six months' salary"; continued with some account of the technique for preserving the excised ovary alive and actively developing; passed on to a consideration of optimum temperature, salinity, viscosity; referred to the liquor in which the detached and ripened eggs were kept; and, leading his charges to the work tables, actually showed them how this liquor was drawn off from the test-tubes; how it was let out drop by drop onto the specially warmed slides of the microscopes; how the eggs which it contained were inspected for abnormalities, counted and transferred to a porous receptacle; how (and he now took them to watch the operation) this receptacle was immersed in a warm bouillon containing free-swimming spermatozoa–at a minimum concentration of one hundred thousand per cubic centimetre, he insisted; and how, after ten minutes, the container was lifted out of the liquor and its contents re-examined; how, if any of the eggs remained unfertilized, it was again immersed, and, if necessary, yet again; how the fertilized ova went back to the incubators; where the Alphas and Betas remained until definitely bottled; while the Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons were brought out again, after only thirty-six hours, to undergo Bokanovsky's Process. "Bokanovsky's Process," repeated the Director, and the students underlined the words in their little notebooks. One egg, one embryo, one adult-normality. But a bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud will grow into a perfectly formed embryo, and every embryo into a full-sized adult. Making ninety-six human beings grow where only one grew before. Progress. "Essentially," the D.H.C. concluded, "bokanovskification consists of a series of arrests of development. We check the normal growth and, paradoxically enough, the egg responds by budding."

The Truman Show

Students received the following assignment which is due tomorrow along with their Room 101 chapter: The Truman Show Although this is not directly derived from 1984, the themes are similar. You should easily be able to compare and contrast the film with the themes of privacy that we have been discussing. Be sure to answer the following questions in complete paragraphs. In your opinion, what is worse – being watched 24/7 and knowing it like Winston? Or, being watched 24/7 and not knowing it like Truman? (10 points) At the very end of the film when Truman confronts Christof, Christof tries to convince Truman to stay. Truman responds by saying, “You never had a camera in my head!” Why is this comment an important quote for a comparison of The Truman Show to 1984? Explain your answer carefully. (10 points)

The Truman Show

We are currently watching The Truman Show and discussing the privacy issue and how it relates to 1984.

Room 101

After reading several excerpts from 1984 dealing with room 101, the students received the following assignment: Designing Room 101 You are to write a chapter describing your experience in room 101. You may use any point of view you like but you must include the following: • Dialogue • Figurative language (refer to your elements of voice sheet) • You as the main character • An interrogator Spend some time brainstorming what you would find to be “unendurable”. Then be creative with your room design. Remember, this is something that would undoubtedly break you, or as O’Brien puts it, “a matter of instinct”.