1984 blog comments

Thomas Woodward- P4 Amy

This is very well thought out! I don't think there is a poster on each floor, I think there is only one huge poster visible on all of the floors in the building. The poster is described as being "too large for indoor display". Which describes how the government will go to extensive measures to enforce their foul totalitarian ways. Also this shows how the government and the people are dysfunctional. The government put a huge poster that should be outside on the inside of the building.

Thomas Woodward- P4 Sara

¡I like your ideas! Do you think that the people are more interested in keeping up the poster or could it be that the government is only willing to support their own cause? I think the government is putting its ideals before the citizens. Lousy totalitarians.

Thomas Woodward P4- P3 Tristan

I like your connection with the broken lift and the unfulfilled promises. Im am confused at how the government can watch you and not tend to you at the same time. How does this result in the government waiting for you to do something? Also how is the government doing an experiment by letting the Victory Mansions become run down? I think the run down Victory Mansions demonstrate the priority levels of the government. Their main goal is to keep the poster (their unquestionable authority) in the victory mansion in top condition and to give to the people bare minimum necessities to survive. This keeps the balance of power the way the government wants it.

1984 Journal 1

"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 an 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 the enormous face gazed from 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" (1)

1984 Journal 1

            In 1984, George Orwell describes the hallway of the Victory Mansions in a very decrepit manner. The poor condition of the Victory Mansions describes Orwell’s dislike of the totalitarian government he is describing. The smell of boiled cabbage and the broken elevator helps create a dismal and abused setting Orwell is trying to describe to the readers. The elevator is broken because the government cut off electricity to people during the day to prepare for Hate Week. Orwell creates a scene of total government control by giving everything names. The Victory Mansion and Hate Week both sound very controlling. The names are very one-sided. They force you to accept their meaning. The Victory Mansions force a person to believe they are being given a huge gift but really, the mansions are a significant loss of freedom. The government is forcing you to live in houses they issue to you. Hate Week is also making the people turn into frenzied beasts. The government is taking away the people’s level-headedness and replacing it with rage. The government is omnipresent in Orwell’s 1984. The big propaganda poster says “Big Brother Is Watching” this is how Orwell demonstrates how the people have no power or rights in the socialistic party. The government acchieves complete powerlessness of the people when Orwell describes how the poster’s eyes follow Winston.

The Stranger 6

1. It’s not my fault

2. I was a little bored

3. Making me drowsy

4. The sun was starting to burn my cheeks

5. It didn’t really matter

6. It really was all the same to me

7. The trigger gave

8. I was still right, I was always right. I had lived my life one way and I could have lived it another

9. The others would all be condemned one day

10. So close to death

11. Departures for a world that meant nothing to me.

The Stranger 5

Cultural Journal:

The blown up case in The Stranger shows how the laws are different in Algiers. Meursault didn’t even have a chance to defend his position and the reporters exaggerated his case, making him look bad. The reporters did that for personal gain to make their paper more interesting. In America the newspapers are only supposed to print the facts not change them depending on how a person sees fit. There is no way to know though weather some news is really true or not because we were not there. The newspapers in America are supposed to print the facts but they may not be entirely true. The difference between America and Algiers is the openness of exaggerating the case.

Journal 5

Meursault is described as confused a lot in part two, where as in part one he is not as confused. “I was feeling a little dizzy too” (83). This shows how Meursault is realizing his fate. He doesn’t want to die but he continuously thinks about dying. That is why he is dizzy. There are also a lot of descriptions of heads in part two. “His bald little head” (85). Heat is mentioned a lot but what is different from part one is that part two talks about people sweating from the heat. “I wiped the sweat covering my face”(89). The text only talks about people’s heads sweating. Meursault also shows more emotion to the reader during the trial. He wants to “cry” and “kiss” Céleste (90)(93).

The jury is a character that appears in the second part. I describe them as one character because they are never distinguished from each other. The jury is there to judge Meursault on what he did. They represent society and they are judging Meursault. Also we see the prosecutor in the courtroom. He takes everything Meursault says and turns it evil. “For the first time in years I had this stupid urge to cry” (89-90). The prosecutor accuses Meursault for not having a soul and being a monster with out morals. “The horror I feel when I look into a man’s face and all I see is a monster” (102).

Meursault’s lawyer said, “It is true I killed a man” (103). I think the lawyer is acknowledging that he is a bad lawyer and has done a poor job with the trial. The lawyer is talking about himself when he says he killed a man. That man is Meursault.

The reporters show up in part two. They exaggerated Meursault’s case and made him look worse. This shows how people can only trust themselves because other people may lie for personal gain. “You know, we’ve blown up your case a little” (84).

The Stranger 4

Cultural Journal.

On page 63, the fact that no one at the police station cared about Meursault’s case at first tells me that murder is a common crime. The only time I have heard an Arab speak was in a prison. This shows me how society view Arabs because the only time the Arabs have courage to speak or feel power is in prison. The Arabs feel like they have power in prison because when the Arab talks to Meursalut he is laughing and feels cocky.

“Near the casket was an Arab nurse in a white smock, with a brightly colored scarf on her head” (6)

The nurse is wearing a white smock and a brightly colored headscarf. Is this describing her wearing a burqa? In Arabic culture, women are supposed to wear a burqa to be “sexually modest”.

“I brushed against her breasts” (19)

Merusault is helping Marie onto a float and brushes against her breasts. He is being sneaky at first to get intimate with Marie. As their relationship goes on he is more aggressive about sex but now he is just making sure Marie wont refuse.

Raymond Sintés. Pg 28.

He is a pimp but calls himself a warehouse guard to try to cover up what he is doing to sound moral.

-When meursault is longing for women at the prison. He dosnt care if it is Marie, he just wants a woman.

The Stranger 3

Motifs:

The movies

Swimming

Meursault wanting Marie

Raymond beating up girls

Meursault doesn’t like cops

Nothing matters to Meursault and he agrees to do things people tell him to do

Meursault likes liquor, smoking and sex

Meursault is so freaking indifferent and apathetic to everything! It's annoying!

Meursault is apathetic about marriage.

Meursault has a hard time waking up on Sunday

Marie laughing

The Arabs are only described as the Arabs and they never talk.

The Stranger is an appropriate title to this text because Meursault is so indifferent to the society around him. He feels that the world is pointless because in the end the result is the same; everybody dies. Marie and Raymond have opinions about their life and act on their opinions. Meursault only acts on impulses and his wants and what people tell him to do. Meursault doesn’t function the way other character function in the book. Meursault is very introverted and is irritable with other people when he must explain his thoughts to them. Meursault is a stranger is his society not only emotionally but socially as well. We learn that Meursault is from Paris. We can assume he is a Pied Noirs. This means he is despised from the local inhabitants of Algiers for his superior rights, but he is viewed as inferior to the people in Paris because he has fewer rights in Paris.

The fact that the cop slapped Raymonds face shows how the standards in Algiers are different from America. Also Raymond gets off with a warning for beating the girl when it is obvious that he did beat her up. He just said that the girl cheated on him and the police were ok with that. The society is obviously male dominated. What I mean by that is that the men have the majority of the power and rights in Algiers.

The Stranger 2

In chapter 3, we meet Old Salamano and his dog. The text says that Old Salamano and his dog “hate each other” but the dog and Old Salamano are described as looking the same. This could imply that the dog and Old Salamano are not as different as they seem. Old Salamono beats his dog. Maybe he does this because he feels bad about his life and is bitter about it and needs a vent for his stress. Old Salamano and his dog go on a walk at the same time everyday. Everyday the dog will lead on the walk until it makes Old Salamano trip. This shows that the dog still has some pride to it. It wants to lead even though it knows it will get beaten by Salamano. After, Old Salamano leads the dog. Because Old Salamano and his dog are so similar, maybe Old Salamano also wants to lead and improve his life but cannot. Maybe he is a pied noirs.

Another character we meet is Céleste. Céleste is the chef of his own restaurant. He seems to be very familiar with Meursault. Céleste always seems cheerful or understanding with Meursault. Céleste is Meursault’s friend. Céleste is described as being big and having a big belly. Big bellies are either related to wealth or friendly people. An example of a wealthy person with a big belly and is Jody. A well-known example of a person with a big belly is Santa Clause. Céleste has a big friendly Santa Clause belly. This makes Céleste non-discriminative and a good friend to the apathetic Meursault.

The Stranger 1

Camus talks a lot about recreational activites Meursault sees people doing. Camus talks about swimming and going to the movies. Meursault goes swimming and goes to the movies. Meursault is having a very leisurely time away from work. This is part of the steriotype that French people are lazy. Also in chapert 2 Camus talks about how “gangs of fans” are coming back from a soccer game. A gang is a violent thing. Its interesting how Camus describes this. Maybe it has to do with some cultural friction.

Color is described a lot in Camus work. He describes the color of the caretaker and the color of the scenery. He also describes the color of many other things. One reoccurring color is blood red. It is interesting how Camus only describes people with the blood red color.

Sleep. Meursault is always talking about sleep. He said he didn’t get any sleep at the funeral home but the text said he nodded off. Its weird. Why would Meursault deny sleeping?

Other ideas:

Why is Meursault so apologetic to his boss? He is always apologizing in his mind about something.

Why does Meursault not want to see his mother? Is he grieving? Why is Meursault so indecisive? Why is Meursault so bad at displaying his emotions? Why is Meursault so apologetic to his boss? He is always apologizing in his mind about something.

The bus reoccurs a lot. Public transportation is big in Meursault’s life.

Time occurs a lot.