Friday, January 24, 2020

Democracy Versus Totalitarianism in George Orwells 1984 Essays

Democracy Versus Totalitarianism in George Orwell's 1984 Winston Smith lived in a world of lies, chaos, and disorder. His uniform was shabby and living space cold and dirty. Changing the past to suit the present was his job where he worked, the Ministry of Truth. One day, he encountered a beautiful young woman of about 26 years of age and instantly fell in love. Little did he know that she would be the one who would end his life. He dreams of sleeping with her but fears that he would be captured by the Thought Police because sex is illegal. During the Two Minutes Hate - a time when members of Ingsoc come together to despise Emmanuel Goldstein, a man who supported freedom and rights - the woman passes a note to Winston. It says for him to meet her in the forest where they can talk. They meet and make love, a feeling he misses since he divorced his wife. Also, doing this act means that he can accept thoughtcrime which is punishable by death. After this, Winston moves into an apartment and the woman, whose name the reader learns is Julia, acc ompanies him. Thinking they are safe from the Thought Police, they commit many different thoughtcrimes. Unfortunately, their renter betrays them and bugs were placed in the room that noted their every move. Julia is taken away and doesn't appear again until the last pages of the book. Winston is taken to jail where he is brainwashed through torture into accepting the ideas of Big Brother, an imaginary leader of the country Oceania. The conflict presented in 1984 is between democracy and totalitarianism. The reader can see Winston's desire for democracy as he writes in his journal and intimately associates with Julia, both of which are illegal in Oceania. Evidence of totalitarianism is se... ...is on page 228, "Two and two make five." This line represents a philosophical point I strictly believe; people who have power, rule over those who do not. I think it is part of nature that this happens. Intelligence, strength, cunning, size, and boisterousness, among other qualities, can single out an individual and make he/she powerful. Those who are powerful can usually survive the best. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone . . . period. It shows how important human qualities are to be human and what can happen when we are not in control of our own lives. This book is not suspenseful but horrifying in a non-gruesome way. It is not a true story in any manner but the reader can pick out certain things that are apparent in our society. Notes 1. The edition of 1984 that I read was the Signet Classic edition, copyright 1981, by New American Library.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

So Much to Tell You – John Marsden

So Much to Tell You by John Marsden, explores the struggle that the protagonist, Marina, endures along her journey to mental wholeness. Marina’s soul has been shattered due to a traumatic event, and being witness to a large amount of violence and hatred in her family. So Much To Tell You is rich in techniques that are used effectively to convey the idea of Marina’s struggle, and journey towards mental wholeness. Marina’s difficulty in achieving psychological completion is shown through the major technique, structural contrast.We follow Marina’s personal journey and her healing throughout the novel, and we watch as she develops from an introverted, mistrustful person into someone who is able to appropriately communicate with other individuals. Marina uses a tone of self-loathing to show us that she views herself as a â€Å"nutcase†, psycho† and â€Å"the freak of Warrington† who suffers from â€Å"anorexia of speech†. Marina is se nt to Warrington Boarding School â€Å"to learn to speak again, because [her] mother can’t stand [her] silent presence at home†.At first Marina is isolated and detached from the rest of the school, shown through the retreat imagery of Marina as she â€Å"slinks along the walls and corridors†. As the novel progresses, Marina’s entries suggest that she is becoming more in touch with her peers, and â€Å"moving round the school more confidently†. Her visit to Mr Lindells house over the weekend is a very significant event in Marina’s transformation. Throughout the weekend she becomes more expressive, expressed through her tone of excitement in the phrase â€Å"it was good!And they’re so nice! Nice, nice, nice†! Here, the use of exclamation and the repetition of the word, ‘nice’ emphasise Marina’s positive involvement in life. This is contrasted with Marina being a passive spectator during school tennis, and life in general. Towards the end of the novel Marina chooses on her own accord to return to Warrington, and reaches out to Mr Lindell to help her, a drastic change from the beginning of the novel where she didn’t interact with anyone at all.In the early stages of the novel, the struggle and difficulty of repairing Marina’s psyche due to damage and conflict within her family, and Marina’s journey towards mental health, is conveyed through the composer’s effective manipulation of fragmentation imagery. Perhaps the most prominent examples of fragmentation imagery would be Ann Maltin’s â€Å"spangled star doona cover†. Ann tells Marina the â€Å"the stars do fit together, but it took [her] years to figure it out†. This is a metaphor for Marina’s damaged psyche, and it foreshadows her psychological wholeness.Her psyche will fit together again; she just has to give it time to heal. Marina also explains the she likes ‘the word †Å"coalesce†, though when [she] looks at it for a long time it seems strange and ugly†. This is how Marina views herself, a jumble of â€Å"strange and ugly† fragments that need to â€Å"coalesce† in order to become one healed psyche. She also writes about the way the pool is when there is nobody there â€Å"then the first girl jumps or dives in – and it all cracks†. This demonstrates how fragile Marina’s psyche is; it could shatter at any time. Ann Maltin also â€Å"had a ceramic piece†¦ on the cupboard beside her bed.It was a big bird, an eagle†. Whilst â€Å"vacuuming the dorm† Marina accidentally knocks the bird of its stand, and it promptly shatters on the floor. Even after Ann has glued it back together, she â€Å"can still see the cracks. [She] will always see them. This indicates that Marina will heal, but she will never be exactly the same person as she was before the incident, and she will always be scarred from the traumatic event. John Marsden has greatly emphasised the importance of Marina repairing her damaged psyche through the use of metaphors, foreshadowing, and fragmentation imagery.Symbolism and figurative devices are also used effectively by John Marsden to evoke the idea of Marina’s need for retreat or refuge from the difficulties of reality, prior to her significant journey to wholeness. For Marina, the chapel at her school symbolises a sanctuary. â€Å"Churches [are] safe places, where you [can] hide†, Marina sits by herself in her dark corner and writes in her journal, it is where she can think about her life, and her father. She feels protected in the chapel, and in the school generally too.This is shown through the use of similes in the phrase â€Å"in the hospital [she] felt exposed under the white light, here [she] feels like a black snail†. This contrasts between the white exposure of the hospital, and the black refuge of the school. Similes, ret reat imagery, and symbolisation are used dextrously throughout So Much To Tell You to demonstrate Marina’s difficult journey to wholeness. John Marsden dextrously uses effective techniques throughout So Much To Tell You to explore the concept of struggle and wholeness, demonstrated by the protagonist, Marina.We learn about Marina’s personal struggle to become whole again after the tragic events that have occurred prior to the beginning of the novel. We see this through the contrast of Marina’s character between the beginning of the novel and the end of the novel, the extensive use of fragmentation imagery, and the retreat imagery, that is used to convey Marina’s struggle. We trace her traumatic personal journey, difficulties and mental healing throughout the novel, on an emotional rollercoaster that is Marina’s life.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

The Work of the Puppeteer - 899 Words

Kubinashi sighed as he continued his morning duty. Ever since what happened last time they all decided to take duty of protecting master Rikuo from danger. He continued sweeping the floor from the mess they did last night. They were celebrating over the fact that master Rikuo is finally the supreme commander. Everyone got drunk and partied like no tomorrow. He smiled fondly of the memory when suddenly he was cut off his thought when he smelled the strong familiar scent of blood. He knew so well how it smelled since he drowned himself in it in the past. This smell... It is so near. It was so strong that it would have awaken everybody if they werent that drunk. Quickly having his guard up, he walked slowly towards its direction, which happens to be the entrance door. An enemy? He thought. What he saw shocked him in this snowy day. There lay a girl soaked in her own blood. The snow around her turned into a shade of pink and she seemed to be at the verge of dying. Kubinashi immediately carried her bridal style and ran inside screaming. ZEN-SAMA! ___________________________________________________________________________ What do you want? Zen said looking pissed off like usually. What do they want now? Zen-sama! What he saw shocked him. Kubinashi didnt even need to explain the situation to him. Get her inside quickly! Zen demanded. Kubinashi immediately got inside Zen room and carefully laid the girl on his bed. Kubinashi, call Kejoro and Wakana-sanShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Creation Of Art ( Encyclopedia Brittanica ) Essay979 Words   |  4 Pagesand that art is the closest way of portraying our versions of the forms.†¨ To begin, the Republic by Plato presents us with the allegory of the cave. In the cave there are people who can only see shadows cast on the wall. The shadows are cast by puppeteers (the divine) and the puppets that represent the forms or the real objects. 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