Never break someone's heart because they have only one inside...break their bones because they have 206 of them.

The birds and the bees fly high together in the woods and a few other other times. What stood out to me was on page 125, "His heart leapt. Scores of times she had done it; he wished it had been hundreds---thousands. Anything that hinted at corruption always filled him with a wild of hope". Hey, Winston, it sounds like you want to be filled with a lot more than hope...like an STD!

Anyway, as we all know, Winston and Julia were tortured for their promiscuity. To the Party, it wasn't exactly torture. It was more along the lines of "constructive reinforcement". For example, on page 273 O'Brien says "We have beaten you, Winston. We have broken you up. You have seen what your body is like. Your mind is in the same state. I do not think there can be much pride left in you. You have been kicked and flogged and insulted, you have screamed with pain, you have rolled on the floor in your own blood and vomit. You have whimpered for mercy, you have betrayed everybody and everything". ((O'Brien is like^^^^))

Following that, Winston replied "I have not betrayed Julia". 

I don't understand how he thinks he hasn't betrayed her when he told them every thing that he knows about her. Ummm, Winston, last time I checked, that was betrayal. His excuse was "I never stopped loving her". 

What I would say if I was Julia: "We can't be together anyway, but if you just put all my business out like that, there's really no hope for us. On top of that, you told them to torture me to save yourself! I don't even want your love so you might as well completely betray me and deny the fact that you love me"

What Julia actually said in basic terms: "Cool fam".

What really got to me was how their "walk past you like I never knew you" game was super strong. Winston even said the thought of sex with her ever again was repulsive....

but that's none of my business. 

What I really can't believe is how Winston is actually serious about believing in Big Brother. His mind was previously so focused on hating him and rebelling and that tiny bit of pain changed him as quick as the snap of a finger... What part of the ending left you astonished? Why? 

Really Random

Has anyone noticed that there are no pets or animals in this book? On page 123-124 Winston and Julia saw a bird, and they were completely amazed. They clearly do not see birds often, but why? Why don't they have pet dogs or cats? How did they get rid of them all and where did they all go, if there ever was any? These questions will probably never be answered, but I just thought I'd put them out there.

 

#philosophical thoughts by Kayla Burch 

Well that escalated quickly...

Winston and Julia sittin' behind a tree.
K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage.

First, I want to say that I really like their secret love. It's so dangerous, but it gives the book some livelihood. It's compelling to keep reading because eventually you know they'll get caught, but the question is; when?

This is a picture from the movie 1984.

Second, the title of this post is called "Well that escalated quickly...". I named it this, because their entire relationship was very out of the blue. On page 107, she secretly slides a note in his hand that says "I love you". This really confused me, because there was no foreshadowing that led up to this event. Before then he had never had a conversation with this girl, in fact, he absolutely hated her for just being pretty and young. She sat behind him in the two minutes of hate, she saw him on the other side of town where the proles live, and now she loves him? The only possible explanation that I have is that she likes his rebellious nature. She saw him on the other side of town and although it's not forbidden to go there; it's highly uncommon. A citizen under party control generally has no reason to be there other than official business. On page 122 she gives a small explanation that says "It was something in your face. I thought I'd take a chance. I'm good at spotting people who don't belong. As soon as I saw you I knew you were against them". It's very hard for me to believe that all it took for her to fall in love with him was that. What else do you think made her fall in love with Winston?

Repetition

WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH 

This is the slogan of the Party. This Party has this slogan engraved in every subordinate's mind. No one in Airstrip one will ever forget it, but what does it really mean? They repeat something that they don't even comprehend. They have been brain washed and some of them don't even know it.

Definitions to keep in mind:
1. War: a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state.
2. Peace: freedom from disturbance.
3. Freedom: the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
4. Slavery: the practice of system of owning a person and forcing them to do work.
5. Ignorance: lack of knowledge of information.
6. Strength: the quality or state of being strong.

There is a pattern that these definitions follow. They all contradict each other. It's very strange, because contradictions make the brain think. It comes up with a range of different scenarios to try to grasp the idea that is being explained. It tries to define the situation. The Party does not want their members to think; they want to think for them. The Party wants the citizens to blindly follow and believe everything they say. Yet, this slogan is constantly repeated. "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" (Page 4). "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" (Page 16). "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" (Page 26). It continues throughout the book. Why do you think they keep repeating this? What does it mean to you? Better yet, what do you think it means to them?

On another topic, some of the Party members are passionate about the Party's control of the citizens, such as Syme. Others, just want to be truly free, like Winston. Some members are so pro-Party that they wouldn't hesitate to get this tattoo. This tattoo is currently on the skin of someone in the real world. If they are passionate enough, wouldn't fictional characters be, too?

Yet, these questions remain:
Who defines what a war is?
How can you know if you truly hold peace?
What does it mean to be free?
What considers someone a slave?
Is there anyone who is actually ignorant?
How can we test someone's strength?

Still in the middle

Oskar's favorite person ever is his grandmom. They're each other's bestfriends. Usually, bestfriends know everything about each other. For example, my bestfriend and I can tell someone what each other is about to say before we even say it. Oskar, on the hand, knows next to nothing about his grandmom. On page 105 he says "I don't think there's anyone I spend more time with, at least not since Dad died, unless you count Buckminster. But there were a lot of people that I knew better. For example, I didn't know anything about what it was like when she was a kid, or how she meant grandpa, or what their marriage was like, or why he left. If I had to write her life story, all I could say is that her husband could talk to animals, and that I should never love anything as much as she loved me". It's obvious that she doesn't talk about her past for a reason, but what do you think that reason is? 

In the previous post, I reveled that the strange man was Oskar's grandpop, but I am still unsure of who the woman is. In the flashback on page 124, she lets him read a book that she wrote about all the things she has seen in her life. There were 2000 white, wordless pages. She hasn't seen anything, because she's blind. Neither Oskar's grandma or her sister Anna are blind, so that question will remain unanswered for now. 

Oskar played a role in the school play, Hamlet. All of the "Blacks" that he meant while he was on his journey for the lock came. I thought that meant something really special, and I feel like they all know his dad even though they said they didn't. On the last night of the play, Oskar "felt, that night, on that stage, under that skull, incredibly close to everything in the universe, but also extremely alone". He also, "wondered for the first time in my life, if life was worth all the work it took to live" (145). When I imagined him saying this, it reminded me of internal screaming. 

He has that feeling that he can't tell anyone, because they'll just think it's nothing. Why do you think he feels like this even though he is surrounded by love? 

In the Middle

I am just starting to realize that this book keeps going into flashback mode. They are in forms of letters. I have no idea who is writing them right now, but it's not just one person and they're being written to all different people. Although, there is one recurring couple, but they don't talk. They only write notes to each other. The guy even got tattoos on his hand of the words "yes" and "no" so that he could answer people faster and more efficiently. Could you make guesses on why someone would just stop talking one day and decide never to talk again? Do you think you would be able to stop talking if you really
wanted to be silent?

On page 85, it was revealed that the Thomas from the flashbacks was Oskar's grand dad. A first he didn't love him Oskar's grand mom, he fell in love with her sister first. When I read this I was beyond shocked, because I don't think I could ever marry, nonetheless love, a man who was in love with my sister. In the book it describes how Thomas is still very much in love when he got married to her sister. It mad me sad, because he had to settle. I sound kind of heartless right now, but he couldn't get the girl of his dreams, so he went for a different version of her. For me personally, I would never people able to do that, especially if i'm unhappy in my new relationships. because of the old one. People can be gone, but their always with us in our hearts. I would much rather be happy and alone then with people and feel lonely, If you were in Thomas' position, how could you have handled the situation differently?
The scene that is my favorite in the book so far is on page 86, when Oskar is getting tucked into bed by his dad. He brought up the topic of all humans being "relatively insignificant", although his dad begged to differ. His dad replied to that statement by asking him "What happened if you went to the Sahara desert and picked up a single grain of sand with tweezers"? The answer was that he changed the entire Sahara desert by picking up that one little grain of sand. This concept was so intriguing to me, because I never thought of one tiny little sand molecule making a difference, but his dad is so right. The decisions that we make every day single-handedly changes the fate of the world. You are important, because you don't just effect yourself or others around you. You effect people in California 3000 miles away!

This is one of my favorite quotes, because it gives you such a sense of empowerment. Oskar is unhappy with his dad's death, because there are so many questions he left unanswered. He decided to make change happen on his own, to find what he is looking for. What kind of changes can you make that will make things better for you?

In the Beginning

The book that I choose to read this marking period is called Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Johnathan Safran Foer.

I am currently about 130 pages into the book, and I love it! The main character is a young boy named Oskar. He is the narrator of the book. Oskar's dad died in the twin towers during 9/11. He is currently on a mission to find the lock that goes with a key that his dad left him.  

One of my favorite quotes in this book was said by Oskar's mom. It goes, "Dad sometimes missed the forest for the trees". This quote can have multiple meanings and it leaves the reader deep in thought. I assumed it meant that he likes to catch the detail of the picture, rather than take a glance at the overall image. In other words, missed the big picture of it all. This reminded me of a song called 'The bigger picture' by Stornoway. This song basically explains what it means to see the bigger picture.What are some other meanings that it could possibly have?

Oskar and his dad don't have much interaction in this book before he died, but we are starting learn more about him as the book progresses. One thing the is clear to see is the fact that him and his dad had a very special bond. His dad always made up these "hints" and Oskar would have to guess the location and go find the next hint. They were so meticulous that Oskar even had to pay attention to the word choice in his father's sentences, or he might miss an important clue. Everything his dad did was important, because everything he did always has a purpose. For example, Oskar found and envelope with "black" written on it , so he took it to the craft shop to find out what was so special about black. The "color expert" was able to explain to Oskar that normally it's difficult to write the word of one color with the opposite actual color. His dad had wrote the work "bleck" in red pen. When Oskar was searching through the pen test books, he happened to see his dad's name and he knew that he had been there. I really like this idea. It's such a fun way to get to know someone instead of just flat out listing their life. On page 52, Oskar even says "Every time I left our apartment to go searching for the lock, I became a little lighter, because I was getting closer to Dad. But I also became a little heavier, because I was getting farther from mom". What are some other books with a really good father-son relationship that you know of?

So far, I think this book has many great qualities. Although it's a bit confusing, because of the many different writing patterns that the author has, it's a good book. At the moment, the book doesn't target a specific reader, but I would teenager and up.