Rani's Reflections

  Newspeak In George Orwell’s 1984 the language newspeak is arguably one of the main forms of brainwashing. This works by slowly diminishing the vocabulary until the language is so bare-boned that room for thought can’t fathom to exist. Whilst this is not like languages today some of the aspects are still similar. We tend to shorten phrases in our language today our formal form is not how we speak in our everyday lives. For example, we wouldn’t say, “I would like to invite you to my house tonight” rather “we would say do you want to come over tonight”. Newspeak eliminates the language down to a basic structure where there is no formal and informal way of language. It’s universally simple.  There are a couple articles claiming that newspeak is much like our language now. These articles don’t speak of newspeak in a grammatical structure but rather as language being an expression an extension of our identity. The argument of these articles is that our language is limited by socia...

               Throughout George Orwell’s 1984 a common theme emerges, that piques the curiosity of certain individuals. The past. Winston is mesmerized by what it would be like to live in the past, how simple times would be, how freedom could exist, a society without control. Past is introduced in objects in the book. For example, razor blades a tool of the past that are extremely hard to come by. However, they are still useful and hard to come by since society has stopped manufacturing them. This item is merely wanted but many other items invoke thought.               Due to the party’s brain washing Winston struggles to collect his own thoughts, he can barely remember his own childhood. The party is known as the savior of the past, to many people this is a happier time. Winston finds many objects of the past that allow him to reconnect with himself and express thought. In t...

                    Hate Week is a large event in George Orwell’s 1984 which happens during the summer. The event is basically a week of celebrations hating on the biggest enemy of the time. It is a cultivation of all the two minutes of hate that happen each day and ultimately leads to a week of intense and passionate hatred. The celebration consists of parades, speeches, propaganda etc. When reading of hate week my mind immediately went to religious festivals such as Diwali, Holi, Ramadan, etc.               Whilst these events are drastically different one is a passion of hate whilst the others are a celebration of enthusiasm, they do hold the same passion. These events are celebrated by a vast amount of people who are passionate about the purpose of these religious festivals. Big Brother is much like a religion in this sense, the characters of 1984 worship Bi...

               It’s interesting to look at the stark differences these societies have in this semi-compliant universe. However, one thing that differs completely is sex. In Brave New World it is encouraged to have multiple partners, you don’t want to be tied down to one person and sleeping with many keeps you young. Marriage disgusts the characters in Brave New World, it’s laughable and erotic. However, marriage isn’t frowned upon in 1984, rather it’s an uncommon choice. A choice made not for love or intimacy but strictly to bear children. Whilst, celibacy is more common in 1984 with the “junior anti-sex league” being a prominent voice in most children’s lives, marriage is still acceptable. What’ strictly forbidden and considered thought crime is lusting your partner. Marriage in the eyes of society is simply marrying someone you enjoy and would provide children, eventually they would become a person you are slightly closer with but nothing m...

      As a daily part of the job you must participate in what’s known as a physical jerk. These jerks are a short stretching routine to keep you active in limber whilst sitting at a cubicle all day. They are about 5-10 minutes of exercises shouted out live by an instructor, everyone under 45 should be able to touch their toes, and you must stay in shape for the possibility of being drafted for war. However, whilst some of what Orwell’s physical jerks is similar to the 1980’s it isn’t completely accurate. Before, the 1980’s gyms were largely for body builders or any professional athletes. Slowly exercising became a more mainstream activity with live aerobic classes becoming very popular. The motto was “self-improvement” we weren’t working to get stronger but to improve ourselves. The downside of these live aerobic classes is people became scared of messing up in front of the class. Thus, home aerobic videos were put on the market, paving the way for this was Jane Fo...