• Grade break down: Participation 15%, Blogging 30%,Exam 10%, Essays 30%.
• Please see the professor ASAP if you received a U or BL as mid-semester grade.
• There will be 2 upcoming Extra credit opportunity.

•      Writing guide lines 
• In order to be a successful witter you need to have multiple drafts
• Background vs Summary in essay intro (note that you want to give the reader a background on your essay not a summary).
• Stitching plays a huge part in putting essay together piece by piece to form a solid essay.
• Reserve outline- recognizing paragraphs and putting them  into groups

The opening discussions on the end of 1984 see the book as hopeless, harsh, unforgiving constant negativity, some students even find the book pointless because of the end, because nothing changes, also this being the point of how hard it would be to change the way things are. There is hope that history will repeat itself and spawn a new Winston. The next part of class broke up into group work to cover the last topics such as.

The Brotherhood; O’Brain: The brother hood is supposed to be double agents in order to take down the Party. This is all propaganda made by the Party in order to further the secret police. When O’Brain asks Winston and Julia to swear on the book, Winston toasts to the past. The reiteration that O’Brain saves no one if caught, some what dark irony for the ending.

Hate: Manufactured emotion by the Party. The propaganda illicit Hate. The great enemy is what the hate is funneled into. The higher up are consumed with hate which fuels the emotion more. The war that Oceania is constantly involved with has no enemy since war needs no enemy now, all the while keeping a total war doctrine that being that, everything about the country is all for making war at one hundred percent.

Newspeak: Please see 2BridgesReview.org for contemporary connections on new speak. New speak being he new langue the Party has made for its mambers to replace modern English. In the principles of newspeak that it is written in a historical scholar perspective, writing in the past tense for Oceania, giving some hope that the status quo for Oceania changes, the professor also makes a note that some academics disagree with this.

Beginning of Class

Free Writing (Handed In) About the glass paperweight  Winston purchased From Mr. Charrington. The question that were asked about was, What it is, where it comes from, and what it symbolizes in the novel?

Definitions

Debase (verb): to lower in status, esteem, quality, or character. Used in Sentence: The celebrity’s family tried to block the production of his biographical film because they felt it would debase his memory.

Convoluted (adjective): extremely complex and difficult to follow. Used in Sentence: The film is let down by a convoluted plot in which nothing really happens.

Anachronistic (adjective): a person or a thing that is chronologically out of place. Used in Sentence: Since there were not laptop computers during the Civil War, the presence of a portable computer in the history film is a definite anachronism.

Archaic (adjective): of, relating to, or characteristic of an earlier or more primitive time. Used in Sentence: The original Ford Model T car is considered archaic when compared to modern vehicles.

Pragmatic (adjective): dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations. Used in Sentence: My mother is quite pragmatic in nature and never does anything without rationalizing it first

Class Discussion Topics

1. Glass Paperweight
2. Julia
3. The Book (Will cover in Thursday class)
4. O’Brian and The Brotherhood (Will cover in Thursday class)
5. Hate Week (Will cover in Thursday class)

Glass Paperweight

Discussion on page 96: Before we talked about the paperweight, we went into detail about Mr. Charrington and how he was described by Winston when he first met him. The full description of Mr. Charrington is the last paragraph on page 96.

Discussion on page 97 & 98:  After analyzing the physical detail of Mr. Charrington, we moved on to a Winston description of the shop and the discovery of the glass paperweight. We discussed by Winston purchasing the paperweight, it shows another act of his rebellious streak against the party because purchasing this relic for its beauty is disrespectful to the party. At this point glass paperweight symbolize his rebellious nature.

Discussion on page 150: The classes discuss how the glass paperweight has evolved to symbolize the room above Mr. Charrington shop with Winston and Julia frozen in time. The room itself has become their sanctuary.

Discussion on page 230: The last few pages leading to page 230, we discussed the symbolism of glass paperweight scattering to pieces when it fell off the table, as when Winston and Julia was finally caught by the Thought Police for their actions.

Julia  

The class discussed briefly about Julia and compare the differences between her and Winston. We bought how Julia lives in the present and Windows Lives in the past. Julia is also very pragmatic, street smart and care free but not book smart.

Home Work

Class Discussion #6: Nineteen Eighty-Four (one initial comment on Part Three (pp. 231-308) / Appendix: The Principles of Newspeak (pp. 309-323) by W 3/29 + two additional comments by F 3/31)

Extra Credit for the best comments! One comment picked by Professor Belli, one by the class. Click here to vote for your “People’s Choice” post! (due M 4/3)

We started of with continuing discussion from chapter I-II (65-129). Afterwords we were pair in to groups of three in which we were given questions to answer as a group later to show our quotes two per team some examples below ( all different answers to question one only):

Group 1: ” Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious” ( top of pg. 73). Short explanation: They have the power to rebel but since they the proles are already use to this treat

“It was curious that he seemed not merely to have lost the power of expressing himself”(top of pg. 8). Short  explanations : Winston has so much bottle up and not sure were to start.

Group two: “In the end the party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it”(Top of pg.82).Short response: Is not cool that the party is spreading lies and having people just accept it.

“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four.If that is granted, all else follows”(bottom of pg.83).Short response: Winston expressing thought of his own about how people should be able to think differently other then accepting everything to be true.

Group three: “Your worst enemy, he reflected, was your own nervous system”(bottom pg.65). short response: Talking about how the control of the nervous system helps Winston not get caught that he is doing something suspicious .That is why he has the book so he could let it out there.The more he writes the more he opens up his mine.

“If their is hope [wrote Winston] it lies in the proles. if there was hope, it must lie in the proles,because only there, in those swarming disregarded masses, eighty-five per cent of the population of Oceania, could the force to destroy the party ever be generated”(bottom pg.71).Short response: shows how the proles could rise up and take over since their is more proles then they are in the party.

Vocabulary:

archaic- very old or old-fashioned.

aesthetics – a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, especially in art.

Homework:To continue reading up to page 230 and finish answering the questions on the handout will be collected.(but you guys already knew this sins this is posted on 28 and to the 23)

-Feel free to add leave a comment if i missed anything that was said.

(the short response do not accurately explain the quotes in the word of each group is a short or sort of similar to what the groups have said.)

Reminders:

1. Homework: One initial comment on Part One, chapters VI-VII / Part Two, chapters I-II (pp. 65-129) by Wednesday 3/22 and two additional comments by F 3/24.(can be found on the schedule)
2. Continue the reading on Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Class Discussion: 

• LBJ’s ‘Daisy’ ad
  • Analysis of the video, the quick change from the girl to a nuclear bomb explosion. How the video manipulates its audience.
• There Will Come Soft Rains
  • Picking up from last week, the setting is post-apocalyptic, following an automated house in a nuclear fallout.
• Free writing questions on Nineteen Eighty-Four:
  • What is the tone of the novel? why?
  • What stood out the most? why?
  • Questions you have about the text.
• Nineteen Eight-Four (chapters I-V)
  • Winston’s rebellious action, keeping a diary.
  • Winston’s paranoia of society and government.
  • Doublethink, able to have two contradicting thought, idea, or opinion at the same time. (pg 36)
  • New language “newspeak”, destruction of language.
  • Winston’s diary/memories/dreams.
  • The tone of the novel; dark, gray, depressing.

Vocabulary:

• Melancholy: causing or expressing sadness; depressing.
• Dilapidated: in a state of disrepair or ruin as a result of age or neglect.
• Visceral: relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect.
• Surveillance: close observation, especially of a suspected spy or criminal.
• Panopticon: a circular prison with cells arranged around a central well, from which prisoners could at all times be observed.

(please feel free to add to the class note, I might have missed some important details.)

-We did a slight recap on eugenics & genetic modification. We also touched on hynopaedia and how it’s used in modern times (commercials as well as music).

-We’re beginning to learn more about comparative analysis

-We did a freewrite on how the painting “American Progress” compares/contrasts to progress in “There Will Come Soft Rains.”

-For “American Progress,” we said that progress comes at the expense of others. For “There Will Come Soft Rain,” we said that progress came to a halt. We also said that it was automated and it led to that apocalypse.

-There was group work discussing the short story. We talked about the setting, characters (and the lack of), the use of personification, the conflict of the story, and the theme.

-The influence of people is seen throughout the story, even if there actually are no people anymore.

Next Class the Pre-Draft for Essay #1 i

*ANNOUNCEMENTS  *

1.ESSAY 1 IS DUE THURSDAY , MARCH 16th,2017. If you have not read the assignment I suggest you do so right away!

2.Double check the class schedule the professor has assign everyone  new dates for class notes.

3.Please review class notes and your own as our midterm is approaching . Also, it can help prompt ideas for essay 1.

Writing Work Shop

Analyze your work do not summarize. (If using happiness as a topic for essay 1 please do not use all of the excerpt in t.)

Essay consist of:

1. Introduction
2. Body
3. Conclusion

Start your essay with the body paragraphs . People usually get stuck on trying to write the intro and  figure out their thesis. Essay should consist of 6 to 7 pieces of evidence from the book. All evidence should support  the intro (thesis).

All paragraphs should consist of a topic sentence. They should also connect to the previous paragraph as well. You may use transitional words but explicitly explain how they relate.

Essay 1

Close reading: Do not include outside sources . It all has to be within the context of the book. Ex: world state view vs. John views.

Discussion on Hand Out

We all did group work for about 20 minutes. Afterwords, We began discussing excerpt #3 on the hand out.

3.The Savage interrupted him. “But isn’t  it natural to feel there’s a God?”

“You might as well ask if it’s natural to do up one’s trousers with zippers,” said the controller sarcastically”(210).

This conversation was between John and Mond.

What does the question signify?

Would it be natural to feel there is a higher being?

Why is religion part of society?

Divine being?

Religion offers guide-dense ,stability , and mothers and fathers.

John believes that it is natural to believe in a higher power. Secondly, the reference to pulling your pants zipper,Mond is undermining and mocking  Johns statement regarding god and religion.

He is challenging the natural idea of believing in something. People are taught to zipper their pants just like people are taught about religion. John only knows about god because he grew up around the concept.

Side Note: Start thinking of contemporary parallels with all our readings especially with the upcoming ones.Example: Brave New World and our society now.

Review of Last Week:

• Discussion Soma (uses/purposes)
  • Gateway Drug
  • Cure-all
  • Put into many things
  • Many forms(pill, gass, ice cream, etc…)
• Solidarity
  • Togetherness/Orgy/Mandatory
• Family
  • How “Family”, “Parent”, and “Birth” is treated as porn.
  • Destabilize
  • Promiscuity(sexually open)
• Individuality/Freedom
  • Conditioning to predestined fate
  • Not comprehensible to “civilization”

Definitions

• Enclave: Enclosed Space
• Utopian Enclave: An utopia in enclosed pocket/space that is cut off from the world.
• Intentional Community: movement where people come together to create a community separate from society.
• Eponymous: Name; named after something.
• Referent: Refers to something.
• Acculturation: Adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of another group (acculturation)

• How can a community be unintentional?
  • Ex: Students signing up for a class coming together and being forced to interact with each other.

Utopia is conceived as isolated.  In the original story, the utopia had a large moat surrounding it and cutting it off from the outside world.

• Reservation name
  • New Mexico Reservation (the reservation Bernard and Linda went to(mentioned by Lina in page 63))
  • Malpais (page 102) (translated as “Bad Place” or “Bad Lands”)

• Savages
  • Natives to the reservation
  • Uncivilized
  • Barbaric/Rude
  • Seen as bad
• Civilized
  • Well-Educated
  • Polite
  • Seen as good

Description of the “Indians” of the reservation

• Speak in extinct (not used) languages
• ‘Monstrous’ Superstitions

Lenina, as she enters the reservation, tries to makes sense of it by comparing it to what she knows, such as comparing the top of the mesa to the Charing-T Tower(page 104).

Linda

• Linda fell into the reservation after getting lost and injured.
• Linda is similar to Lenina.
  • Lenina is Linda if she had gotten stuck in the reservation.
• Linda is partially deconditioned after being in the reservation for a long time.
• Despite following the “drill”, she still became pregnant and gave birth to John.
  • The “drill” is the anti-pregnancy pills.
• Is stout (big/fat/hefty) when first seen in chapter 7, page 112.
• Through Lenina’s eyes, Linda is seen as disgusting from appearance to her age.
• Felt thrilled when she saw Lenina and Bernard like she is rescued.
• Is treated as an outsider by the “Indians” of the reservation, due to her different appearance, ideas, and values, which is seen as ‘wrong’ to them while seem ‘normal’ to people from the World State.
• Nature vs. Nurture: Linda is born and preconditioned to do things such as sleeping with several men and consider it normal.  The “Indians” considers this wrong, and thus treats her badly.  Linda is forced to adapt as she lives with them.

John

• Both parents are from World State, but is born, not decanted, in the reservation.
• Has light skin with blonde hair while everyone else in the reservation has dark hair and skin
• Only one, besides his mother, who can read.
• Idealistic, inspired by Shakespeare
• Considered an outsider in the reservation (others would keep him out of things such as the coming of age ritual for those who turned 16 (page 127) and by the World State (citizens of the World Stat sees him as a “savage” since he’s born from the reservation).
• Punished for his mother’s actions.

Linda tries to teach John about the New World, but is limited due to her own limited view in the New World, so she can’t teach him everything.  She later gave John a book called  Shakespeare to practice his reading skilled.  When John first reads Shakespeare, he feels inspired.  He felt like he had words to put his feelings of hatred of the Pope.

“O’ Brave New World”

• The quote originated from “The Tempest”.
• When first used, John was excited and hopeful of going to the World State. (which John had thought of as an Utopia)
• When used the second time, John was shocked, angry, and disgusted of the World State (after his mom died and saw the delta clones)
• When used the third time, John hopes to change the World State from a horrible place to something better.

World State / Malpais

• They are 2 cultures
• If one from one culture is placed in the other, they’ll experience culture shock.
• Acculturation

No homework is due for tuesday.

March 16th is Mid-terms.  An essay given next week will be due by this time.  The essay will be 4 to 5 pages.

Mandatory Meet-ups needs to be scheduled with the Professor.

Extra Credit

• Attend the Literacy Roundtable and type a 500 blog in response.
• Watch either the 1998 version or the 1980 version of the movie of “Brave New World” and type a 500 word blog comparing it to the novel and analysing both of them.

Event: the deadline for Literary Arts Festival Competition is March 7th.

Bibliography

•  “acculturation”, Dictionary.com, Website Publisher, 2017. 2017.

Definitions

Vignettes (noun): a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or character and gives a trenchant impression about that character, an idea, setting, and/or object. Used in Sentence: At the wedding reception, the best man shared a vignette about how the newlywed couple met.

Solidarity (noun): unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group. Used in Sentence: While the prisoners were of different races, they all joined in solidarity to protest their dirty living conditions.

Panacea (noun): a remedy for all disease or ills; cure-all. Used in Sentence: If you believe money is the panacea for all difficulties, you will be shocked to learn you cannot purchase happiness with cash.

Class Discussion Topics

1. Family
2. Soma (add)
3. Chapter 3 Narration
4. Freedom
5. Civilized / Uncivilized

Family

Discussion on page 32: We discussed parents as it was first introduced in Chapter 2 and how the director and his students seem to be brainwashed by the World State to believe it’s taboo to believe in the idea of Mother and Father or even a woman giving natural birth. It was also brought up by another student in our discussion that Mothers seem to be more demonized and then idea a Father because Mother is actually the one giving birth to the child verse the Father who only there for the conceptual act.

Discussion on page 42: We analyzed Mustapha Mond conversation with the students and Mond ask the student to imagine living with one family which we difficult for them. We broke down the fact that the idea of home and family was completely abolished in these young students and even the whole World State.

Discussion on page 43: Mond describes the dark scene about a mother taking care of her newborn while breast feeding. The class analyzed this paragraph to pull out words that help us describe that moment Mond explain to the students, which include word like suffocating intimacies, insane and dangerous.

Discussion on page 140: We discussed the scene where Linda lets the Director know she gave birth to his son and all the director colleges were there to witness his most embarrassing moment in life. We have seen another moment where the idea of a woman giving birth to child and man being a father is demonized by anyone part World State Society.

Soma

Discussion on page 80: Solidarity, Community, Hedonism was bought up in the discussion of Soma. Also, the Solidarity Service which allow the World State citizen take part in orgies and soma in the name of Fordism. We also notice that Soma doesn’t have much effect on Bernard like everyone else.

Chapter 3 Narration

Discussion on chapter 3: We analyzed how the author Aldous Huxley design the conversation between characters which included three different scenes taking place at the same time. The class as a whole believe chapter was very confusing and tried to understand why displayed it in that fashion. 

Home Work

Class Discussion #3: Brave New World (one initial comment on chapters 10-18 by W 3/1 (Which should be about John) + two additional comments by F 3/3)

Key To Success in School & Your Career Is To Take Notes.

Homework:

Don’t forget to carry text to our next class.

2 additional comments due by tomorrow night on these suggested topics

• Family
• Ch.3 ( The weird/jumping narrative between characters)
• Notion of freedom ( Bernard pg. 90)
• Notion of civilized vs. uncivilized ( turning humans into product)

Blog 4 due Monday night.

• NOTE the blogs need a minimum of 3 citations to be read and graded. Cite when using textual evidence, and power phrasing someones idea. ( Last name Pg.#)

3 Main Components To Blogging:

1. Actually posting blogs
2. Class discussions ( Participation)
3. Posting indepth class notes

Circle Time / Class Discussion:

Key Terms:

1. Efficiency: to produce great quality in a short amount of time.
2. Mass Production:
   1. We discussed the idea of humans being mass produced
   2. Mass production = Efficient
3. Assemble Line:Using unskilled workers to complete small tasks that eventually when combined create a whole
   1. Henry Ford and the Model T
   2. Opening scenes of the book
4. Industrial Revolution: Machine and technology cause paradigm shift
   1. Paradigm: Significant change in events
      1. example: 80’s -90’s Revolutionize the way knowledge is produced.
      2. Shift from dial up to cell phones
      3. Changed the notion of whats possible in technology
5. Eugenics: Breeding used to improve a group / maintain best qualities
   1. EU = Good / Well
   2. Relates to genetic modifications & engeneering
      1. Like Nazi Germany ( blonde hair , blue eyes)
   3. Social Darwanism & Social Engenering
      1. Charles idea of natural selection & evolution is closely related to the books idea of social engineering
6. Hedonism: The achievement of pleasure is ones highest goal
   1.  ” Shorten the interval between desire & pleasure” -Not exactly quoted from text
7. Utilitarianism: Supports the greater good for the largest group
   1. For example, being willing to screw over some people for the betterment of the larger group

Analysis Of Setting

• Mood / Atmosphere:
  1. Cold environment ( kind of mechanical )
  2. Dark ( “Harsh thin light hungrily seeking…” )
  3. ” Gray building ” = gloomy, dead. The building its sent was full of life but there was no life
  4. Lab technicians = pale & deceased looking
  5. Summer outside & Winter inside ( in the winter s**t dies)
  6. Building was described as only 34 stories = Massive structures are normal
  7. Only bits of life that were found were in the lab under the microscope
     1. Science / mechanical aspects is whats producing life
        1. Machinery & science = Giver of life

• Discussion on Page 16 & 17:

1. Motto: ” Community, Identity, Stability”
2. Values of the DHC & World state
   1. Quality, Efficiency, & Scientific development
3. ( On page 17, 4 lines down ) The quote talks about the peoples willingness to ‘sacrifice’ themselves for the ‘society’
   1. A momentary incentive of 6 months pa is offered
      1. This shows that the people aren’t sacrificing themselves because its the morally right thing to do. The World State needs to promote the money to bring in people.
4. Bokanovskys: Biological conditioning, mutation of genes, climate conditioning
   1. Both a mechanism for progress & stability
   2. This idea contradicts each other
      1. Progress = moving forward ant a continuos motion
      2. Stability = Constant / maintaining something at one point
5. Paradox: Seems like something doesn’t make sense, but in reality its true

• Discussion on page 26:

1. The secrete to happiness is liking what you have to do
   1. Make everyone like their social standings
   2. No preference = No freedom
2. Society’s idea of happiness:
   1. Everyone is given just enough knowledge to be content / happy
      1. The lower castes are given enough knowledge to perform their jobs, but not enough to become of their circumstances

• Discussion on page 31 & 32:

1. Viviparous: Live birth
2. Smut: Porn / Gross / Sexual
3. Science vs. Smut
   1. The people are conditioned to break family bonds
      1. Loyal to family = Not loyal to the society

• Neo Pavlovian Conditioning: 

• Pavlov conducted an experiment with dogs & bells. can to the conclusion that dogs can be trained to associate bells with food, causing them to salivate just at the sound of a bell.

1. The people in this society are trained to associate thing with things
   1. Hypnopedia = Sleep learning
   2. Electrical shock on infants = Fear books & nature