1984 Journal #3

Orwell is able to make his dystopian vision of total submission to to authority believable through the characters in his novel. Our protagonist in the novel 1984 does not agree with the dystopian society and the rules that Big Brother places on him and the community. Throughout the novel he goes against the rules by having an intimate relationship, thinking tyrannical thoughts and disrespecting Big Brothers authority. But at the very end of the novel, the last sentence reads, "He loved Big Brother" (297). This quote shows that the dystopian ideals have been successfully instilled into the rebellious protagonists head. They conformed the rebel. The conquering of the protagonist shows the dystopians power and highlights the believability that a society could really work this way. Orwell creates the society in which everyone conforms and agrees with the society or is extinguished.

even though in the end of the novel, out hero protagonist loses his fight against Big Brother and the community, Orwell instills a hope in us throughout the fight of Winston. He fights hard in the book to detach from the society and become his own person the reader feels hopeful that he will succeed somehow and change the community. Though this does not happen, his effort gives us hope that one day it could happen.

1984, Journal 2

The brunette girl that was once thought to be a spy by Winston, the main character but is now revealed as a secret lover of his. True love is not condoned in this dystopian society and they learn to meet in places and talk in secret. This brown haired young fair girl works in the ministry same as him in the fiction department. Her job is to create fiction in the community and to pass it off for truth. She was a quiet girl, which is why Winston originally thinks she is a spy for the thought police. She and Winston realize their desire for each other when Julia slips him a note expressing her feelings toward him. They become secret lovers where nothing is secret. Together they break the rules of Big Brothers community and they have a meaningful relationship. Together they express their feelings toward Big Brother and the society they live in. They share their ideals and their thought, the ones that are death if anyone finds out. Together they face sure death for having a meaningful relationship and thinking tyrannical thought about the community. The thought police finding them out is something the Julia and Winston risk though for the freedom of their relationship.

1984, Journal 1

“In principle a Party member had no spare time and was never alone except in bed. It was assumed that when he was not eating, working, or sleeping he would be taking part in some kind of communal recreations; to do anything that suggested a taste for solitude, even go for a walk by yourself, was always slightly dangerous. There was a word for it in Newspeak: own life, it was called, meaning individualism and eccentricity” (Orwell 82)

In this passage of George Orwell’s novel 1984, the idea of a dystopian world is conveyed through the structure and routine of daily life. The government is very active in peoples lives, they control your personal lives, they expect and demand that you do as they say. They strongly encourage sameness in the community. They drill into the minds of their members the mottos and values of the town. The state stresses sameness. They do not want you to be different, to have your own opinions, to be your own person. The state watches you all the time. They are active is your personal lives as it says, “there was never any alone time except in bed”. The community encourage you to be active in their community and to do things to benefit the good of it. There are no real social classes, but there is mentioned quite often through out the first part of the novel “A Party member”. The society categorizes the community with parties and demands specific requirements and expectations they must reform to, or else face consequences.

This passage speaks out against individuality comparing it to eccentricity. By doing this we see that the society does not promote individual thinking or personal expression. The society controls all aspects of time, thought and work in someone’s life.

Stranger #7

Thesis: Camus uses contrast of the ambigious beliefs of meursaults in part one to his clearly expressed beliefs in part two to allow that reader to explore and create their own belief system without being swayed with Meursaults, and then use the newly explored beliefs to evaluate the character Meursault.

Strange #6

At the end of the book we get a more in depth and clear look into the ideas of Meursault. We better understand him when he expresses himself to us. when he tells us his beliefs we can relate to him easier because we feel that we know him. "I had lived my life one way and I could just as well lived it another"(Camus 121). From this statement we can conclude that he is the most important person in his life. Meursault thinks that he has lived how he wanted to. He knows that this outcome is directly related to his actions, but he feels indifferent about this.
Camus, on the other hand does not feel this way. We can tell this because of his addition of the Priest into the story. The Priest tries to get Meursault to convert to God and to see the errors of his beliefs. Camus could of easily said everything Meursault was feeling and thought in a monologue and epiphany's. But he decides to add in the Priest to show us that these are not the things we should believe.

Stranger #5

Camus creates a part one and a part two because he wants to make sure that we see the difference and the changes of Meursault's character in the second half of the book.
In oart two of The Stranger, we start to see small but noticable changes in Meursaults character and how he feels."[...] for the first time in years I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me." (Camus 89-90). Here he expresses his emotions. In part one, Meursault does not have as in depth feeling, he simply states what he thinks. "After the funeral, though, the case will be closed and everything will have a more official feel to it." even when he finds out his mother has passed he does not express his emotions. He is factual and orderly. Through the difference is his emotions we can see him becaome a more person like and a more dynamic character. Meursault becomes more human to us, we can relate to him and his hardships. Because of this we find it easier to feel bad for him because of his lack of emotions.

Stranger #4 Journal

In part two to the stranger Meursault becomes more aware of his surroundings and his situations. "Afterwards my only thoughts were those of a prisoner."(77 Camus) He understand what is happening to him and accepts it in a different way than before. Meursault realizes that he has only one option and he reforms to fit the person he has to be because of his soundings.

Meursault does a lot of thinking that he had not had a chance to do before he was in prison. "I realized then that a man who had lived only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison."(79 Camus) Meursault starts to become more pensive and thoughtful. He starts to become more satisfied with his life and grow up. We see this by his rational response to his predicament.

"Only the words "yesterday" and "tomorrow" still had any meaning for me." (80 Camus) Before part one Camus was detial oriented, he loved dates, and time. But now in prison all he cared about is yesterday and tomorrow. There is not more last week, or at 11 and 6. To him the days are just days and time has no meaning anymore. He changes in this way from a more serious adult.