Last post

So, I have finished reading the book as my groupmates. Now I`d like to sum up some points.

While reading the English book, I`ve learned a lot of new words, combinations, etc. I think that I really improved my language skills. Also in my mind it was interesting to write a blog becouse it was a new kind of task in my experience. By the way my favourite task was filming the story. Honestly it`s one of my old dream to make a movie. To tell you the truth at the beginning I was scared to write a new posts becouse my English isn't excellent and I didn`t want another people reading my mistakes ^^"" But in general it was interesting to write and read my groupmates` blogs. It is better and more fruitful than just reading and writing down new words. But to be a better reader I think I need more and more practice.

The comments

 I commented on the friends` blog !

Anastasia Romakina`s Blog

Dear Nastya! You write such warm words about this book that there is an insuperable desire to read  it too. I shall add it in my list and in one day I will necessarily read it. I hope, that  it will be similarly  interesting to me, as well as you!

Katrin Eltcova`s Blog

Dear Kate!I have not read this book by myself , but I have many friends that think this book amazing. And also they say that the film is good too. I hope that after reading, you will get a good impression! Enjoy reading!

Film

And now I propose to you, my reader, to watch the film together :)

Terrible reality

Comparing the actions described in the novel "1984 " by George Orwell with the modern world, at first it may seemed that they have nothing in common. But if tо peer, it isn`t so. The author describes a society that lives by the rules, which aim is to save this society from destruction or "decay." Elaborate rules and laws aimed at building a "common good". This implies a complete control over man: over his thoughts, words, actions. And even deeper over his feelings, emotions and experiences. Future world described by George Orwell, is the world of the past for us, because 1984 has passed. But is it truth? May be I`m repeating, but I want to say once again that correction of the truth can do any person now (who does write news or articles in Wikipedia?). It `s technically easy to implement in the Internet age, and why various departments attract more resources, when a person" puts "themselves and their thoughts on social networking pages? All goes to this. Yes, 1984 has passed, but there are a total control. All goes to this - education, the social network with all our data, which is considered an encyclopedia Wikipedia and the information which is not checked, the introduction of electronic passports ... The year isn `t important. The fact that the preconditions have already existed is important.

Filming the story

If I was the director of the "1984" movie , I would ...

Firstly, the main role would take Bradley Cooper. I see him very distinctly in the role of Winston Smith . I think he looks suitable and could play this role well .

For posters with Big Brother, I would  use the face of  Anthony Hopkins. I think his face is ideal for it. Especially after his role of Hannibal Lecter, everything are compressing inside.

I think that the role of Julia would played nice by Anne Hathaway. She is a good actress, and her miniature body is like Julia`s.

Secondly, during making the film, I would have included into the scenario the following scene.

1. Winston buys a diary and starts to write in it
2. Winston gets a love note
3. Winston and Julia fall into the Brotherhood
4. Winston and Julia are arrested
5. Winston are tortured and then released into the wild.

Of course, in addition to this scenes there would be other ones in the film, but I decided to mention about these because I think they are key .

My opinion

 What I liked about the story

• relevance of the idea of ​​the novel
• well thought out plot and world
• easy to read
• the author keeps the reader in suspense throughout the novel
• the presence of the romantic line

 What I did not like about the story 

• gloom and grayness
• no changes
• unhappy end

Vocabulary 3

overcame forbearance trembling conceivable bearer undoubtedly indiscretion perturbed straightened unappeasable whimpering squeaking astonishing emerged clutching preliminary shameless consciousness feebly arguing threatened embezzlement wrenched delusion assume perishes blurry intermittently innumerable merely nearness perpetuating repentant victim condemned

победил снисходительность дрожь мыслимый предъявитель несомненно неосторожность возмущенный выпрямился непримиримый хныканье скрип удивительный возникший сжимая предварительный бесстыдный сознание слабо спорить под угрозой хищение вывернул заблуждение считать гибнет размыто с перерывами неисчислимый просто близость увековечения кающийся жертва осужденный

Questions and Answers

 I didn't really understand the ending though. I understand the story overall, of how governments can control their people and how we shouldn't let things go too far in the real world or the book could become reality. But I don't think I understand the significance of Winston finally loving Big Brother. The answer for this question and others I found on the internet.

As for why Winston does end up loving Big Brother... The Ministry of Love was there to make people love big brother (through torture, but you know, that was its purpose) so they wouldn't have released him if the job wasn't done. Also the book is meant as a warning, that is why Winston can't win, if he'd won, the book would be saying that no matter how bad it gets, we can always triumph, and that's not the message that Orwell intended.

Is big brother a symbol for anything? 

Big Brother is the symbol of the government itself. The government isn't any single person, it's a monolithic entity made up of an unknown number of people. Big Brother is just the symbol they use to remind people the government is everywhere at all times.

And what was the significance of Room 101 and Winston finally betraying Julia, what was so important about Winston betraying Julia that they even set him free for it?

Room 101, it gets rid of the last obstacle. The party used their basic instincts against them. It's like if blinking=betrayal and somebody was jabbing their finger in your eye, it's impossible not to blink. You could argue that betrayal doesn't equal lack of love, but just imagine yourself in Winston's situation. It'd feel pretty weird loving someone you betrayed and who knew you'd betrayed them and had in turn done the same to you. You have to keep in mind Julia also betrayed him. 

At one point or another Winston says, or thinks, I can't remember exactly, that the one thing they can't take away is there love. Surely they can't make anyone change their REAL feelings about someone. So if they keep loving each other Big Brother can never win. At the same time, Big Brother knows this. It's stated several times they don't want anyone to have meaningful relationships, they only want them to love Big Brother. Also Winston talks about making love as a political act. That is, every time they made love it was a statement against what Big Brother stood for.

Alternative ending

For the novel "1984" of J. Orwell I would write absolutely another ending. This ending is too sad.

I would like that Winston with Julia after all enter the Brotherhood. That the revolt began and to the  totalitarian mode the end came. Also I would like that the world-dystopia turned out to the world-utopia .

Furthermore I would write that Winston with Julia sincerely fell in love with each other and established a new family and then their children would already live in the ideal world.

Certainly, my ending isn't suitable for dystopia because then it wouldn't be that. Besides it is too banal and easily predictabled.

Review

Review was taken here http://nicolebasaraba.com/book-review-1984-by-george-orwell/

I will write my comments in bold type :)

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) by George Orwell is by far the most disturbing book I’ve ever read. Near the top of my disturbing reading list was Lord of the Flies (like), The Way the Crow Flies (dislike) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (love). Actually,  for me "The Silence of the Lambs" by Thomas Harris was the most disturbing book. "Nineteen Eighty-Four" certainly is the exciting book too, but there was too much "description of description" because of what all excitement came to bottom and reding became just boring.

Do you like to read complete dystopia? Well Orwell is an expert in creating a world so horrible that it can leave the reader feeling depressed from page one. Here I basically agree. The plot of the book is typical of any good dystopia. The author describes a society that lives by the rules, which aim is to save this society from destruction or "decay." Elaborate rules and laws aimed at building a "common good". This implies a complete control over man: over his thoughts, words, actions. And even deeper over his feelings, emotions and experiences.

Generally it is about... (Ending)

One day Winston receives a letter from the dark-haired girl. “I love you,” - writes she. Girl tells him her name, Julia, and they begin a covert affair on the lookout for signs of Party monitoring. Eventually they rent a room above the secondhand store in the prole district where Winston bought the diary. This relationship lasts for some time. Winston is sure that they will be caught and punished sooner or later, while Julia is more optimistic. As Winston’s affair with Julia progresses, his hatred for the
Party grows more and more. At last, he receives the message that he has been waiting for: O’Brien wants to see him.

Then Winston and Julia go to O’Brien’s apartment. As a member of the powerful Inner Party (By the way, Winston belongs to the Outer Party), O’Brien leads as luxury life as Winston can only imagine. O’Brien confirms to Winston and Julia that, like them, he hates the Party, and says that he works against it as a member of the Brotherhood. He introduces Winston and Julia into the Brotherhood, and gives Winston a copy of Emmanuel Goldstein’s book, the manifesto of the Brotherhood. Winston reads the book (an amalgam of several forms of class-based twentieth-century social theory) to Julia in the room above the store. Suddenly, soldiers barge in and seize them. Mr. Charrington, the proprietor of the store, is revealed as having been a member of the Thought Police all along.

Poster

I think that this poster characterizes that in Oceania everybody are under the eternal supervision of the Big Brother in the history of Orwell. In all rooms telescreens which on the one hand, hypnotize people with their translations, and on other hand observe them.

                                                                                       Continuous control.

Slogan

Оne of the main slogans in the book is "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past".

 This slogan is an important example of the Party’s technique of using false history to break down the psychological independence of its people. Control of the past ensures control of the future, because the past can be treated essentially as a set of conditions that justify or encourage future goals: if the past was idyllic, then people will act to re-create it; if the past was nightmarish, then people will act to prevent such circumstances from recurring. The Party creates a past that was a time of misery and slavery from which it claims to have liberated the human race, thus compelling people to work toward the Party’s goals.
The Party has complete political power in the present, enabling it to control the way in which its subjects think about and interpret the past: every history book reflects Party ideology, and individuals are forbidden from keeping mementos of their own pasts, such as photographs and documents. As a result, the citizens of Oceania have a very short, fuzzy memory, and are willing to believe anything that the Party tells them. 

Vocabulary 2

perpetually decaying dingy bruised proles possessed pardoned reinstated crowded recognition leaflets marching abruptly sweat growing stirring blazed pleasant boldness washtub scrape enormous necessity threadbare boyhood vaguely swarming ashamed glancing amusement resemble reverting inexhaustible exhortations pinchbeck

постоянно разлагающийся темный синяках пролетарии одержимый помилован восстановлен переполненный признание листовки походный резко пот растущий перемешивание пылал приятный смелость корыто очистить огромный необходимость изношенный отрочество неясно рост бактерий на твердой среде совестно взглянув развлечение походить на возвращаясь неисчерпаемый призывы томпак

A Letter

I would like to write the letter to Winston Smith and to ask it some questions. So.

Dear Winston! 

How are you?
I still can't believe that you decided to start keeping the diary. You are very courageous, after all it was dangerous. Especially as the Big Brother always watches you. What will you do if the Thought Police learns what you do? Isn't it terrible for you? 

By the way, how are your relations with O’Brien?  Do you think he really is the member of the secret organization?  If so, would you like to join them?  

 I want to know what you think of all this very much.

Forgive me, but now I should go. I will read the following chapter about what go on around you. It is very interesting what will be.
With the best wishes,

                                Valery Z. 

P.S - Avoid that dark-haired girl who works with you. She can`t be trusted.

George Orwell

I think I should say a few words about the author.

Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. His work is marked by lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism and commitment to democratic socialism.Commonly ranked as one of the most influential English writers of the 20th century and as one of the most important chroniclers of English culture of his generation, Orwell wrote literary criticism, poetry, fiction and polemical journalism. He is best known for the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) and the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945), which together (as of 2009) have sold more copies than any two books by any other 20th-century author. His book Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, is widely acclaimed, as are his numerous essays on politics, literature, language, and culture. In 2008, The Times ranked him second on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
Orwell's work continues to influence popular and political culture, and the term Orwellian — descriptive of totalitarian or authoritarian social practices — has entered the language together with several of his neologisms, including Cold War, Big Brother, thought police, Room 101, doublethink, and thoughtcrime.

The comment

I commented on the friend`s blog !

Emma Grigoryan - "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown

Dear Emma!

I didn't read this book, but I think that it must be interesting. As well as you Den Brown's other works ("Da Vinci code" and "Angels and Demons") are familiar to me. I like these books very much and I think that "The lost symbol" mustn`t be less interesting. I will read your blog and your impressions with great pleasure. 

Enjoy reading!

Vocabulary

effort alternately simultaneously strenuousness demeanour float measurable mutability unimaginable decent remedied unconsciousness buttocks establish fabulous carriages evidence shrewish consumption pamphlets vaporized elaborately furnaces tedious occasion government vanishing commemorating tremendous formidable frightening starved ancestral borrowed treadmill

усилие попеременно одновременно напряженность поведение поплавок измеримый изменчивость невообразимый приличный исправлено беспамятство ягодицы установить невероятный коляски доказательства сварливый потребление брошюры испаряется продуманно печи утомительный повод правительство исчезновение память огромный грозный пугающий изморенный голодом наследственный заимствованы бегущая дорожка

Generally it is about...

Winston Smith is man who is a member of the ruling Party in London, in the nation of Oceania. Wherewer he goes, everywhere  a face of the so-called Big Brother watces . Everywhere Winston goes, even his own home, the Party watches him through telescreens. Everywhere he  sees  the face of the Party’s leader, a figure known  as Big Brother. The Party controls everything in Oceania, even the people’s history and language. Currently, the Party is forcing the implementation of an invented language called Newspeak, which attempts to prevent political rebellion by eliminating all words related to it.

At the beginning Winston feels frustrated by the oppression and rigid control of the Party, which prohibits free thought, sex, and any expression of individuality.

I think this book about...

And now I will try to guess about what is this book. As it is the novel anti-utopia, it seems to me that it will be a question of  system in which people don`t feel well. Probably, they are suppressed by this system, but they are afraid to speak about it because they can be killed. Constantly someone watches them. This idea are suggested by a book cover. I think that the hero who rises against all this system has to be the main character of the book. And, I hope that finally, he will overthrow it. Perhaps, he will find adherents who will help with it. And still, maybe, he will have a girlfriend who will play a big role in everything. So, we will look, on how many I am right.

New day, new book

Hi, readers!
Today I`m going to start reading a new book. It`s "1984" written by George Orwell.

During a long time I could not determine with the choice of book that I`d like to read, because all that I found consisted of a small number of pages. As a result, I came across the novel "1984"  After I have found the same title in the our list of mandatory literature for the subject  "The literature and culture of the Great Britain and the United States of America", which dispelled my doubts about this book.

By the way, here is the web site which helped me http://english-e-books.net/. Perhaps one day it will help you, too, my reader.

So, I`m opening the first page...