Blog #25 - Jack Todaro - Period 3 - 04/28/2020

Jack Todaro, 4/28/20, Period 3, Blog#1

Sophomores 2020

Aim: How do George Orwell’s themes of literary protest transcend time/

Do Now: 

1. Elitism is leadership by a socially superior minority group. In what ways is elitism fostered among the pigs in Animal Farm?

2. Is there evidence that Elitism still exists in our society? If so, how?

We had a discussion of how Elitism is still present in our society today. We discussed healthcare in the United States and how only the wealthy receive the finest healthcare. We also discussed a more relevant topic to us as students; the difference between public school and private school lunch. To no surprise everyone agreed that private school lunch is heads and shoulders above public school food. This all comes back to Elitism as way more people attend Public school than Private school, also only people of the richest 1% receive the finest healthcare available. 

Afterwards, we were given a real life situation and asked how it would make us feel.

Situation:  During a class, you realize that many of your classmates have begun to view their phones,and are now laughing. Within minutes, your phone too begins to chime, so you too check it.You realize that someone has shared a not-so-flattering pic of a classmate. You realize that this student is currently in class with you,and they too have now checked their chiming phone. Within minutes, it is obvious the student is visibly uncomfortable, beyond upset, and rather than request permission to use the pass, they run out of the room.

Everyone seemed to be on the same page with this dilemma saying it was rude and unfair to the student. Though there was also a little uncertainty on how to actually deal with the situation. Furthermore, we didn't know the full details of the situation which only added to the uncertainty of the whole situation. 

Richard Nathaniel Wright was an American author of novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction.

Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially related to the plight of African Americans during the late 19th to mid-20th centuries, who suffereddiscrimination and violence in the South and the North.

One of his most famous works is a memoir called, BlackBoy, which describes his youth in theSouth: Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee, and his eventual move to Chicago, where he establishes his writing career and becomes involved with the Communist Party.

Whole Class discussion: Richard Wright argues, “All literature is protest. You can't name a single novel that isn't protest.”

During our discussion, some students agreed that all novels are protesting something. Where other people thought that not all novels have greater meaning and some stories are more straightforward than others. Personally however, I do agree with Richard Wright here and believe that every story has its own interpretation 

Working from home: The Quarantine has been tough to say the least. All I want to do is get out of the house and hangout with others. I am missing school as of right now, which is a feeling I thought I would never feel. Online school isn't really for me, I find it harder to get assignments done without being distracted in the meantime. Also, it really isn't the most reliable at times, on multiple occasions i've had programs bug out causing me to lose progress. However, like everything else this will all pass, and we will hopefully be back to life as we once knew it. 

Reflection: I learned a lot from not only our lessons but also,  from our readings of Animal Farm. Today I learned about how many of George Orwell's themes of literature found in Animal Farm are still prevalent today. Such as the concept of Elitism, which is very prevalent in the United States and directly affects me as a student. I learned this because it is very important to understand the concept of Elitism and how it directly affects me as a US citizen. I will use what I learned to enrich my understanding of how the world works around me. For Example, these times are a perfect representation of Elitism. The government is making all of the decisions, which is only a miniscule percentage of the US population. Many people who are desperately in need of support whether that be in the form of a Stimulus check or healthcare, are not receiving the support they deserve.