Blog # 41
By: Fatin Ishteaaque ; Period 03
Edited By: Mila Kamirov (I hope)
Given the new situation that students have been thrown into recently, educational life has been changed greatly around the nation. Despite these changes, our class continues with our lessons. On May 22nd 2020, our class took on the question: “How does the setting of the novel contribute to the mood and tone of 1984?”, although, much of our conversation veered off of that topic. It may just be my fascination in irony, or maybe my preference of depth in literary techniques, but as I saw it, we spoke more about that rather than the actual setting. To get our answer to the question of the aim, you’ll just need to keep reading.
“Consider your knowledge of Oceania thus far. What words, which provide “tone” might you use to describe Oceania (create a list)? Explain your word choices.” Our class was approached by this question as a do now, the moment we opened up our lesson. The rest of the class stuck with rather similar answers:
- Dreary
- Dystopian
- Fabricated
- Oppressive
- Bleak
- Manipulative
- Grim
However I, personally, felt different answers. Oppressive and manipulative are strong words that are true, however words like “dystopian”, or “grim” I cannot agree with. (Note I am speaking from a point of view as of before the lesson was completed”) Yes, “1984” is a dystopian novel, however, I would not use the word to describe the world shown in the novel for the same reason I cannot agree with “grim”. When making an argument I always check both sides of every story. We simply do not know enough about the world of “1984” or the “setting” to be able to say these. Yes, we know a good chunk of the setting, but we also acknowledge the term “ignorance is bliss”. If the majority of a population is ignorant, and they follow through with this term, then they are bliss. Even if the world around them is truly grim, they don’t know that, therefore they as people are not. If the people of the world aren’t grim, can one truly and proudly say that the world is grim, afterall, “happy workers make a happy workplace”.
We all understand the difference between tone, and mood, but here’s a refresher coming from Mrs. Peterson, to your screen. I guess I’m just a middle-man huh?
“How would you compare Winston’s tone to the reader’s mood? How does his tone compare to the rest of Oceania?”
Now these are the questions that I felt had the most conversing. Peter Terranova spoke a lot about the irony conveyed through Winston, and how readers relate the most to him. For example, our class agreed that a large irony was how Winston hates INGSOC, yet takes pride in his Ministry work. However, when speaking about his tone I deduced that our class would best describe it as, “detective”, especially when compared to the rest of Oceania, which seems ignorant and blind. I personally don’t think “blind”, I would more say “closed eyes” to indicate that it could possibly be a choice, so that they do not have to deal with the problems of society.
Setting? Setting is the time, place, physical details and circumstances in which a story occurs. It is most commonly given to readers through subtle hints in the text, such as dialogue. The setting sets up the plot of the story. It shows us how the world of the story is like, which can impact how we relate, or see the storyline.
Working from home is quite more difficult. The laziness I feel is overwhelming. The worst part is I filled up my entire schedule and forgot I had to do this, thank by the way for reminding me Mila.
The good ol’ US of A is pulling through and New York is getting a nice flatter curve. My home in Bangladesh also seems to be safe, but that's probably because they can’t afford the testing. However, a slower curve doesn’t mean a drop, with a recent growth of over 5.1 million KNOWN cases, we don't know how this is going to go yet. A flat curve also doesn’t mean we should re-open. Would you cut a parachute mid-air because it slowed down your fall already?
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