Aim: How is the theme, “the importance of having knowledge about the past in order to understand the future” exemplified/elucidated through Winston’s time in the Prole District?
Do Now:
What are some of the “lies/stories” parents tell their children?
Storks deliver babies
It takes 7 years to digest gum
Why do you believe they tell these stories, rather than the truth?
Parents tell their children that they came from storks because they don’t think the children are ready to know the truth since it can be a gruesome topic.
They’ll say things like gum takes a long time to swallow to prevent children from developing these potentially bad habits and to ultimately have control over their kids’ health.
What might be a history “lie/story” a school has taught/told you?
In elementary school I was taught that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America and he was deemed a hero. In later years I learned that Columbus wasn’t as great as he seemed, and his “discovery” contributed to the death and torture of numerous Native Americans.
Group Discussion:
“In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it.”
Analyze Winston’s statement above. How do you explain his example. What are your thoughts on the matter?
Winston’s example shows that the group with the most authority could change the way people think, ultimately brainwashing them. This is frustrating to me because the group in the power position is putting untrue ideas into people’s heads to fit their own agenda.
What do you think the author’s intention or purpose is for the reader to have as a takeaway about the world you/we live in?
I think the author’s intention is to inform people that not everything the government tells you is true and to encourage people to not be afraid to question what the government does.
Group Work:
Winston is clearly on a quest for the truth from the past. He states, “If there’s hope, it lies in the proles.”
Work together to assess if Winston is correct. Consider the different age groups.
If he is/isn’t explain how things would unfold for success or failure to occur. Consider the government’s role in all of this as well.
Are there specific actions or events that need to occur to guarantee success/failure? If so, what?
Whether Winston is correct or not depends largely on the actions of the proles. They are the ones who aren’t brainwashed by the government and have the ability to to rebel, but if they don’t put those abilities to use nothing will change. The older age group might be more motivated to rebel because they remember the time before society was like this. A revolution would need to occur to guarantee success because it would expose the government therefore allowing people to see how messed up it is.
Whole Class Discussion:
What do you make of Winston (unconsciously) finding himself back at the very junk shop where he bought the diary?
It’s something important to him.
Why does he appear to be so drawn to the paperweight?
It gives him a connection to the past.
What are your opinions of the room, which has no telescreen?
It’s a sign of freedom seeing as how he’s not being watched.
Why do you suppose he decides he will continue to return to the shop, despite the risks? Foreshadowing?
I think he feels security in being in the shop. His constant returns might foreshadow that he will be found out and face serious consequences.
What is it like working from home?
Working from home has taken some stress out of my life when schools were open. For example, I don’t have to worry about missing the train every morning. But admittedly, remote learning has added a lot of other stress too. Sometimes I’m swamped with work and sometimes it’s hard to maintain my sleep schedule.
What are the updates around the work/community regarding the virus?
As of today, NYC is planned to reopen next week, the 8th. But with the #BlackLivesMatter protests going on, the virus could spread even more.
Your own personal feelings and thoughts about what is happening right now.
It’s saddening to see that people have to fight for their rights and that they didn’t really have them in the first place. In these dire times, I hope everyone stays safe and gets the justice they deserve.
Reflection:
In this lesson, I learned that it is important to be aware of what the media says and to be able to discern truths and lies. In this day and age when we consume a lot of media every day, it’s easy for authorities to make us believe what they want. Therefore we have to see things for ourselves and determine if we want to believe in them or not. I will use what I learned in the future by reminding myself to find multiple sources about the same topic and develop my own opinion instead of following others. Also, this reminds me of the ongoing #BlackLivesMatter movement where people are fighting against police brutality and systemic racism which are so deeply rooted into our society. The media depicts protesters as rowdy and violent but the protesters post videos of themselves cleaning up the streets after the protests have happened. So, there are always different sides to a story, and not all of them are true.
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