Plague #4

The plague revealed itself, and the city of Oran was isolated. No interaction was allowed with any other cities. People react to the situation differently. Some paniced and some rather liked the isolation. Rambert planned on escaping the city to meet his wife. Dr.Rieux, who was in the similar siutation with Rambert, decided to stay in the city to do his duty as a doctor.
In the middle of confusion, Father Paneloux sermoned that the city was cursed with the plague because of the sin of the citizens.
I was surprised to see some of the characters' reactions to the situtation. The city is isolated and there are rumors that the government will nuke the city to wipe out the plague. People are dying out, hospitals are full of patients. I expected the characters to lose their minds. I thought the rules, moral standards and laws would vanish and slowly the citizens would turn into 'animals.' Yet, the life goes on in the city just like normal days. Although more people transgressed laws than usual, the citizens did not lose their rationality. Rather, they help each other to go through the catastrophe. I learned that men do not easily give up rationalities and moral judgements. The holocaust can be good example. Jews were in the situation where they were treated like animals, they did not give up their rationarities and moral principles. I heard that even in the concentration camp, there were rules and laws and the Jews lived accordingly. Overall, I think Camus tried to point out what makes men different from animals.

The Plague #3

Michel's death marks the starting of the epidemic wiping out the city of Oran. The number of people showing the exact physical symptoms as Michel started to increase dramatically. Suddenly, no more rat appeared in the city. The figure was yet too small to panic the residents, however, was large enough to make people uncomfortable. The doctors of the city held a meeting and decided to discuss about the new disease that visited their city. They knew it; they knew it was the plague. Yet, the doctors were hesitant to claim the disease as so. When one of the doctors suggested if it were not the plague, it sounded as if he was trying to deny the truth.

Albert Camus illustrate how people react to situations that are too shocking or too harsh. The doctors knew what the consequence would be. They knew it from the parallel case that mankind had gone through; the plague wiped out one third of Europeans during the medieval period. Seeing the disease reappeared in their town, it was too shocking not only for the doctors but also the entire city. As a result, although they did claim the disease to be the plauge in the end, the doctors tried to deny it in the beginning. I could find myself among the doctors during the meeting. In other words, just like the doctors, I had several occasions when I refused the reality. When I first arrived at America when I was in sixth grade, I acted as if I was in Korea. I visited a lot of Korean markets, and did not try to blend into the American society. I guess the cutural shock was what made me deny that I was in America, not in Korea.

In my opinion, the plague in the novel represents the fear we have. It is the fear of death, fear of future, and all the fears we have. When fear intrudes in our minds, it erase our hopes, good memories, and ourselves just like how the plague knocked down the residents of the city one by one. We don't realize what the fear is causing in our minds until the 'casuality' skyrockets. Then we see thinigs have changed. When we see ourselves in the mirror, we find out that we are not the person once we were. In my case, I feared about my future whe I first moved to TCIS. I saw my friends preparing for their future in a 'Korean' way. Then I found myself off from the 'mainstream'; I wasn't doing what ordinary Korean highschool students were doing. I wasn't going to any Hakwons, and was no more a student of a Korean school. The students of TCIS had various backgrounds, yet non of them matched mine. I was worried about my path. Then I saw the unwelcomed guest in my mind: the fear. I did not realize any change until the moment I saw a stranger in the mirror. I wasn't who I was before; I lost my passion, self-esteem, courage, and finally myself.

The Plague#2

Dr.Rieux is notified that concierge Michel came down with fever. He visited the man and found out that his neck was swollen, and he had red dots on some parts of his skin. The doctor leaves the house, commanding Michel's wife to stay with him for the night, and made sure tha she would let him drink much water. The doctor couldn't pay much attention to the patient because his mind was caught up wit his wife going to a different place for a better medical treament. The day after his wife left, Michel died of the unknown disease that is suspected to be started from the rats. Michel's death was just a beginning of the chaos; more and more people started to die.
I could find out situational irony in this part; a doctor is sending his wife because he cannot take care of her. The irony gave me a feeling that doctors are 'human beings',too. People often regard a doctor as Aesculapius; an extremely talented doctor who could rise people from death. Human beings, however, have limitations after all, and so do the doctors.
I was surprised to see how Camus described the death so indifferently. The novel does not give any specific illustrations of his death and does not create any lamenting mood. There is only one sentence that notify the readers of Michel's death; "He is dead." I suppose Camus wrote to foreshadow in a way. Compared to the plague literally wiping out the population, an individual's death would not seem that shocking.

The Plague #1

The Plague

Albert Camus

Part 1

The book is based on the writer's perpective, his observation of the city, and some secondary sources he obtained. Dr.Rieux saw some rats lying on the floor when he was walking out of his room. Thinking of his sick wife, he did not give great attention to it. M.Michel the concierge decided to wipe out the corpses. More and more rats were found in the city of Oran where Dr.Rieux dwelled. The number of the corpses were increasing rapidly, and people started to worry.

In the first part of the novel, Albert Camus was excellent to protray people's worried minds. Although it is not stated directly in the book, as I was reading through, the novel created an eerie atmopshere as if I was one of the citizens of Oran, watching the dead rats lying on streets. I could also found out a dramatic irony; as soon as the bunch of rats dying and bleeding, an image came up in my mind, that is, the plague. The title of the novel also foreshadows that the novel has to do something with the plauge. However, the characters in the novel did not seem to notice the disease.

The Stranger #2

In the second of the novel, Meursault is arrested. He is accused for murder and sentenced to death. During the trial, his lawyer asked him the motive of the murder. Meursault replied so honestly that the lawyer did not seem to understand him; Meursault told the lawyer that he simply shot the gun because the sun was burning too hot. He was sent to jail, and yet, he wasn't bothered living there expect he couldn't spend time with Marie. The magistrate claimed that Meursault is the threat to the society; he was indifferent for his mother's death, did not have rightful reason to attack the Arab. Meursault in fact, did not feel guilty; rather, he said he felt comfortable that the court assigned him a lawyer. Finally, the novel ends with Meursault hoping to see angry crowd on the day of his execution.

I was totally lost in the second part of the book. I did not understand the intention of the author writing such story. Especially the end of the second part, where he talks to himself, and how he could understand his mother getting a lover at such old age, and how he wants to see angry crowd on the day of his death. However, the novel gave me an idea that in order to survive in the society in which we are belonged to, we must follow and act as if we understand the moral standards and general rules of the society. Meursault was sentenced to death ultimately because he did not act according to the rules and moral principles that his society imposed him to have. His society expected him to weep for his mother, and wanted him to have more 'persuasive' reason for killing the Arabian. Meursault, the stranger to the society, did not understand those things, or acted as if understood them. As a result, the consequence was death. Camus showed how 'strangers' of the world are still being punished and killed. Although it is not as strict as once it was, Korean society was very closed to accepting any idea that is related to communism. Anybody who 'seemed' to be a stranger-with communistic minds-was publically criticized and condemned. My father who experienced such atmosphere in 70's and 80's often tells me that it was madness when he thinks of the old days. Overall, Camus tried to tell the readers that a closed society makes a lot of 'strangers' and that we should be more open minded.

The Stranger #1

The novel is quite weird; Meursault is a man who just had his mother died. However, the day after he burried his mother, he went to a beach to enjoy himself. There, he met Marie, who was once his co-worker. He and Marie deepened their relationship as the story goes on. Marie was serious about their relationship and asked if Meursault would marry her. Meursault, however, did not feel the need to get married, and does not know if he loves her or not. Meursault also encountered a man named Raymond, who lived above his apartment. Raymond wasn't more like a local pimp; he hit his ex-girlfriend, and finally got in fight with Arabians. One day when Meursault and Raymond went to a beach, they saw the Arab and his friends who attacked Raymond. Meursault then shot the Arab and the first part of the novel ends.



I did not understand why did Camus created such a weird character like Meursault or what message did he want to tell the readers through Merusault. According to the text, he shot the Arab, because his eyes were hurting from the sun. This can not be a good reason to shoot someone. Meursault did not know his only mother's age nor moaned for her. He was not serious with any kind of relationships, including the one with Marie. He is portrayed a hallow and empty character. As I was reading through once again, I thought that the author tried to point out how people made some standards of 'how to react' to certain situations. For instance, we expect someone to be in very dismal mood when their family member dies. People also expect others to

Independent Reading Journal #4

Benjamin set off to London to make money. He earned a new job as a worker in a printing office. He worked hard, and gained more and more money. Benjamin was also promoted to compose articles. When the owner decided to cut Benjamin's wages, he quit and returned to Philadelphia. There, he started living his life as a owner of a successful printing house. He started to think about getting married, but it was hard to find a woman that would decide to marry him. This part of his autobiography shows that those who endure some hardships and sufferings in their lives become influential. Benjamin Franklin, was a mere poor boy when he was young. However, he went through the difficulty of poverty and became a influential person until now.

Independent Reading Journal #3

Benjamin described his adolescence. Because of poverty, he had to work as a deliver boy, and at the same time, he worked hard by himself. In this part all I can say is that I am amazed that a mere teenage boy can manage to work for his living and studying. Compared to him, I am a blessed teen, who's provided everything. If Benjamin could overcome his hardships and were in a worse situation than me, why can't I get over with my problems?

Independent Reading Journal#2

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

The autobiography starts with Benjamin's salutation to his son. Benjamin Franklin is now taking some time off to record his ancestory, and his life. In the first page, he mentioned that although he had gone through great hardships, he likes his life and wants to repeat it. He said, however, if he has such chance, he would correct some errors and mistakes. I totally agree with his thought. Although I haven't lived as long as Benjamin did, I already have things that I regret. If I ever have a chance to turn back my time, then the first thing I would do is to go back to my childhood and learn how to play a instrument and focus on a sport. Since I grew up in a Korean culture, where nothing but academics are encouraged, I thought those (sports, music, and other activities) were meaningless, or even useless. However, these days, I found out that work or studying can't be everything in my life. I asked some of my friends about it, and most of them, surprisingly, agreed with me.

Independent Reading Journal #1

Today, I had a chance to read some poems and short stories written by people around my age. Reading the Inkblots was quite surprising, because unexpectedly, there were so many good pieces of writings that I first thought they were written by at least amatuar writers. The theme was also very abstract: pride and self-control. However, the writers expressed their thoughts towards the topic in a very creative way. For instance, one of my favorite poems of the Inkblotz, Pride, written by Jason Rhim, described 'pride' through our five senses. The more I read, the more I wanted to know about the subject that the author was talking about; the poem successfully grabs the readers' attention. I also liked the way that Tanner described the pride; it was depicted as if it were a beast looking for its prey.

Blogs that I left comments

Joesph Folta 2
Eric Kang
Machael Shin
Stephen Eun
David Kim

Current Situations

*are there are any current situations in the world that relate to the novel? what are they, and how do they relate? does the novel shed any light on how current situations could be resolved or "fixed"?

The caste system of the novel reminded me of India; the country's known for its strict caste system. For instance, a person from a certain caste isn't allowed to marry or talk to other castes, just like people in the novel ignore each other. In real life, Indians are classified according to their parents' classes, however, people from the 'new world' are classified by their appearance.
The soma, which calms people and brings pleasure to them, made me think of drugs, such as marijuana or LSD. Once people take the drug in real life, it's extremely hard to stop. They start to rely on the drug. Just like the drug addicted, people in the new world depend on the soma to cope from stress and difficulties. The novel doesn't suggest any solutions to the situation, instead, it tells the readers that one cannot uproot the whole society by himself. For example, John the Savage who is the main character, chose to commit sucide after struggling with the situation. In addition, the novel didn't tell any specific ways to prevent people from relying on the soma. In a nutshell, Brave New World ends without advising readers how to fix the wrong situations.

The Climax of Brave New World

The climax of the novel is when John whipped Lenina and the crowd who came to watch John hitting himself went crazy. Before the event, John had been stuggling against the whole society; he wanted to make it humane. However, after he rioted in the hospital, he gave up and fled to wilderness. There, he disciplined himself not to stay too comfortable. He also whipped himself for an atonement. However, his actions were recorded by reporters, and caused a sensation in the 'civilized' world. Being curious, people visited John's lighthouse to see him 'abusing' himself. Then John saw Lenina, which simply represented the world he abhored, running toward him. He whipped her, and people started to strike each other, just like John was doing to his body. After the event, John found to be dead, and the novel ends. Although I could foreshadow the ending from the describtion of how desperate and cornered John was, I simply feel somewhat empty, becasue I expected him to overcome such isolation and rebel or overthrow. The way the ending was described was pretty impressive. The phrase 'South-South-west, south, south-east, east...' was more effective to leave deep afterthoughts in readers' minds than directly telling that John hung himself.

The major theme of the novel

The major theme of the novel is the true definition of a utopia. The settings perfectly match the superficial utopia; no hunger, no fight and so on. However, John couldn't adjust to the environment. In other words, something's missing for a human being to live in. And I think it's humanity. In my opinion, a utopia should be a decent place that answer all human demands; people should be comfortable emotionally and physically. Yet the new world in the novel lacks the emotional comforts.
Teenagers usually hope to cope from their current situtations and desire for a utopia. Without any speific thoughts, they just look for an utopia. The novel is an essential guide for them to re-think about their dream lands. In addition, once they know that the dream land isn't feasible, the teenagers would focus on living best lives.

The mood of Brave New World

There are two different sections in the novel: the description part, and the story part. The former one is where the novel focuses on illustrating the 'New World' while the latter one is mainly about what happens to John.

From readers' points of view, the mood is very satiring in the first part. Although the world is depicted as a paradise, it's morally wrong in our eyes. Cloning is accepted as an essential and inevitable proccess to sustain the society. People who belong to the lowest level are trained to loath nature and books but to concentrate on working. There is no such thing called family. Mother and father are cussing words. Soma is the only panacea. On the other hand, there is no war, no crime, no aging, and no starvation. Everything is organized and perfect; the author must have created such mood to make the reader ponder about the true meaning of utopia.

The mood of the second part, where John is the main character, is quite dismal The detailed describtions of John's desire to blend in with the new society and new people make the reader feel sympathy for him. Yet, because of such great descripency from his previous enviroment, John couldn't adjust to the 'Brave New World' and simply commits suicide in the end.

The main characters of Brave New World

1. The Savage (John)

John grew up in the Savage Reservation and was influenced by 'uncivilized' couture, where there were families, mothers and fathers. His mother was Linder, who was once Tomakin(the Director)'s girlfriend. However, due to the surroundings during his childhood, his personality and values are quite different from that of people in London. He followed Lenina and Bernard to the new civilization because of curiosity. Although Lenina and John fell in love, what John thought was true love had some discrepancy from Lenina's; she considered love as a simple physical relationship, while John meant more deeper connection. After John started to abhor the civilization, he also commenced to reject Lenina; she was a presentation of the society. He also caused some trouble in the Hospital for Dying after seeing his mother passed away in such shabby and absurd way. Linda spent the rest of her life back in the new civilization being addicted to soma. She didn't even realize John before she died, and was simply carried away like a trash. The Savage ran away from the society, and started to live in a countryside. He begin whipping himself for self-control and atonement, however, was discovered by film makers. The Savage became so popular and people started to visit his dwelling to watch him abusing himself. Despaired, John finally committed suicide.
I simply feel sympathy for him because of solitude he went through. In the Reservation, he was an outcast just because he had different appearance from others. His mother never had been his friend, either. When he moved to London, he neither couldn't understand the new culture nor liked it, and of course, couldn't make any 'true' friends. It must have been insulting when he was treated like an animal in a cage for display.
Another thought is that the character symbolizes the present world we are living in right now. In my opinion, the author tried to use John struggling in the new world to question readers the true meaning of utopia or an ideal place. Seeing John irritated by cloned and thoughtless people, I must say that the world isn't a paradise but rather a dystopia.

2. Lenina Crowne

She is a typical newly civilized person; she is perfect. The author used her to symbolize the new world. And that's why she was rejected so harshly by John, who despised the new society. She couldn't understand his hatred the new world and her, yet I can understand her. Lenina was raised and educated to be a member of the new world, that is, she was brainwashed to pursue human caste, to hate families, and to worship Ford. She had never experienced diverse human feelings like John, such as true love. John shouldn't blame her for acting like a souless human being; it must be challenging for her to accept the new culture that John brought in a short period.


3. Bernard

Although Bernard has Alpha blood, unlike others, has shabby appearance; he is short and ugly. He had some different thoughts about the new world; he hated the Because of his appearance, he was an outcast until he brought John from the Reservation. He used John to humiliated the Director, who threatened him to send away to a remote area. His fame, however quickly declined after John refused to attend a meeting and rioted in the hospital.

Entry of my choice

*Please choose one passage from the novel that is significant to you. Why is this passage meaningful? Please type it into one of our entries and comment on what you think about the passage.

"But do you lie being slaves?" the Savage was saying as they entered the Hospital. His face was flushed, his eyes bright with ardour and indignation. "Do you like being babies? Yes, babies. mewling and puking," he added, exasperated by their bestial stupidity into throwing insults at those he had come to save. The insults bounced off their carapace of thick stupidity;they stared at him with a blank expression of dull and sullen resentment in their eyes. "Yes, puking!" he fairly shouted. Grief and remorse, compassion and duty- all were forgotten now and, as it were, absorbed into an intense overpowering hatred of these less than human monsters. "Don't you want to be free and men? Don't you even understand what manhood and freedom are?" Rage was making him fluent; the words came easily, in a rush. "Don't you?" he repeated, but go no answer to his question. "Very well then," he went on grimly. "I'll teach you; I'll make you be free whether you want to or not." And pushing open a window that looked on to the inner court of the Hospital, he began to throw the little pill-boxes of soma tablets in handfuls out into the area.

The passage is significant, because it's the last time John tried to fix or adjust to the new society. Solitude and perplexities finally ended up raging John. I think this is the turning point of John' attitude. After he was arrested, he decided to leave the society, and live byhimself. The passage also well described John's frustration toward people who rely on soma and who never knew love. By throwing boxes soma, John expressed his hatred toward the pills; the pills numbed his mother, people and the whole society. They have no guts to face any difficulties, and that's why John called them babies.

What do I want to have as a Greek god?

One quantity of Greek gods that I want to obtain is human-like characteristics and appearance.
Since I am a human right now, I prefer my appearance to monstrous looks of gods in mythologies; I don't want to be half animal and half human like Babylonian gods. Another reason is that I would probably ruling humans if I become a god. Humans will feel more comfortable while worshiping to 'human looking' god rather than hideous looking one. I don't want to scare my creation.... or my servants.
Sitting on a throne forever and looking down at the human world like a 'gentile' god would be extremely boring; troubles and accidents are what enrich life according to my thoughts. I would participate on things on Earth just like Greek gods. I would go to war and confuse the battle field. Giving heros difficult tasks will be entertaining for both me and humans.

Sirens the enchanting bird-women

Sirens were dangerous bird-women who lived on an island called Sirenum scopuli, where there were lots of cliff and rocks near by. According to Greek myths, Sirnes enchanted sailors who were passing by with terribly attractive music and vocies. Sailors then became incoherent and tried to jump into water. With crazy sailors on deck, ships were often damaged by sharpy rocks.

There are two different stories about how they were defeated. One tale says that Odyssey tied himself on a mast and put on earplugs on his sailors. He and his sailors successfully went through the island and Sirens, who were insulted by Odyssey's resistance, killed themselves. The other one says that when Sirens tried to attract Orpheus who was a very talented musician, instead of being fascinated, Orpheus replied with better and more capturing music. Sirens felt insulted and threw themselves to a rock. Both of the two tales are somewhat similar to the tale of Sphinx; a monster either kills or dies.

Hermes's profile

Herme's parents were Zeus, the mighty god and Maia the nymph. He was the god of thieves, sheperds, merchants, land travel, weight and measure. Being a herald of gods, his duty was to guide the souls of the dead to the underworld, where Hades dwelled.
Hermes is one who has totally different characteristics and personalites from Hercules. First of all, Hermes was known for his cunning and shrewd personalities; as soon as he was born, he set off to cheat on his brother, Apllo. Later on, when he got caught, instead of receiving punishments, he sneaked out giving the first instrument to Apllo. On the other hand, Hercules from the Disney animation was dipicted as a righteous and justice-loving demigod; he did many great works and risked his life to save innocent lives from monsters and disasters. Unlike Hermes, who was born as a god, while Hercules did all difficult tasks to prove himself as a hero, or a god. In addition, there are a lot of romantic plots in the movie, while there is no metion about Hermes falling in love with any women. They don't really share any similarities except the fact that themselves and their paretns are gods.

Blogs that I left comments

Joesp Folta 2
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Eric Kang - different novel
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Youngwoo Kim - different novel
Jesse Park

Entry of my choice: What are my thoughts and questions about 1984?

There are two questions that came up in my mind after reading the novel. First of all, I was quite awed at the surprising ending and I wonder why did George Orwell end his novel in such way. After some times of thinking, I concluded that the author intended to leave a strong after-image to readers. People wouldn't remember the novel and its moral clearer and longer if Winston succeded to overthrow the dystopia for sure. I guess his intention was successful, since I see readers sharing their thoughts about the novel on the Internet even long time after they finished it.
In addition, I pondered why the title was '1984', because when I first saw the title, I thought it would be something about past or so. However, future is the time background of this novel. I searched some information about the novel and the author and figured out the two reasons. The first one is that George Orwell wrote this book some time around 1950s; the year of 1984 was actually future to him when he was working on this. Secondly, the author chose the number to symbolize near future for those who lived in mid twentieth century; he tried to reflect current situation of 1950s and forsee the future.

The theme of 1984

The theme of the novel is that political apathy can turn a society into a dystopia. The author tries to convey his message through detailed descriptions of characters in the novel; no one ever tries to overthrow the irrational society because they are too afraid of torture, death and risk. Since no one participates to change the world, Big Brother(or his advocaters) can easily sustain their power without desturbance. And the society will remain as a dystopia forever.
The novel will remind young people these days the importance of their political participation, who often consider election days as holidays.

Another theme can be the loss of humanity due to suppression and control. The author shows how torture can turn good man into a cunning one in short period through Winston. After Winston yelled at O'Brien to torture Julia, his good personalities and lawful belief, which can be interpreted as humanity, go away and Winston get brainwashed. Not only Winston, but also other characters suffer in the novel from supprssion; O'Brien wouldn't choose to follow Big Brother if he didn't have to. People wouldn't be so gloomy if every moment is being watched. Julia would keep on loving Winston if she wasn't tortured. All these people are nothing but 'toys' of Big Brother. Since teenagers are future leaders of their countries, the novel may influence even a nation's future. 1984 will make teenager readers those who are in democritic countries to think about human rights, and be thankful about their countries. For those who are in countries where there is only limited freedom, the novel may 'enlightened' them to pursue right things and may help them stand up for human rights later.

The mood of 1984

What is the mood of this novel? Do you find this novel saddens you in anyway? Why?

The mood of 1984 is somewhat gloomy. People are described as 'puppets' of Big Brother. There are lots of forbidden things; books, love, and so on. It's totally a dystopia. The mood made me dismal because of a few reasons.
First, there is a distrust atmosphere in the society. No one except Winston and Julia has close relationship with anybody; people are all isolated. They keep on doubting others if they might 'sue' them. Being not able to talk heart-to-heart is a very exhausting thing. I know it because I had experienced it when I first moved to America; since my English was horrible, I couldn't make any 'true' friends. I simply feel sympathy for the residents in this dystopia.
In addition, there is no freedom. Not only actions but even thoughts are controlled and being watched. Living this kind of life is noting but being a puppet. Yet, the fact that no one except Winston is trying to change the situation made me feel even more depressed; the dystopia will remain as its current state forever unless people stand up.

The climax of the novel

What is the climax of this novel? What happens? How do the events of this novel make you feel?

I think that the climax is when Winston begged O'Brien to torture Julia instead of him. Until this point, Winston had been resisting and keeping his belief; he felt love, kept diary and read forbidden books. But the time he yelled at O'Brien was a starting point of change; Winston started give up his 'right' belief and surrendered. He stopped loving Julia and commenced to love Big Brother as he was told to do. Not only the event shocked me but also made me sad; I expected the ending to be happy or at least hopeful. I hoped that Winston would carry out his plan to make the world better place. The novel suggested through Winston's surrender that the world will remain as a dystopia.

The main characters of the novel

Who are the main characters in the novel? Do you like them? Why or why not? What is special aobut them? What do they reveal about the universal human experience?

The main characters are: O'Brien, Julia and Winston. Winston is a person who strongly dislike the dystopia society. He expresses his angers through doing some rebellious thing, such as keeping a diary, reading books, and falling in love with someone. Because Winston thinks that O'Brien is trust-worthy, he starts to tell him his thoughts and opinions towards the society. O'Brien, who's actually working for Big Brother the dictator, acts as if he advocates Winston's thoughts, and persecute Winston later on. Julia is a neutral person. Although she agrees with Winston's rebellious thoughts, she doesn't practice her thoughts into action unlike Winston. Ironically, her attitude changes after she falls in love with Winston.
Although I dislike O'Brien's cunning personality, I could understand the situation. If I were in the situation like him, I wouldn't risk my life and my job to simply follow 'justice and right', but rather blend in to what everyone's doing even if it's morally wrong, becaue I know it's hard to go against everyone. Winston's personalities and attitude were quite admiring to me in the beginning of the novel. I was disappointed when he finally surrender to torture and blames his loving one, Julia, yet I felt sympathy for him; pain is hard to resist.

Questions answered for 1984

Are there any current situations in the world that relate to the novel? Whar are they, and how do they relate? Does the novel shed any light on how current situations could be resolved or “fixed”?

In my opinion, North Korea resembles the situations in the novel in several ways. First of all, citizens in North Korea are forced to ‘love’ and ‘admire’ Jung-Ill Kim, just as people in the novel are told to do so for Big Brother. In addition, after being brainwashed for years, most North Koreans dim their country as a paradise, like people in the novel think so.
It seems that the fact that Winston, the main character in the novel, being brainwashed and sentenced to death tells readers that the novel doesn’t have any clear solutions for such situations to be resolved. However, from a different point of view, I can say that the novel does shed lights for a way out, as it shows Winston struggling to attain freedom in such suppressing society, because his actions symbolizes that no society can oppress the universal human desire for liberty completely. In other words, the novel tells the readers that if all people fight against the society like once Winston did, things will go as they wished. Numerous historical events that people overthrowing their repressing societies can support such idea: the French Revolution, American Revolution and so on.