Assignment 2 10/30/17
"He wondered, as he had many times wondered before, whether he himself was a lunatic. Perhaps a lunatic was simply a minority of one. At one time it had been a sign of madness to believe that the earth goes round the sun; today, to believe that the past is inalterable. He might be ALONE in holding that belief, and if alone, then a lunatic. But the thought of being a lunatic did not greatly trouble him: the horror was that he might also be wrong." (68)
A very interesting topic. A person who can be seen as a crazy or loony but can just be someone seeing something in a different angle. It depends on the time such as the astronomer Galileo. He was considered a crazy for saying the Earth spun around the Sun, instead of how the common belief at the time of how the Sun spun around the Earth. Because Galileo went against the church he was convicted of heresy and under house arrest for the rest of his life.
Galileo conviction seems to parallel the justice system of 1984. In 1984, people are vaporized for having any idea or beliefs that go against the common belief. Perhaps the author intended to make the "justice" system similar to the time of Galileo to make it look primitive or flawed. It could be a commentary about how Hitler and Stalin's ideas are backwards and are actually not helping in the growth of their society.
Another concept is the society's perceptions on progressive thinkers. Society often seems to single out the progressive thinkers at the time. People like Mahatma Gandhi and Alexander Hamilton were thinking outside the norm and were rather persecuted or hated. Being misunderstood in society are often the people we remember due to their radical and progressive ideas, but they can be seen as a crazy due to going against the common belief or norm.
A very interesting topic. A person who can be seen as a crazy or loony but can just be someone seeing something in a different angle. It depends on the time such as the astronomer Galileo. He was considered a crazy for saying the Earth spun around the Sun, instead of how the common belief at the time of how the Sun spun around the Earth. Because Galileo went against the church he was convicted of heresy and under house arrest for the rest of his life.Galileo conviction seems to parallel the justice system of 1984. In 1984, people are vaporized for having any idea or beliefs that go against the common belief. Perhaps the author intended to make the "justice" system similar to the time of Galileo to make it look primitive or flawed. It could be a commentary about how Hitler and Stalin's ideas are backwards and are actually not helping in the growth of their society.
Another concept is the society's perceptions on progressive thinkers. Society often seems to single out the progressive thinkers at the time. People like Mahatma Gandhi and Alexander Hamilton were thinking outside the norm and were rather persecuted or hated. Being misunderstood in society are often the people we remember due to their radical and progressive ideas, but they can be seen as a crazy due to going against the common belief or norm.
Wow, I really enjoyed this post. I liked how you connected being a lunatic to just seeing things in a different angle, I never thought of it like that especially in the context of this novel. I feel like this concept really connects to the book because one doesn't really have to option to view things from a different angle or to think outside the box. Being lunatic is probably a thought that goes through many of the people in the book because they aren't able to think in whatever way they want to and when they do they probably think they are lunatic cause it's going against the norms.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you connected the quote to Galileo. It is very similar to this because once something is said in this book, everyone just goes with it, no one ever questions it and tries to come up with their own theory.
I liked how you connected how being deemed a lunatic is based off how society views someone even if they are right. In this instance, Big Brother controls the thoughts of a majority of the citizens of Oceania and is able to manipulate them into thinking in a way that Big Brother wants. Big Brother alters the way the people view the world, and the people who think differently from Big Brother are "vaporized". In all, your example of Galileo and others really does well with connecting with the quote.
ReplyDeleteI love how you compared the quote you chose to the famous Galileo. Also the fact that we all compare people and or situation based on what we see first instead of the real facts that are really there. We sometimes try not to look deeper at the person or situation in order to find the truth and I think that it's because of the Party (government).
ReplyDeleteI thought you defined your quote in a great manner. The way you make the connection between the social norms in the book and ours is really smart. The way big brother turns friends and family apart is really something to be hold. Big brother takes this chance to "vaporize" the opposing force.
ReplyDelete