They swallowed everything, and what they swallowed did them no harm, because it left no residue behind, just as a grain of corn will pass undigested through the body of a bird" (156).

I chose this quote because I think it is saying once again how the party is trying to influence their terms into everyone's lives. They say what goes and the rest of the citizens cannot say anything against what the Party is putting out there because there is a big risk of being captured by the Party, and there is also no information that proves the Party wrong.

eccentricity- an oddity or peculiarity, as of conduct

deprecating- to express disapproval of; deplore

1984 pt. 2 ch. 3 "If you kept the small rules you could break the big ones" (129)

I chose this quote because it shows the way Julia rebels against the Party. By following all the small rules, like taking part in Two Minutes Hate, she is unsuspected of being against the Party, and has a chance to go against the major rules of the Party. We see a difference in the way Winston rebels because he is too nervous to break any rules at all. Although Winston did things like skipping his night at the Community Center and buying the diary, he kept thinking he was going to get caught whenever he did something like that. Julia is definitly less nervous than Winston and is probably more prepared for the consequenses of death.

surname- the name that a person has in common with other family members, as distinguished from a Christian name or given name; family name

belfry- a bell tower, either attached to a church or other building or standing apart.

1984 ch. 9 "At the sight of the words I love you the desire to stay alive had welled up in him, and the taking of minor risks suddenly seemed stupid" (109).

I chose this quote because I believe that it shows a change in Winston. He was once just living for himself alone, but now that he knows the woman loves him, he has more to live for. Also, Winston realizes that having a relationship with this woman will make the small things like missing a night at the Community Center irrelevant, as this has larger implications if they are caught.

pretext- something that is put forward to conceal a true purpose or object
queue- a file or line, esp. of people waiting their turn.

1984 ch. 7-8 notes

1. The Proles
a. The Proles have the most freedom in Oceania
b. Compare to regular US citizens
c. The Proles are not watched closely by the Party
d. Winston thinks the Proles are the only ones who can rebel against the Party because of their large numbers and the Party does not suspect them

2. The Revolution
a. Once again, the Party creates wild stories and statistics that say life is better now than before the Revolution
b. Also, it is impossible to find evidence that proves the stories false because all the information has been changed to support the Party's claims
c. This just shows how the Party has complete control over everything in Oceania

3. The Past
a. Winston remembers the story of Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford
b. Winston starts to think why the Party changes the past so much
c. In the end, Winston follows his own beliefs about the Party's motives

4. Rocket Bomb
a. The Proles knew a bomb was coming before it came
b. Maybe they know something Winston does not

5. The Pub
a. Winston goes into a pub where many Proles are surprised to see a man like Winston among them
b. Winston talks to an old man about times before the Revolution
c. The old man never gave Winston a straight answer to any of his questions
d. Why did the old man not answer Winston's questions completely?
e. Perhaps, Winston will never learn the truth about life before the Revolution

6. The Junk Shop
a. Winston returns to the shop where he bought his diary
b. While inside, Winston buys a piece of glass that he believes is beautiful
c. After, the store owner brings Winston to another room filled with more useless junk
d. When Winston left the shop, he spots the woman from the Fiction Department and Winston thinks she was following him
e. Winston contemplates going after her, but returns home to write in his diary
f. Why was the woman following Winston?

1984 ch. 7-8 "And when memory failed and written records were falsified- when that happened, the claim of the Party to have improved the conditions of human life had got to be accepted, because there did not exist, and never again could exist, any standard against which it could be tested." (93)

I chose this quote because I believe that it once again supports the motives of the Party and how they are following through on those motives. It also displays why the conversation between Winston and the old man in the pub was so vital. Since the old man did not remember what life was like before the Revolution, there is one less person that can relay the truth to people like Winston, and because of that, the Party will one day completely control the past.

thoroughfare- a major road or highway
din- a loud, confused noise

1984 ch 5-6 "The whole literature of the past will have been destroyed. Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Byron- they'll exist only in Newspeak versions, not merely changed into something different, but actually changed into something contradictory of what they used to be" (53).

I chose this quote because I believe it relates to the overall motives of the Party. Like the language of Newspeak, the Party is not trying to completely get rid of the Oceania culture, but enforce their own version of the culture and how the country is run. The Party is trying to get rid of everything that happened before them to be able to bring in their way of doing things so people always know who is in charge. In a small way, this book reminds me a little of Farenheit 451 because of the way that books are completely abolished. In Oceania, anything the Party wants can be completely abolished. Also, in Farenheit 451, people got turned in for having books, and in Oceania, people can be turned in for having thoughtcrime. In certain ways, I see similarities between 1984 and Farenheit 451.

irrepressible- incapable of being restrained; uncontrollable

pneumatic- of or pertaining to air, gases, or wind

1984 ch. 4 "And presently some master brain in the Inner Party would select this version or that, would re-edit it and set in motion the complex process of cross-referencing that would be required, and then the chosen lie would pass into the permanent records and become truth.” (45)

I chose this quote because I believe that it shows how all decisions go through the Party even though other people do all of the work. Winston and all of the other people he works with have to change all these articles to make them seem as though Big Brother was correct, but their editor really says what it put into the public and has the power to say what goes just like the power has to say what goes all over Oceania.

Proletariat- the lowest or poorest class of people, possessing no property

saboteurs- one who purposely causes destruction

1984 ch. 2-3 "There was no reproach either in their faces or in their hearts, only in the knowledge that they must die in order that he might remain alive, and that this was part of the unavoidable order of things." (29)

I chose this quote because I believe that it relates to how people feel about one another in Oceania. It seems to me that the people of Oceania will do anything to save themselves even if it means selling someone else out. That makes me think of how Winston said earlier that the kids would report their own parents since they were so devoted to the Party. Even though the kids did not really know what they were doing, I believe that a characteristic of most citizens of Oceania is that they will betray anyone at any time just to survive because they know the struggles they are up against being ruled by the Party.

unorthodoxy- any opinions or doctrines at variance with the official or orthodox position

flitted- to move lightly and swiftly

Kevin McAdam
English 10 Honors/ Mr. George
February 5, 2009
Othello Essay

OTHELLO


Throughout the play Othello, we were provided with many examples of contrast in certain areas such as right and wrong, fair and unfair, and honesty and deception. The theme of deception played a big role in Othello as we were given the question as to whether or not Othello was just a puppet in Iago’s diabolical scheme to get back at all those that had crossed him. Othello was not exclusively a puppet in Iago’s plan because, like all people in this world, he had his own free will to choose which path to walk down. Othello’s paranoia was not brought on by Iago alone, Othello chose to listen to Iago, and Othello chose to kill Desdemona. Iago was not the only person in the play to create Othello’s distrust. It is undoubtedly true that Iago was the major contributor to Othello’s rage, but there had been other pieces laid out before Iago that escalated the matter. Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, was furious that his daughter deceived Brabantio by marrying the Moor, Othello: “She has deceived her father, and may thee” (Shakespeare 1.3 288). That one sentence instantly seared a sense of doubt into Othello’s mind, and from that moment forward, Othello contemplated the thought of Desdemona as dishonest. Brabantio was the person who made the snowball start its thunderous roll down the hill where it would eventually crash with Othello’s death. Being the clever villain that he was, Iago seized the opportunity to take advantage of Othello’s newly acquired suspicion in Desdemona to execute his horrible plan. It was Brabantio, not Iago, who made the snowball of jealousy start its thunderous roll down the slope where it would eventually reach the bottom of the hill with Othello’s death. Once Iago started to initiate his plan, he was in almost constant conversation with Othello, and every so often Iago would make a remark that would link Desdemona and Cassio together. Later, Iago had pointed out so many small instances between Desdemona and Cassio that were seemingly true, Othello chose to believe Iago. Also, the more Othello started to believe these controversial rumors from Iago, the less Othello chose not to believe anything good said about Desdemona or Cassio. Othello’s suspicion about Desdemona and Cassio combined with free will allowed Othello to believe Iago’s comments: “Yours, by this hand! And to see how he prizes/ the foolish woman your wife! She gave it him, and/ he hath giv’n it his whore” (4.1 177-179). Othello chose to hear what he wanted to hear in that conversation, but Iago did a good job of making it sound like they were talking about Desdemona when they were actually talking about Bianca. It is very noticeable here that Iago’s ability to mislead people and Othello’s willingness to listen equally created the growing divide between Iago’s lies and Desdemona’s truth. Iago’s clever scheming abilities made that snowball of jealousy pick up steam as it grew bigger and bigger as they story rolled along down the hill. Othello’s aggressive nature and ability to make difficult decisions is the key as to how Iago succeeded with his plan. One difficult decision that Othello had to make was when he chose to kill the love of his life, Desdemona. Although ruining Othello was Iago’s plan, he never told Othello that he should kill Desdemona. Othello thought of the idea to kill Desdemona on his own. Through the information given to him, Othello concluded that Desdemona was an unfaithful wife and did not think that she deserved to live. If Othello had not been mislead with false information, he would have had different feelings about Desdemona and her unfortunate murder would not have occurred. With the assistance of Iago, Othello made the decision to kill Cassio: “How shall I murder him, / Iago?” (4.1 171-172). However, Othello decided that he was going to murder Desdemona all by himself: “Ay, let her rot, and perish, and be damned/ tonight; for she shall not live” (4.1 183-184). Killing Desdemona was such an important choice Othello had to make that he would not let someone else make the decision for him. Othello did what he thought was right at the time. In the end, every decision Othello had to make was based, not upon what Iago told him to do, but upon the information he believed to be truthful at the time. Throughout Othello, it was clear that Othello was in charge, not Iago, and Othello was the one making all decisions, good and bad, not Iago. Othello’s decisions in the story were the most important part of Iago’s plan. Othello was not a puppet of Iago because Othello’s paranoia was not brought on by Iago alone, Othello chose to listen to Iago, and Othello chose to kill Desdemona. As any leader would do, Othello makes all the difficult decisions for his people, but not without some input from close associates. Keeping that in mind, Iago was the person he trusted most while in the situation involving Desdemona and Cassio. Obviously, Othello would strongly consider Iago’s advice, but in the end the decision was Othello’s to make. As it turns out, Othello’s anger and jealousy became such an important theme in the story that it made it seem like Iago had complete control over Othello throughout the play. Finally, the snowball of jealousy that had once started out as a seemingly insignificant line from Brabantio, soon became the reason for all of Othello rage which caused the death of himself and, of course, his sweet, innocent Desdemona.