Entry No.6

Are there any settings in this novel which you have found to be beautiful? or disturbing? or memorable? describe these settings and comment on why they were meaningful to you.


The rat room of 101 in the torture room is the most disturbing setting in the novel. Since this setting is also the climax of the novel, my attentions were focused deeply onto this setting. However, as I paid closer attention to the setting, the setting began disgusting me more and more.


Consisting of dark and vapory walls, the room smelled of rotten mice. There was an air of disease in the room and death lured Winston’s nose. The atmosphere of death disgusted me out. I wanted to skip this passage through as fast as I can. Nonetheless, because this passage was the climax of the novel, I could not skip this passage through. I read this passage repeatedly until I almost memorized it by heart.


The description word choices that Orwell had made inspired my dark thoughts to arouse and take over my mind. I suddenly feared the setting; I began to share to fear that Winston was suffering from. It felt like as if I was in the situation. The constant agitation of the setting carved into my mentality. The setting disturbed me and left a permanent mark in my mind.

Entry No.5

what is the major theme of this novel? why is this theme important to a teenager living in 2007?


“Totalitarianism is hazardous in every ways, physiologically, technological, physical, and socially.” That statement is I believe the major theme of the novel. Totalitarianism is, regardless of whose hand it is handed to, is a threat to both the people and the government. Teenager should carve this theme into their hearts. They should remember this fact for their future well-being.


George Orwell’s intentions are deeply soaked into this statement. He anticipated informing us that taking caution in the upcoming totalitarianism is vital. This novel is a true dystopia where every motion or action one takes is manipulated or watched from someone. No absolute privacy exists. No absolute freedom exists. Only absolute rule exists. Although a rule to this extent will be most likely to be impractical in real life, Orwell intended the exaggeration to uncover itself throughout the book. Through the exaggeration, Orwell emphasized the significance of the caution to be taken.


For this reason, we should consider George Orwell’s intentions and apply his intentions into action. If not, totalitarianism will cloud the whole Earth sometime in the future. We, teenagers, are the future governors, doctors, and civilians of the countries we belong. Without proper ideals in the teenagers’ minds, the world will be in great chaos. Totalitarianism will be practiced in almost every country in the world. George Orwell bewares us of this menace to come. He notifies to take caution against the totalitarianism to come.

Entry No.4

what is the climax of this novel? what happens? how do the events of this novel make you feel?


Winston’s torture within the cage of rats in Room 101 is the climax of this novel. Winston has been tortured for considerably a long time. Nonetheless, Winston had resisted to the torture vigorously. He did not commence on with loving the Big Brother. Even so, Winston eventually surrendered when he arrived at the cage of rats. O’Brien threatened Winston that if he does not act accordingly to the Big Brother’s wills, he will order the rats to consume his face.

Winston would not have fallen for this threat if it were not for the several days of torture. Yet the torture had consumed both his soul and body. Winston did not have the strength to oppose that threat. The fear had already surmounted him.

This is the climax because there is a clear mark of no return in this event. When Winston was abducted physically, there was no return for his body to the ordinary. Nonetheless, for his mental status, there was a return. He could have resisted and always have not left the ordinary mentally. Yet, when Winston surrendered to the Big Brother’s rule, there was no return physically and mentally. Therefore, this, I believe, is the point of no return.

As the sequence of trials in this novel occurred to Winston, I felt an enormous sympathy for him. If there were ways out to his adversity, my sympathy would not have been as great. Yet, all the trials that Winston faced were inescapable. In whatever way or choice he made, the result was always same, destruction.

I felt, face to face, the world that Winston was facing for himself. Winston lived in a world where every action one took was manipulated, a world where legitimate optimism was impossibility. I felt the soreness of the bolt that the Big Brother had put on civilization the world. As my emotions took over my mentality, I wondered of an equivalent situation of this book in the current world.

Entry No.3

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


“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.”

Although this passage used a language style that was hard to interpret by one simple look, several glimpse at this passage brought enlightening to my thoughts. This quote emphasizes on how one’s past attitude affects that of the present. Smith explores into the life before the Revolution in this passage. He discovers that the Party has weakened people’s memories in order to prevent their acknowledgement of the Party’s wrongdoings.

This passage conveyed lots of thoughts in my mind because of the truths it brought up about the nature of weak minded men. The party did anything that took them to retain their power eternally. Violating human rights weren’t something of a issue for them. Humans were to them, only mere utilities for acquiring power.

Also, this passage demonstrated how people could be tricked so effortlessly. All the Inner Party had to do to the people was to weaken their memories. The people became excessively controllable without difficulty.

Consequently, I became aware of the wretched side of men, if not, I was able to detect the feeble side of men. This assured me of the significance of God. God is a revitalizing fountain in the midst of immorality. He is our one and only foundation of dependence.

Entry No.2

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

1984 was comparably a long novel. For this reason, this novel contains a substantial amount of characters. Nonetheless, there are only a few major characters: Winston Smith, Julia and O’Brien.
Winston Smith


Winston Smith, along with Julia, his lover, is the protagonist of this story. George Orwell envisioned his nightmarish world of totalitarianism through Smith’s perspective. For this reason, I felt as if I were reading George Orwell’s minds as I was reading Smith’s minds in this novel.


Winston is thoughtful. He has an intellectual ability to question the unjust rules of the Big Brother. Unlike Julia, who has a tendency to rebel only to seek her personal pleasure, Winston rebels in order to unearth the answer to his numerous questions. Winston seeks to discover why the Inner Party exercises such callous and absolute power in Oceania.


Winston’s curiosity soon leads to passionate rebellion against the Inner Party. With his curious and rebellious mind, Winston sets out to test the limits of the Party’s power. He commits countless crimes throughout the novel. Starting from writing ‘DOWN WTH BIG BROTHER’ in his diary, to sharing an illegal love with Julia and to joining the anti-Brotherhood party, Winston puts all his efforts into testing the limits of the Inner Party. Even so, Winston’s actions does not completely intend to only ‘test’ the limits of the Party, it also consists of his call for freedom and independence.


I personally like Winston Smith’s character as it is presented in this novel. He reveals the world in which legitimate optimism is an impossibility. After writing down his disgust for the Party in his diary, Winston lives in constant fear of the outcome of his thought-crimes. His disgust worsens as the fear turns into paranoia. Conversely, that paranoia became his source of his pursuit on rebellious actions. I like the fact that Winston pursued his rebellious actions even when there seemed to be no hope in doing so. Even if he was blind, to be extreme, in seeing the truths of the world he was living in, he gave himself an optimistic view of the world.
Julia


Julia is a perfect example of a contradictory character of Winston Smith. While Smith possesses a fatalistic view of the world, Julia is exactly the opposite. Julia’s purpose in having affairs with Smith and purpose for all of her doings is to satisfy and fulfill her desires.


I like Winston’s character. However, Julia is exactly the opposite of what Winston is. Therefore, I do not like Julia’s character excessively.
O’Brien


O’Brien, as the antagonist of this novel, is a member of the Inner Party that tricks Smith into believing that he is one of the Brotherhood. However, the validity of his membership in the Inner Party is also irresolute. Thus, I believe O’Brien serves as a mysterious figure in this novel.


Not knowing any distinct essentials about this man, my opinions about him become ambiguous as well. Therefore, I neither like nor dislike O’Brien.


All three of the characters in this novel reveal a single universal truth. I believe that the author intended the readers to recognize this truth. As clearly shown in the characters’ characteristics, their actions are swayed here and there accordingly to the intensity of power that is clouding them. Smith shows that people do have the right to oppose the power through his passionate rebellion against the Inner Party. Therefore, I believe that people should live undisturbed by any factors other than themselves.

Entry No.1

Are there 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”?


Many current situations of the world relate to this particular novel. An important issue was discussed in this novel, totalitarianism. This subject is growing to be an important issue in various nations, such as China. China has sustained its system of government for considerably a long time. This country is I daresay an immaculate form of the Inner Party in this novel.


After Mao’s revolution in China, communism rooted itself down deeply into the government and the culture of all Chinese people. The politicians of that government used communism to enslave these people into slavery. Just as the Inner Party enslaved its people to keep eternal power, the Chinese government used Communism as their tool for accomplishing this job.


Although China is excelling in terms of economic and politic status currently, during the revolution times, it was exactly the opposite. Despite the fact that Chinese Communists did not intend to abuse the power, the power in their hands caused massive shedding of blood in the country. In other words, power was abused in the Communists’ hands.


If anyone has ever lived in China, civilians that reside in that country are overly content with the rule over themselves. They certainly would not prefer taking over or opposing the government. The government has succeeded in master minding its citizens to such an extent that having restrictions in their freedom is common in their lifestyle. Yet, I believe that their content has a certain reason. Although China’s rule was not successful during the early 1900’s, it is getting effective nowadays. Even I would not want to hinder the government’s success during times like this.


Nonetheless, George Orwell sheds light on how this situation can be corrected. Regardless of the opinions of the Chinese citizens, George Orwell states through Winston Smith mouth, that common workers can throw over the totalitarian rule. The civilians of Chinese people can throw over the government.

Entry No. 3

Entry No. 3
3. Who are the main characters in the novel? Do you like them? Why or why not? What is special about them? What do they reveal about the universal human experience?
The title of the book is “Ender’s Game” However, I would not say that Ender is the only main character in this novel. Valentine and Peter play a role in this book as much as Ender does. Although from the same womb, the Wiggins possess extremely different personalities. I personally like Peter’s personality the most. Even though Peter is portrayed as the “villain” in the eyes of Ender and Valentine, he later states with his own mouth that he still does love his siblings. His maturity tops even that of an adult. Every action he performs are all planned and calculated. In my opinion, he is a perfect man.The next favorite character is Valentine. She is, what one can call, an angel. In the midst of brutal persecution from Peter, Valentine was the only reason that Ender survived without revolting against it. She loved everyone from her dearest heart. She even gave love to Peter, the enemy. However, she had some flaws, in my opinion. She was often easily swept away by her own emotions. That made her make mistakes that Peter would have never allowed.My last favorite character is Ender. It might seem a bit ironic that Ender is my least favorite character. However, there are specific reasons to this. Ender is much like Peter in his appearance and his acts. Yet, he ceases to admit this crucial fact until the end of the book. He knows deep inside that he is like Peter, but he ignores that knowledge. That is what makes him a coward. He also regrets his acts after he commits the act. While on the other hand, Peter never ever seems to regret his acts. Why does Ender even commit something that he knows that he’s going to regret? I think that his decisions don’t match up to his smart and brilliant brain.The characters in this novel reveal many facts about the universal human experience. Even though these children in this novel are different in their personalities, they all end up loving each other in the end. I think this reveals a crucial universal experience. Even though siblings might hate each other for a certain amount of time, the bond among them will never be broken…

Entry No. 6

Entry No. 6

6. Entry of my own Choice
How did the characters end up being at the end of the story? How do their reactions reveal truth about the universal human experience?
Ender’s victory did not bring him his triumph that he deserved. Instead, he felt guilt over what he had done to destroy the buggers. His grief worsens when he finds out that buggers did not intend to kill the humans. However, when he finds the fully fertilized egg of the queen of the buggers, his grief lessens. He found a way to turn back what he had done. Valentine ends up helping Peter conquer the world. She works as Demosthenes, a fake name created by Peter and Valentine, to help Peter. She later is kicked out of Earth for her hegemonic ideas. Peter gets what he wants.
Ender’s action provokes a lot of truth, in my opinion, about the universal human experience. Even though he had taken victory over the enemies of humans, he does not take his glory to himself. In fact, he neglects to enjoy his victory. Yet, his actions made sense to me because he was the only one that knew that the humans have killed the buggers in an unfair way. And when Ender found the egg, it was the beginning of everything for him. Although for many other humans, it was the end, for Ender it was the beginning.
This reaction brought up many thoughts into my mind. I discovered how tricky a human’s mind could be. There was glory, honor, and triumph right in front of Ender, waiting for Ender to grasp it. Yet, Ender did not grasp it. He did not even care to take a look at it. And that was all because of the trouble going on in his mind… I saw how just a little change of a person’s mind can turn down infinite glory and honor. Therefore, I came up with a conclusion. True glory, honor, and triumph can be achieved only when our mind is ready to grasp it. After all, our mind is what makes the decisions.

Entry No. 5

Entry No. 5
5. Are there any settings in this novel which you have found to be beautiful? Or disturbing? Or memorable? Describe these settings and comment on why they were meaningful to you.
In page 257, there is a scene where Ender enters the Eros, a command center. It describes Eros from Ender’s perspective. I think this is the reason I like this scene. I do not have to choose whether the scene is disturbing or memorable, it is already decided…

The Eros’s surface is flat. However, the surface is not suited for living because it has a different purpose, to absorb sunlight and converted to energy. Therefore the humans live on the walls of Eros. It is described here that the walls have a downward slope. Due to the lack of gravity in this center, people do not fall down from sleeping on there. Yet, the idea of sleeping on a slope in fear of falling down disturbs me. Ender shares a same opinion with me.
The setting was meaningful to me because of the sense of fear it brought out to me. Even though it was evident that people will not fall from the walls; Ender had a fear that held him uncomfortable. I think that holds true for many of the people living at this era. People know that there is a God. It cannot be denied that He actually exists. However, people just ignore that fact and live in fear of many things that obviously shouldn’t be feared. Just like this holds true for most of the people living in this world, this holds true for me. I, too, am sometimes feared of things that I should not fear.
I sometimes tend to think that God does not exist. I start to question my identity. Who am I? What am I doing here? Even though it’s stated directly in the Bible for my eyes to read, I tend to ignore it… Nevertheless, the fact exists. And the fact is that Go is truly living. Therefore, whenever I think of these terrible thoughts, I remind myself again and again. God is living, and therefore I should not fear or question my identity... God knows my identity.

Entry No. 4

Entry No. 4
4. Please choose one passage from the novel that is significant to you. Why is this passage meaningful? Please type it into one of your entries and comment on what you think about the passage.
“Peace. It’s what salaam means. Peace be unto you.”
The words brought forth an echo from Ender’s memory. His mother’s voice reading to him softly, when he was very young. Think not that I am come to bring peace on earth. I came not to bring peace, but a sword. Ender had pictured his mother piercing Peter the Terrible with a bloody rapier, and the words had stayed in his mind along with the image.
In the silence, the bear died. It was a cute death, with funny music. Ender turned around. Alai was already gone. Ender felt as if part of himself had been taken away, an inward prop that was holding up his courage and confidence. With Alai, to a degree impossible even with Shen, Ender had come to feel a unity so strong that the word we came to his lips much more easily than I.
There are, in fact, many meaningful thoughts in this passage. Gaining a true friend is a very important stage of life in a person’s life. In this passage, it portrays how it feels like to have a real and true friend. It says here that gaining the friend is as familiar as a mother’s voice. I believe that it is true. I have friends, but amongst all of them, I have one true friend that I could really put all my hope on. When I gained him as my friend, it really did feel warm and familiar like my mother’s voice. It was of comfort and relaxation…
I think the fact that Ender enjoyed his moment of gaining his friend is also a crucial part in this passage. This passage shows the need of companionship for Ender. When Alai says “Salaam” to Ender, Ender has this nostalgic moment where he brings back his memories of his mother. He was replacing his empty companionship of his mother with Alai… I think this is just human nature, to desire and thirst for love and companionship. God made us like that, so that in the end, we will come back to Him, looking for love and companionship.
However, see how Ender thinks of Peter even in the moment of great happiness. I think this passage is trying to show that happiness and comfort cannot fade away the hatred in one’s mind. I think that this is also true. My hatred for Satan, for example, doesn’t go away just because I gained a true friend.
At the end of the passage, it talks about how lonely it feels to be away with the friend even for the slightest moment. And it is actually true. Thinking of absence of a true friend that you cared so deeply about leaving you is not a happy experience. It feels horrible. I sometimes wonder if I will feel this way if I ever thought of God leaving me. I will feel lonely and devastated. However, we all know that God will never leave us. Therefore, He provides me eternal comfort.

Entry No. 2

Entry No. 2
2. Are there 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 resolves or “fixed”?

Many situations that are presented in this novel relate to the current situation in the world. In fact, I believe that almost the whole book is related the current world. The war between the buggers and the humans is somehow unpredictable. Humans live in fear of the buggers’ presence. Always unsure of whether they will attack the humans or not, the humans attack the buggers first. I think this is an identical portrayal of the war in Iraq. After the 9.11, Americans lived in fear of another terrorist assault. Thus, they sent troops of armies to Iraq to fight them off before they come and attack America again. They won, of course, but the result was not as triumphant as it was supposed to be. In the victory over buggers, every single person shouted out their freedom from their fear triumphantly. The victory was, unlike the Iraq war, certainly triumphant in this novel. However, for Ender it was not. He regretted that he had destroyed the home of the buggers. He regretted it even more when he finds out that humans misunderstood the buggers’ intentions. When he later finds the larva of the queen, he goes on a search for a habitat for this larva.
This part of this novel does actually shed light on how situations of this world can be fixed. Ender regretted that he had taken over the buggers by force. For Ender, the victory was not triumphant. Nor was the victory over Iraq triumphant to most Americans… Yet, Ender suggests a perfect victory in this novel. It is to pursue peace. Ender finally feels comfortable after he goes on a search for a new habitat for the queen. He was able to gain perfect victory through pursuing peace. It is not too late. The world should show love and kindness to countries they fought recently. Only then will they achieve a perfect victory.

Entry No. 1

Entry No. 1
1.What is the major theme of this novel? Why is this theme important to a teenager living in 2007?
The theme is hard to determine in this particular novel for this novel is a science fiction. Science fiction novels are meant to entertain, not to deliver a deep message. However, a theme exists in every stories or novels. Therefore, the theme for this novel is that “Age is not an obstacle.” I was able to come up with this particular theme through many clues from the novel. All three of the Wiggins were perfect examples of this theme. Ender proved that this theme was true through gaining triumph over the buggers as a commander. Valentine and Peter proved their maturity through planning a brilliant plan to rule over the world and actually succeeding it soon after. All of these examples suggest that age is not an obstacle at all, to what one is trying to achieve.
This theme is important to many teenagers living in this world. Some teenagers think that they can be excused for certain wrongs they do just because they are yet too young. This is not an appropriate mindset for a healthy mental growth. However, this theme can and will change their mindset. As a young child, Ender shows tremendous maturity. He thinks and acts like an adult. He takes responsibility in all he does. And the teachers and directors respond accordingly to what he does. They treat him as an adult. Teenagers are never too young for anything. They can be treated as an adult if their acts match up to that of an adult. Teenagers should now realize that they cannot be excused for what wrongs they do…
I fit in the category of teenagers. And just like them, I think that I am too young for this and that. Yet, the theme in this novel says that this is not true. I am not young for anything. I know that God’s wants me to be someone. I may not be able to do certain things because I’m not old enough. However, that also doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t try to do anything. I should at least try my best in what I am capable of doing currently.