1984 essay assignment ideas (1 Viewer)

[usnytsy]

I have to do an assignment on this topic:

Storytelling distinguishes individual emotions from the collective mentality. To what extent do you agree with this statement, based on your prescribed text and the concept of Texts and Human Experiences as outlined in your rubric?

Can I have some idea to start this essay and what themes I should write on? Thank you.

 

[may22]

I haven't read 1984 so I'm not sure if this would apply but in general

• consider the perspective a story is being told from; i.e. 1st person MC, 3rd person narrator, etc. The perspective often sets the tone for the emotions that will be conveyed. E.g. an emphatic MC 1st person narration sort of story would obviously be portraying their emotions more than surrounding characters; in this case the MC is the individual and those around them may be setting up the collective mentality
• perhaps you may also want to consider the contrast of a character in comparison to others; again, I haven't read 1984, but is there an instance where a character does or says something that sets them apart from the rest? Why? What emotions were being portrayed in that instance? How did this make other characters feel? What did it lead to in the long run/bigger picture?
• keep asking yourself questions (similar to what I got to at the end of the second dot point). If you make a point or come up with a thesis, question it in relation to the text; this will further your analysis and allow you to really dig deep

 

[zizi2003_]

I haven't read 1984 so I'm not sure if this would apply but in general

• consider the perspective a story is being told from; i.e. 1st person MC, 3rd person narrator, etc. The perspective often sets the tone for the emotions that will be conveyed. E.g. an emphatic MC 1st person narration sort of story would obviously be portraying their emotions more than surrounding characters; in this case the MC is the individual and those around them may be setting up the collective mentality
• perhaps you may also want to consider the contrast of a character in comparison to others; again, I haven't read 1984, but is there an instance where a character does or says something that sets them apart from the rest? Why? What emotions were being portrayed in that instance? How did this make other characters feel? What did it lead to in the long run/bigger picture?
• keep asking yourself questions (similar to what I got to at the end of the second dot point). If you make a point or come up with a thesis, question it in relation to the text; this will further your analysis and allow you to really dig deep

^^ this is really good !! gave me some ideas as well ahha

 

[may22]

^^ this is really good !! gave me some ideas as well ahha

Haha good to hear

 

[ExtremelyBoredUser]

I have to do an assignment on this topic:

Storytelling distinguishes individual emotions from the collective mentality. To what extent do you agree with this statement, based on your prescribed text and the concept of Texts and Human Experiences as outlined in your rubric?

Can I have some idea to start this essay and what themes I should write on? Thank you.

Winston is a great insight to this, think of his anomalous behavior and inconsistencies between his agenda and his actions - he recognizes and reaffirms that his arrest and death is an inevitable and when conversing with Julia he brings this up regularly to second guess his relationship however he still continues to act in such a dangerous and carefree manner which puts his dream of rebellion at risk, making unnecessary and extremely illogical decisions such as trusting O'brien.

His memory of Katherine, his ex-wife, is the best juxtaposition between individuality and collective mentality. Katherine was completely indoctrinated by INGSOC's values on sex and you could see Winston vividly remembers that Katherine demonstrated extreme obedience to the party "her mind had no thought besides INGSOCs" "if she wasn't completely stupid she would've reported Winston", I don't fully remember the quotes but its in the chapter where Julia and Winston converse about their future, somewhere in Part 2. Katherine would show extreme discomfort when Winston attempted to have sex which serves to exemplify the influence of collective mentality in 1984.

The glass paperweight also holds strong symbolism - a prism, which captures Winston's desires and dreams and Winston imagines his relationship with Julia as eternal through the paperweight. This is symbolic of the bond between Winston and Julia, how their sexual relationship developed strong feelings of emotion and affection towards each other - this also demonstrates why INGSOC indoctrinated its citizens against natural acts such as sex as while being a collective experience, was very much individual. If you see when the thought police raids Winston and Julia, the glass paperweight drops and breaks signifying the end of their relationship as they are tortured..

There's so much examples of conflict between individual emotions and collective mentality, from the congregation within Hate Week to Mr Charringtoon's room, an antique of the old world. The ending of 1984 would also be a good place to analysis, Winston's defeat and eradication of individual emotions is hauntigly described "He had won the victory over himself, he loved Big Brother" and through this you could analyse how the paragraph is set up to juxtapose itself,


"Two ginscented
tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was
all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished.
He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."

If you read the book closely, you would recognise that gin is a predominant tool of the Ministry of Love to brainwash its victims and eradicate thought, Winston metaphorically has INGSOC oozing out of him in this manner, he had been raped by the party metaphorically as demonstrated by the sexual tone underlying the torture in the previous chapter. Sex was Winston's ultimate tool to defy the party and more than a simple pleasure as Julia experienced, it was a political movement and cyclically Rape was INGSOC's tool to obliterate Winston's individual emotions and convert him to a subordinate of the collective mentality. Sex is a prevelant theme in 1984 and I believe it should be analysed more than a regular action between Winston and Julia, you really see the man Winston is with his willingess to perform sexual acts with a prole he describes as ugly just for the sake of rebelling.

There's way more themes and ideas to explore but they're all linked back to collective vs individuality and through Orwell's storytelling you can really feel them. I'm still analysing the book and I haven't quite reached the stage where I'm ready to do an assessment but this is just my interpretation. English isn't my strong suit so I encourage feedback if there's anything flawed. I hope everyone else can share their ideas since this is a complex text.

 

[nine9]

I'd definitely write around Winston's individual experiences - what distinguishes him from the rest. I agree with what's been said so far but would add a few more general things you can try to explore:
(note: very general, I haven't really thought through most of these points!)
1. The significance of memories in "being human" (also the name Memory Hole is ironic since they're practically burning history)
2. Oppression of the Party, human conditioning, things like the Thought Police and Room 101
3. Distortion of love and individual emotion seen in parent child relationships and Winston and Julia. Encouragement of "collective" emotions such as Two Minutes Hate.
Some stuff about storytelling:
- Winston's diary: a symbol of the start to his personal rebellion. But why? Is the action of putting thoughts to paper in a way conserving momentary emotions and opinions and making them into something more realistic?
- The brotherhood book I forgot the name if it had one lol: passing of knowledge and encouragement.
I'm not the best at English either so good luck!