Due to the
many thoughts/opinions of my classmates, the seminar influenced my thinking in
a number of ways. Being able to hear the variety of questions made me see just
how much could be discussed about the book. Although 1984 is a relatively short
book, so many ideas have been bought up over the seminars. With this seminar in
particular, I saw more emotional appeals used during the discussions regarding
the idea of love and relationships. This made me think more about the emotional
side of 1984 as opposed to the
political rebellion side, or the structure of the government. A particular
topic that I had not previously thought of in as much depth was the reason for
the relationship between Winston and Julia. I had recognized the strange nature
of their relationship, and how their society seemed to shape their
interactions; however, I had not completely thought of why it existed in the
first place. My classmates brought up many ideas, include the perceptions of
love, lust, and even the political aspects. This made me think more about how
Julia and Winston initially began seeing each other as an act of political
rebellion, which may have grown into something stronger later.
A statement I
agreed with was a response to a question regarding why Winston simply trusted
O’Brien. A classmate of mine argued that Winston needed something else to
believe in, making O’Brien the only other option to the Big Brother Regime.
They also brought up the idea that Winston seemed to have a gut feeling in
trusting O’Brien, making their interactions seem as if they were destined to
happen.
A particular
part of the discussion that I did not per say “agree” with was when some of my
classmates expressed shock or disbelief towards my thoughts about how long
countries or governments could stay in power. I believe it to be perfectly
plausible to think that the US will eventually cease to be the most powerful
country in the world. History has seen the collapses of all empires. From the
mighty Roman, Persian and Egyptian Empires, to European monarchies, to
dictatorships in Latin America, Africa and worldwide, both the most oppressive,
and the most stable/economically prosperous societies have fallen. A classmate
argued that this might not be the case with the United States because of its
democratic system; however, there remain flaws and unhappiness in the US.
Countries such as China continue to make huge strides in development, and are
on track to become the largest economies on earth. Personally, I believe that
the world is incredibly fragile, and no society is indestructible.
A subject
that I would have liked to further discuss during the seminar would have been
the tradeoffs made between freedom and security. I would have liked to hear
what my classmates believed in regards to this idea. How big of a role should a
government play in providing security? How far can governments go in protecting
their citizens? The balance between privacy/freedom, and state protection (ex:
police forces) is vital in determining the stability of societies, and I would
have liked to see how my classmates would solve this type of problem if they
had to make such decisions.
Throughout
the seminar, I noticed that diverse questions were asked, creating lots of
interesting conversation. I also saw that those who participated were not
afraid of sharing their ideas, and openly disagreeing or agreeing with others.
It was good to see people comfortable with just speaking to the rest of the
class, and sharing their opinions and thoughts about the text. Many people also
connected their questions to those of others, enabling the discussion to go in
deeper. Such follow up questions made me personally think more in depth of the
various topics. The wide range of questions helped in getting more people to
participate, as different questions stirred responses from different people.
I believe
that as a group, we need to work on making sure all people participate the
number of times they need to, and to overall improve participation. Throughout
the seminars, I have noticed that there are some people more comfortable with
speaking than others, and some that dominate discussions, while others hardly
speak. This may have happened due to the longer amount of reading that had to
be completed prior to the seminar, which may have made people more pressed for
time in preparation. I think that by getting more people to participate, it
would be more possible to discuss more topics, as well as hear a greater flow
of ideas. This could be done through asking more emotional based level three
questions. This would enable those less comfortable with the text to share
their thoughts and feelings. This could still create interesting discussion
regarding themes that connect 1984
and the real world.
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