1984 Post 1

1. In 1984 equality is established through distribution and monitoring. Everyone's actions are closely monitored and even minor infractions carry heavy consequences. Equality is also established through the distribution and rationing of goods. For instance clothing credits are issued to citizens allowing them access to only so much clothing. In addition food is rationed as we see in this first section when chocolate rations drop from 30 grams to 20.

2. Conflict has been eliminated through control. Big Brother controls everything establishing one single truth. Which we see an example of during the 2 minute hate which sends everyone into a frenzy of anger.Through strict laws and monitoring though and action are not allowed to deviate from Big Brothers predetermined route preventing almost all conflict.

3. 1984 clearly depicts a dystopia. The world the characters live in is full of old buildings that are falling apart and in extreme disrepair. The entire citizenry is completely restricted in thought as well as action. However some like many of the characters the author works with and his neighbors seem completely unaware of what they are missing although they aren't exactly what I would consider happy. For those individuals though  it may very well be a utopia, but based on my perspective the personal restrictions and the poor quality of life depicted in 1984 can bring me to no other conclusion than the fact that it is dystopia.

Utopia

1. A utopia is a balanced world or society in which crime, violence, and ill will do not occur. They live outside of conflict and crisis. The economy is in constant growth.

2. In my ideal world the days would be longer to allow for more sleep and productivity. People would be far slower to act and speak. Thus thoughtless words and actions wouldn't devastate so many people. It wouldn't contain alcohol or cigarettes because those things bring only pain and regret. There would be no poverty because people would legitimately care about their neighbors and fellow citizens.

3. My utopia would play classical music and uplifting music. Lyrics would involve hope and helping others and self betterment.

"You Were Right" by Built to Spill

1. The speaker feels as though he has been wronged in some way and that he has missed out. "You were wrong when you said everything would be alright" and "You were right when you said you can't always get what you want."

2. The loud and heavy music in the song indicates the frustration being conveyed by the lyrics.

3. The smooth lyrics seemed to contradict the loud fast music. The lyrics are far more flowing than the music that accompanies them.

Critical Reading

The author outlines critical reading as a very comprehensive series of actions to understand and evaluate a piece of writing. The first step was to outline the basic things about the piece that didn't require actually reading it. This means drawing meaning and context clues from the title, knowledge of the author, and the time and place the piece of writing was formed in. Next you actually read the piece, but you view it in its entirety and only examine it from a very broad perspective. During this you can annotate the reading and ask questions about things and draw emphasis to important things. It is then necessary to analyze the piece through inference, synthesis, and evaluation. Finally we should look for meaning and use things like language and writing strategy to understand this meaning.

Young life

1. The boy aspires to be like the man. The boy is holding a stick like it is a gun.

2. The man is the family provider seeing as the women is clinging to him and he is holding the gun that we can infer killed the deer.

3. The truck is meant to be shown as supporting the people. The mirror of the truck supports the man's arm, and the truck holds the deer.


The truck is the supporter of the people. This is exemplified by the position of the man and the deer. The arm of the man is rested on the truck mirror, and it is supporting him. In addition the truck is holding the deer which is a source of food. The man and woman in the picture are leaning against the truck showing it's supporting them.

"Shame" Avett Brothers

1. The subject is a man who has wronged a woman in some way, and is now asking forgiveness and hoping to release his guilt.
The tone is regretful and defeated, but also hopeful.

2. "Boatloads" and "overwhelming" discuss the shame and guilt the speaker has to show how reverent and defeated he has become. The "can" shows that hopefulness to being better and forgiven because he says with "can" that I have the opportunity to help, but it is indefinite meaning he only has hope to.

Voice 9-19-11

1. Voice is the overall organization of writing that differentiates from one writer to another. Diction, punctuation and syntax play a huge role in establishing voice.

2. The amount of blood pooled on the ground brought me to the conclusion that a violent altercation had occurred. In my writing I often use a large vocabulary and organize my sentences in a cause and effect manner when appropriate.

3. I would talk around asking for help or to borrow something to be more polite and less deliberate.

4. Voice is important because it shows us the view and context of the author. Voice in non-fiction also allows for better flow. I have always been taught to avoid passive voice, 1st person, and 2nd person.

5. Establish a wider knowledge of vocabulary and syntax and then consistently use both the same.