1984- Reading Blog #2

Why is Winston having trouble buying into Big Brother and what the State are selling?
-Winston is having trouble in believing in what the state and Big Brother are telling him because he knows and realizes all the lies that he and others are being told. His job is a key factor of this, everyday he is being commanded to alter the past events to make Big Brother and the state seem perfect in every aspect. For example, when he changes speeches, records and even enemies Air Strip one has had for years, he is making them seem correct in every single sense.Because of this realization, it leads Winston to think about other things that the party is and is not truthfully telling him. It leads him to question every aspect of the party, until Hate comes around. Overall, due to all the lies being told, Winston is starting to question Big Brother and The state.

Are his small acts of defiance a form of protest? Why or Why not?
-I would say yes, that his little acts are in fact a form of protest because he is going against the laws and standards of Big Brother. Like when he and Julia began their secret love affair, he is rebelling against the party's dissproval of sexual pleasures. Or having secret meetings with O'brien where he openly trashes Big Brother, all of these events are rebellious acts. Although these might be very small forms of protest, the mindset behind it all is very big and potential for the overthrow of the state as well as Big Brother.

Compare/contrast Winston's small rebellion to a more current act of rebellion within the United States? What are they fighting for, who they are rebelling against, the way their protests seen by the government, the way their protests are seen by the masses?
-In the United States today, the tea party movement has quickly spread across America in hopes of owering our national debt, adhering to the constitution, reduce government spending, and oppose taxation in some ways. They do not have a central leader but rather are made up of small local groups. This is similiar to Winston's small rebellion because in both cases these rebellion are not very organized and are made up of dispersed people across the nation, and both are trying to make the government and politics go back to their original form to better their economy, politics and overall government. However they do vary in a couple cases, for instance: Winston's rebellion is all done in secrecy and can only meet in extremely private areas, whereas the tea party is an open group that disagrees with the government and can meet in any place and any time. Also, the tea party members do not have to worry about their lives being threatened, unlike Winstons rebellion which is constantly "looking over their shoulder". Finally, the tea party movement is accepted and considered with many debates by the government and common person, but in Winston's rebellion they don't acknowledge this opposing mass of people, but rather just blame one person (Goldstein) for all their problems.