Text-to-Text, Text-to-Self, and Text-to-World

In just the first 27 pages of the book I am currently reading, 1984, I've already made a lot of connections to other things in life. So, I'm going to write a little bit about about each connection I've made.

For my text-to-text connection, I would have to say that this book kind of reminds me of Fahrenheit 451. The reason I say that is because of the dystopian way in which both novels are set up. They both show what can happen when society is censored/restricted by government. In Fahrenheit, books are restricted, while in 1984, pretty much everything is restricted, from television to magazines and the news, and so on and so on. The main characters in both books are also experiencing major changes in how they think of the way that things are. In Fahrenheit, Montag works for the fire department and helps burn books, but he soon learns that he doesn't want to burn the books, and even wants to read them. In 1984, Winston works for the Ministry of Truth, and helps to restrict the media and books and such, but he soon discovers his hatred for the government's policies and its leader, Big Brother. He doesn't want everything to be so restricted, and even wants the government to be overthrown. So, if you like Fahrenheit 451 (and it doesn't appear that many people do), then I would highly recommend 1984.

For my text-to-self connection, I think that I connect to this book in the way that I think kind of like Winston. He works for the government, but doesn't entirely believe in their ideology. I think that I'm kind of the same way. While I do like certain things, I feel sort of a resentment for them at times, and don't always agree with the way that they do things. For example, I like The Walking Dead, but sometimes the show get kind of meh, and I don't always agree with where the plot is going or how an episode unfolded. That's the way that Winston feels about the government. He hates the way that they restrict and control people, but yet he still continues to work for them.

Last but not least, it's time for my text-to-world connection, and I feel like there is so much in this book that connects to the world already. Although the book takes place in our past, the book was written to predict the future, and let me tell you, it shocks me how much of it is coming true. The book portrays the government as being overbearing and controlling, and that's kind of the way our government and other governments around the world are being. For instance, in North Korea, they censor the internet so that people can't access things from around the world. These things are done to keep people from learning too much and revolting against the government, like in 1984.

If you do end up reading this book, pay close attention to connections such as these, and make some of your own, because I think that's key to liking a book. If you connect to the book, then you like, but if you don't connect to the plot or the characters, then you don't like it very much.

1984

WAR IS PEACE

 

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

 

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

I am currently reading the book 1984 by George Orwell. When I first found this book on my Amazon recommended list, I thought to myself, why would I want to read a book about the past? But in reality, the book is intended to be about the future. You see, this book was written somewhere in the 1950s or 1960s. It's about the year 1984 (if you couldn't guess that from the title), which, back then, was the future. At first, I thought, well, most of this will be about something that has already happened. But so far, I'm dead wrong.

I'm only twenty pages into this book, and what I've read has shocked me. Most of the things that are written in this book are actually occurring today. This seems like an older version of a dystopian novel. It takes place in London where there is a very controlling (and somewhat confusing) government system. There's the Thought Police, who can read your thoughts 24/7 (which is totally not creepy) and arrest you if you think about anything rebellious, Big Brother, who is the head honcho of the whole thing, the screens that watch what everyone is doing every second of every day, and four different Ministries, each one controlling a certain aspect of people's lives. "They were the homes of the four Ministries between which the entire apparatus of government was divided: the Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts; the Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war; the Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order; and the Ministry of Plenty, which was responsible for economic affairs" (Orwell 8).

Oh, whoops, I forgot the main character! Psh, well done Rachel... Anyways, the main character is Winston Smith, and he works for the Ministry of Truth. While you would expect him to be on the side of the government, I'm actually surprised to know that he hates the way the government controls everything. On just the eighteenth page (so don't worry, I'm not really spoiling anything if it happens right in the beginning of the book), he is subconsciously writing, DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, over and over and over again. I finished reading where someone knocks on his door, and he's afraid that it might be the Thought Police. I'm so excited to find out what happens next! Anyways, I hope you all stay tuned for the next turn of events that might occur in the rebellious government employee's life in the next 225 pages.

Favorite Book From Last Trimester

 My favorite book from last trimester was White Fang by Jack London. I loved this book because of its intensity that was present throughout. The book follows the life of a half dog, half wolf, named White Fang. Almost immediately, the struggle for survival is present, which makes you want to knwo if White Fang does survive through his life. There is a lot of suspense and action that makes you want to turn the page over and over again. The plot and characters pull you in and make you invested in the story. It plays with all of your emotions one by one, making you feel happy in one paragraph, and then incredibly sad in the next. You never know what's going to happen next, and you can never truly know where the book is going, or how it's going to end.
 This book just keeps you sitting on the edge of your seat with every single word. The best part of it though is the fact that you can never predict what's goint to happen. You may think that you have an idea, but you have no idea what's really going to happen. Even when you do see what happens, you almost can't believe that it actually happened. From treacherous terrains to unexpected events, this book just leaves you stunned. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves books with intense action and extreme plot twists.

Dropping a Book

 I am seriously considering dropping a book here really soon. It's the book I am halfway through, but haven't read in weeks. It's called Technomancer, and I would not recomment it to anyone. It's so confusing, and I can almost predict what's going to happen. Also, the main character is a stereotypical player, which makes the book extremely boring to read, because the character is so predictable. The plot is just downright bizarre, and the other characters have almost no meaning (well, the few characters that there actually are).
 The main character is an arrogant, snobbish man who thinks he can just mouth off to anyone and thinks he know all the answers to everything. But he doesn't know anything! Also, he always does something incredibly stupid that causes him to get into a life or death situation, and he just acts like it's a game. Another thing is that the book tries to make it seem like something extremely terrible or suspenseful is about to happen, but in the end, the characters were in no danger at all. This makes it very disappointing and impossible to read. I would not recomment for anyone to read this book.

Vocabulary

 There is a lot of  interesting vocabulary in the book I am reading, Technomancer. There are some words that I have never heard of or seen before, but once I do what they mean, I am able to use them in my own writing. For the most part, there are words in the book that are very common, but also add more meaning to the book. They emphasize the modern context of the book and help to describe certain situations.
 The vocab that is used to describe certain scenes better helps to show the mood of the moment or conversation taking place. The new words that I find in the book make me more engaged in what I'm reading because it almost forces me to look up the meaning of the word in order to better understand what is happening. It engages me more in the book. Sometimes it makes me pay attention to pay attention to the context in order to fully understand the meaning of the word and what it adds to the sentence. It helps me to expand my vocabulary and helps me to use more elevated diction.

A Symbol for the Main Character

 In my book Technomancer, the main character is named Erin Draith. A symbol that I think really represents him well are is the sunglasses that he always carries around and utilizes throughout the book. It shows how he is always trying to hide his identity and doesn't want to be noticed. Also, since the sunglasses have the power to melt metal (I know, it's weird, even I can't really explain it), he often uses it to open doors that are locked. I think this represents how he liked to get involved in other peoples' business and doesn't want to focus on his own life.
 This symbol also represents his arrogance. He is often overly confident in himself. He thinks that can accomplish anything and hates to be proven wrong. He believes that he can do whatever he wants without consequence. He tried to act like he knows everything but gets very angry when he finds out that he doesn't know everything there is to know.

The Nature of Good and Evil

 In my book that I am currently reading called Technomancer: Unspeakable Things there is a lot of reflection about the nature of good and evil. Throughout the story, the line between these two is often blurred and confused for one another. When a character thinks that they are doing good, they are actually committing acts of evil, but they themselves are not aware of it. Killing other people is even a theme in the book that is often confused for good instead of evil. For example, a character named Jenna wants to take revenge against the hotel owners when her husband mysteriously disappears out of nowhere. She thinks that by killing them she will do good by avenging her husband's death.
  There are other sins that are confused as righteous in the novel. Some of these sins are greed and wrath, which are both thought by many characters to be truly good. Overall, this novel shows how it is not only in stories that we see the nature of good and evil appear. In real life, we can often do things that we think are good, when in the end, we have actually done something truly evil. Even when we are conscious that we are doing something evil, we can sometimes see it as good in the long run, or that it will benefit us, and we don't consider the consequences before making our decisions.