ISU Blog Six

http://www.erasebullying.ca/bullying/bullying.php

   This site “ Erase Bullying” talks briefly about bullying and its types and effects. I choose this site because it relates to my book’s social issue bullying. The site explains that “bullying is a pattern of unwelcome or aggressive behaviour, often with the goal of making others uncomfortable, scared or hurt. It’s almost always used as a way of having control or power over their target.” The site also says that there are four types of Bullying. Physical, Emotional, Verbal and Cyber. Similarly, in my book O’Brien tortures Winston in Room 101 by taking advantage of Winston’s fear of rats and placing rats besides Winston. Saying that he will free the rats from the cage onto Winston. This act done by O’Brien is a form of bullying. As he used Winston’s fear to make him uncomfortable, scared or hurt and gain power over Winston and force him to love Big Brother. Moreover, during the torture session in Room 101 Winston even betrayed Julia as he couldn’t take the physical, emotional and verbal bullying done by O’Brien. The site also explains the effects of bullying on the victim as it says that they suffer through emotional, behavioural, physical and relationship problems. This was the case with Winston when he was bullied as he just physically and mentally broke when he saw the rats. Which led him to betray his love, Julia. This also led to an end to his relationship with Julia, just as stated in the site.

http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/anti-bullying-poem-what-if
 This is a poem called “ What if” about bullying. I choose this poem as it relates to Winston and his condition when he was bullied or tortured by O’Brien. The poem says bullying hurts and that the bully’s actions create a big scare on the victim. It says that all that the victim needs is a friend so why are they tortured. The same case applies to Winston as all he wanted was to be with Julia, but he is being tortured.

ISU Blog Five

http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=170

 The article “ Brainwashed! Child Soldiers in Africa” talks about how children around the world are being brainwashed in becoming child soldiers. This resembles my book’s social issue manipulation. The article states in many countries like Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Algeria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Israel, India, China, etc. there are more than 300,000 children under the age of 18 working in government projects. Most of them were kidnapped or traumatized by the killing of their family. These children are easily manipulated to join the army by giving drugs, beating them or making them promises. Similarly, in the cell Winston can’t stop the torture session and the psychological control O’Brien is gaining. And this ability to manipulate people’s mind is the key for the Party’s rule and power. Same said for the armies or rebels who manipulate children into child soldiers. Therefore, after a while of the torture session, Winston begins to accept what O’Brien is saying is the truth and the torture session will cure him. This similarly is the case with the child soldiers as after a while of torture they being to accept their life and believe in what is being told to them is the truth and good for them. Another similarity I found between the child soldiers and Winston is that when child soldiers are brainwashed they don’t recall their past. Their past is changed and future is written by the rebel or the army controlling them. It’s the same case with Winston in my book as he can’t remember his past very well. Big Brother changes the past and controls the future of everyone, just like the rebel and the armies do of these child soldiers. It's just like O’Brien says in my book, “ Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmnyUmeGhE8
 This is a video clip from the movie Blood Diamond which shows how these kidnapped children are manipulated into being child soldiers. They are beat and taught how to shoot guns. They are told that they are the heroes of this nation. They are men and that no one has ever given them respect, so they have to take it by pointing guns at them. This manipulation session is similar to Winston’s in the cell as he is first beat similar to the child soldiers. After he starts to accept what O’Brien is saying. Winston even starts to love O’Brien when O’Brien stops the torture for a while.

ISU Blog Four

 ISU Blog Three

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/watch-armed-police-storm-luxury-5557470

This article talks about the Spanish armed police force storming into a luxury Spanish pad to catch a hidden British fugitive, Paul Monk. He was suspected of drug trafficking and murder of Francis Brennan. Now I choose this article as it related to the social issue in my book, hidden criminal acts. Just like Paul Monk, in my book Winston and Julia were going against the law by joining Brotherhood and, therefore, were caught by the Thought Police in a room that they were hiding in. Both Paul Monk and Winston and Julia committed crimes that led them to getting caught. But the main reason I picked this article was to indicate that there many criminals, fugitives and drug dealers hiding in the society. Paul Monk is just one of them. Therefore, they are negatively impacting the society by their crimes. In my book, Big Brother had set strict laws for everyone to follow and if disobeyed would lead to punishment, just like any country’s government does. Those laws are made so that the society is run appropriately. Both Winston and Julia and Paul Monk were caught by the police because they were disrupting the flow of the society created by the government. As the crime acts rises it gets harder for the government to control it, so quick actions are taken to stop more crimes from happening. Moreover not only in room or houses like Winston and Paul Monk hid in, criminals are hiding even on the internet. Defying the authority like Paul Monk and Winston and Julia. Moreover, Winston and Julia knew the consequences of their actions before going against Big Brother, but still did it. Similarly, theses criminals like Paul Monk know the consequences of their actions but still do it. Both wanted someone or something to go against the law. As Winston wanted to be with Julia and join Brotherhood, whereas Paul Monk was in the business for money.

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/criminal-minds/
 This poem is called Criminal minds. It talks about a guy and a girl addicted to drugs are blinded of what they are doing and how they are impacting their surrounding by their criminal acts. Similarly in my novel, Winston and Julia have madly fallen in love and are blindingly acting against Big Brothers authority. Which eventually leads them of getting caught and then they finally wake up.

ISU Blog 3

Article
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/foreign-affairs-defense/secret-state-of-north-korea/five-ways-north-koreans-are-defying-the-regime/

  I chose this article as it resembles the social issue of my book, defying authority. The article talks about different ways the North Koreans are going against the authority of their dictator Kim Jong-un. Despite Kim Joung-un’s strict laws and power over the people, there are few people who find the laws unfair and are rebelling by doing what they aren’t allowed to secretly. For example, North Koreans sending balloons full of cash to China in exchange of food for the struggling families or people secretly watching foreign TV shows and movies even though it’s strictly prohibited. Another example the article states is a woman fighting back for running an illegal bus service and for wearing pants as there is a ban on wearing pants for women. In my book, the dictator Big Brother has power over the people in London and creates strict laws, similar to Kim Joung-un in North Korea. Just like some of the North Koreans, Winston defies Big Brother’s authority by meeting and making love with a girl named Julia secretly away from telescreens. He also rents a room for him and her to meet. Winston argues a lot to himself about people are made inhuman under Big Brother’s rule and the proles being the only humans. Which leads him to think about becoming a prole and foreshadow that the prole women he saw would have a child who would overthrow Big Brother’s authority. By thinking about going against Big Brother, he is committing a thought crime which he could be punished by death penalty. Moreover not just Winston even Julia, who Winston loves, defies Big Brother as she has sex with many Party members which is strictly prohibited. Both North Koreans and Winston and Julia find authority being unfair and act by going against them. I think this issue is present not only in fascist countries with a dictator but in every country. As people tend to go against the authority if they find they are not treated fair or equally. It can be a kid disobeying his parents to a small group of school or classroom students rebelling against the teacher to thousands of citizens protesting against the government. Therefore, we can all relate to this issue as we have all defied our authority sometimes in life just like Winston Smith.

Sniper Summary

 Summary
   Sounds of machine guns and rifles thundered in the darkness of the night around the Four Courts in Dublin.  An outbreak  of a civil war had started between Republicans and Free Staters. Near O’Connell Bridge, a Republican sniper that had a face of a student, but eyes cold gleam lay on the rooftop while eating his sandwich and drinking whiskey. Suddenly he spots an armored car of his enemy but doesn’t shoot as he knows his bullet wouldn’t pass through the steel. An old women walked towards that car and started talking to the man inside it while pointing a finger to the sniper. The sniper knew he had been spotted and without any hesitation he pulled the trigger and killed both the old women and the man in the car. Right after that a bullet from the opposite roof struck him right in his right forearm. He dropped his rifle and lay on the ground moaning in pain, but he knew he had to kill his enemy. He nursed his wound and set the rifle back up. Still crying in pain he targeted towards the opposite building and eagerly pulled the trigger. He heard the cry of the enemy being hit, he knew he had done his job. The sniper curiously went to the enemy wondering who it was and “turned over the dead body and looked into his brother’s face.” (The Sniper, 89)

Message from the Author

       I think the message the author is trying to convey is that in many countries where civil war or wars are going on, there are many kids that are affected by it. As the kids are still young and not mature they are easily manipulated to kill the enemy they are told to for food or other reasons and sometimes without even knowing they kill their own.  Similarly in this story the Republican sniper described as a youth as “his face was the face of a student, thin and ascetic, but his eyes had the cold gleam of the fanatic”(The Sniper, 86) This explains how the sniper was a kid and was in fact scared. Moreover, kids are supposed to be guided by their teachers and parents to the right path as they are still new to the world, but in countries where war takes place some kids don’t get that guidance, instead are told to do illegal things for food, and this could be related to the young sniper. “He was eating his sandwich hungrily” and, ‘‘ He finished the sandwich and taking a flask of whiskey from his pocket, he took a short draught.”( The Sniper 86) This further gives an example of what I was saying before as here the text states the young sniper was eating like he hasn’t for days and  that he was drinking whiskey, meaning the young sniper has a food shortage and that he is being given wrong guidance as he is drinking whiskey, youths are supposed to drink milk instead of whiskey.  Also in the end the text states “ Then the sniper turned over the dead boy and looked into his brother’s face.”( The Sniper, 89) This shows how the kids don’t have any idea of what they are doing and who they are doing it to as  in this story  the sniper found out that the enemy he had killed was his brother. Basically in the countries where there are wars going on the kids there are growing very quickly and are killing instead of going to schools.  

Boy in the Stripped Pajamas

   Retell

       The story the Boy in the Stripped Pajamas is about a young boy named Bruno who lives a wealthy lifestyle in  Nazi Germany during WW2 with his mom, older sister, and SS Commandant father. Bruno has grown up learning that Jews are bad and should never interact with them. Later the family relocates to a countryside where his dad is a commander of a Jews prison camp. Bruno hates his new house because he had no friends to play with, but later he spotts a concentration camp thinking it is a farm and might kids there. Few days later, despite his families rules of not going exploring from backyard, his curiosity takes him to the concentration camp. There he meets a boy dressed in stripped pajamas named Shmuel who coincidentally was his age and was also behind electric fence. After talking for a while, they become friends. Bruno comes daily to meet Shmuel and brings him food every time. As the story advances the mother and father have an argument and they decide that it would be better to move back to the city. While this happens in the family, Bruno finds out that Shmuel is a Jew and that his dad was missing. Bruno is to leave his friend, but he had to fulfill the promise of finding Shmuel's dad before Bruno leaves. Therefore to get passed the electric fence, Bruno digs a hole under the fence and gets inside the concentration camp. Shmuel brings Bruno the uniform they wear and both kids search for Shmuel's dad, but while searching they get caught in a group of when which are taken to a room. The rooms were gas chambers and both kids along with other men die.

Reflect
    This movie does reflect on the actual events that happened in Germany during the Holocaust. When Hitler declared that the Jews should be killed or sent to concentrations camps, many German officers with families had to relocate to near these concentration camps where they killed Jews in gas chambers. The movie also shows how Jews and Germans were set in different categories which could never be together. But Bruno became friends with Shmuel before knowing he was a Jew as if Bruno first knew Shmuel was a Jew he won't have interacted with him. Still Bruno becomes friends with Shmuel without caring that he is a Jew.

Relate
  The movie relates to the reality of the world as there is a lot of discrimination and racial conflicts in the world. People judge or criticize others by looking at the cover meaning the skin color, religion, background, accent, physical appearance and other things, despite knowing what kind of person one is from the inside. This movie shows how Jews were discriminated by the Nazi Germans, but Bruno and Shmuel's friendship overlook the race and religion factors and bloomed.

ISU Blog 2

I am surrounded
surrounded by the world that he has created.
The world that he drew and shaded.
And we are his puppets
We must do as he say
or else there is nothing, but death in our way.
Still there is something inside of me
that's saying this is not right
that there is a different path that can take me to the light.
But he's controlling my thoughts
holding me down
from loving, thinking, trusting.
But why?
Can't I just get up and deny
what if everything he said was a lie.
If everything is a lie
then why are we bowing to his feet
is this the sign of our defeat.
Buy why?
Why do I look in the mirror
and see what he wants me to see.
Can't I just for once see
what I look in reality.

This poem is  written by me about the events going on in my novel, specifically with the protagonist so far. As the main character in my novel is having a self vs self-conflict with himself of whether he should support Big Brother or no and he is trying to find out the reality of the past. The poem is about living under a dictator and for my novel is written in the protagonist's perspective, therefore it is similar to the reading as the poem talks about how the people, including the main character, are Big Brothers puppets, meaning under his rulership and that they have to do as he says, or else they get killed. The poem also states that the main character is rising up and getting thoughts of not bowing down to Big Brother and whether everything Big Brother said had been a lie.This is a state of development of the main character as he is getting questions and thoughts of why Big Brother is doing all this. Also, he wants to what the reality is and whether he is against or with Big Brother, just like its said in the poem.
 This pic shows the two sides of the persons thinking. I Choose this pic just to advance my point about how the protagonist is double minded or rather confuses of whether he should be with Big Brother or not.