The seminar influenced on why George Orwell portrayed the year 1984 as he did. In the discussion, people talked about the Ministries and the overpowering government, Big Brother. This book was published in 1949, right after World War two and the rise of fascism. Our discussion led me to think more about the over powering governments that the world had experienced right when George Orwell wrote his book. In the seminar there was a nonsensical attitude towards the idea of Big Brother and a completely over-powering government but in reality, that kind of government is not too unfamiliar. When Leah mentioned that some countries had governments such as the one in 1984, today, I thought more about why George Orwell wrote this book and why it's important for us to read it today.
One controversial topic that appeared in the seminar was whether Winston writing in his journal was an act of freedom or not and whether it was smart or worth doing. Neilah said that when Winston wrote in his journal he started out writing about a film that he saw and then suddenly started pouring out his thoughts on the current situation in his country. Winston was shocked by his own thoughts and how easily he was able to write them down. I agree with Neilah when she said that Winston found freedom by being able to express his thoughts in this illegal journal; something that nobody was able to do. Ryan argued that the journal was not worth writing in because he would be discovered and either killed or put in jail for 25 years. I disagreed with his statement because Winston was obviously not happy with how his life was being controlled and if he could achieve some sort of revolt which would then inspire other people to do the same thing, I think writing illegally in his journal is worth it. I wish I had the opportunity to say that because I would've liked to see if others agreed with me and I could have maybe altered my view on it.
Something that worked really well for the seminar was that everyone had a chance to speak and discuss their ideas. There were no interruptions and no awkward silences that put a damper in the conversation. Also, everyone had different ideas so the conversation was rich and interesting. Lastly, everyone had a good knowledge and understanding of the text and some even used quotes from 1984.
I felt that there needed to be more talk and emphasis on rhetorical appeals because that was what the discussion was meant to be based on. To me it was confusing whether some people were trying to discuss and emotional appeal or logical. But overall, I thought the seminar went well and next time I will try and put more of an emphasis on the appeals.
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