1984

In George Orwell's 1984, the story takes place in--yes, you guessed it--1984. Although this is the setting, George Orwell wrote this book in the 1940's, predicting how life will be in 1984. Only, these hypotheses were not completely accurate. We do not have large computer screens in our living rooms in which "Big Brother" is constantly watching to see if we do anything that defies his rules or thinks something that the "Thought Police" would find threatening to Big Brother. If any suspected conspirators are found out they are quickly "vaporized" without trial and their history is erased off the face of society. Speaking of history, Big Brother's organizations erase any history that doesn't suit them, this makes doubt almost impossible to follow up on and doublethink an absolute. What I wonder is, how are so many people able to swallow what Big Brother dishes out? Well, not everyone does. People like Winston Smith who is against Big Brother's totalitarian rule and over-controlling aspects dare to think what he wants--to get rid of BB--and do what could lead to his execution--write a diary to the future telling of the wrongs that went on during their time.

I can't wait to see what will happen next. Will Winston find some accomplices? Will he get caught and vaporized? Will he be able to trigger an uprising against the horrid BB? We'll soon find out....

3rd Quarter

Of Mice and Men

"Of Mice and Men" was a GREAT book and I recommend it to anyone, even if they're not too much into the classics, because it's one of those books that hook you and actually give you something to think about once it's done. "Of Mice and Men" is about two men named Lennie and George. They are two migrant workers who wander from ranch to ranch looking for work to make a living. George is a smart, witty, and cautious man, while Lennie is a huge, muscular, and just-doesn't-get-it sort of person. They are complete opposites, yet they complement each other and are a packaged deal. Throughout the book, it is brought up that it is not very common for two men to travel together and look out for one another; when the norm is for a man to be somewhat of a loner, working, taking his pay, and picking up and leaving when he feels like it. Although, George says that he's looking out for him just because he promised his Aunt Clara he would, in reality, Lennie and George are just like family to one another. Lennie always listens and remembers what George says to him, while George is always looking out for Lennie.

I noticed a lot throughout the book that there's foreshadowing. I won't give away the ending, but the part in the middle when Candy, the old man, is sorrowful about his dog getting shot for being crippled and better off dead--well, being more sorrowful about the fact that he himself didn't put the poor dog out of his pain--has a lot to do with the ending, and Lennie and George's relationship. This is what I loved most about this book: the loyal, honest bond between Lennie and George. How even in the end--people might think otherwise, when in reality is, George was doing it for Lennie's own good--George was the best friend Lennie could ever ask for.

Oliver Twist : the ending

This book was pretty good, I mean, it did get boring at times, but the plot was strong and left you astounded. Unbelievable just how much bad was done to Oliver in his life, and a happy ending to be the result. I guess you could call it karma? Only, unexplained secrets of the past and unfair mistreatings were the barricades to a good life, which he well deserved, for Oliver. To think his happy ending can be traced from the day when he lost his temper and ran away from the countryside to London: also known as the day he took his life into his own hands and out of those of Mr.Beadle and that "fostering agency". Sure... there were some bumps along the road, (spoiler warning) his getting caught by the police when his days in the child-gang of pick-pocketers took a turn for the worse, when Sikes and Fagin came back into the picture when he'd thought he'd escaped them, the killing of Nancy, and the accidental-hanging of Sikes. At least Oliver got to where his rightful place life is supposed to be.

All in all, I liked this book, but some parts got pretty gruesome, and the language was hard at times to understand. On the bright side, i was able to see how Britain was during the Industrial Revolution.

Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist (by Charles Dickens) is the story of a poor orphan boy mistreated by those who have taken care of him. They treat him like an animal: giving him the minimum amount of food in order to just survive, disrespecting him because his mother died in child birth without a father to take care of him and just because of the fact that he's poor with no worldly possessions whatsoever. For what reason should he be mistreated if he's a kind boy who's just a victim of fate. People look at him as if he wasn't human! When in reality, he's just a hardened boy who's been put through a lot since birth. I find him to be such a great character. For a boy around the age of 10 years old, it's incredible how life has thrown so many curve-balls at him and he's still able to keep standing with the bat up to face the pitcher. Like, when his "masters" gang up on him after he simply punches a boy for insulting his dead mother. How they twisted the truth to make it so his anger was not only directed at the boy but at the rest of them, and made him out as a threat to their well-beings, when all he did was get mad and rebel against his bully. So instead of taking their bull , he hit the road to escape their atrocities, and wandered into the city where there's endless opportunities: only once he gets to the city, he soon makes friends with the wrong type of people: A child-gang who's taught to steel from the wealthy by discretely pick-pocketing.

I feel bad for Oliver. It seems like life's just not going his way, but what can I say, life's just not fair.