Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George Orwell
George Orwell
Update: 17 May 2008
The Journal
What I’d like you to do is create a dialectical journal. Let me explain the principle of such a journal first, for you’ll see the principle at work in everything from writing a sentence to selecting political candidate. Let me demonstrate how it works.
Remember Uncle Willie in Maya Angelou’s story? When we first meet him, we see that he’s a bit of brute, if not an outright child abuser. Notice how he would shove the face of a five-year-old Maya Angelou up near the hot stove if she made a mistake reciting multiplication tables. So, I say, Willie is cruel.
That’s a claim. Or, you could call it a thesis.
But, you’ve read the story more closely than I, and you’re more sympathetic toward Willie. So, you say, “Wait. Yes, I see what he does to those kids, but it’s not really cruelty. He’s not enjoying the act – at least it doesn’t say so in the story. And, besides, he’s trying to get the kids to learn so they can amount to something. I say, ‘Willie is a disciplinarian.’”
This is called an anti-thesis – antithesis or a counter claim.
Notice, both you and I are right. Ideally, then, we merge our two ideas, keeping the best of both. We agree that Willie is a disciplinarian, but we need to somehow include the frightening threat Willie poses. So, we agree on something like, “Willie is a harsh disciplinarian.” Good enough.
What we have ended up with here is a syn-thesis – a synthesis.
Ideally, a synthesis weds the best of both the thesis and the antithesis. This is what democracy is supposed to be: an opportunity for ideas to meet counter-ideas and to achieve the best of both. This is also how you choose words when you speak or write. When you speak or write, your mind, quick as lightning, runs to the best, most appropriate word it can find, weighs it against others, and then decides.
In a way, that's the way a dialectic journal operates. In the left-hand column, you write a direct quote from the novel. In the right-hand column, you respond to the quote. Like this:
Note Taking |
Note Making |
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On this side, you list the quotes from the text, noting the page number in parentheses. |
On this side, you respond to the quotes on the left. Draw inferences, make comments, note comparisons, contrasts, judgments. Pose questions. |
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"Big Brother Is Watching You" (5) |
So, this is where that famous quote comes from. It's a caption from a poster. Spooky. The guy finds this inside his apartment building. It must be everywhere. Theme: privacy – there seems to be none. |
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Notice above, I just quoted a passage. |
Over here, though, I give a context and comment on the importance of the quotation and get myself thinking about a theme... |
For each of the 3 sections of the book, you'll want to create four or five pages of a dialectical journal. Once you get into the book, you'll notice that certain themes emerge. Don't press too hard for them. Just let them come. Enjoy the book, create your notes, and, if in the end you are wanting for a theme, I'll offer some for you to consider.