Summary tuesday's class!
Hey guys!
So some of you have asked me to put the pretzi on the blog so here it is:
*hoping this works*
If you were absent, we discussed chapter 7 from a historical perspective by asking ourselves if Orwell's depictions of slavery, poverty and corruption can be linked to historical events and if such things still happen today (see pretzi). This is preparation for the debate we will have on friday, where we will discuss world corruption.
The second part of the class was spent comparing Orwell's Chestnut Tree stanza with The Hanging Tree from The Hunger Games (Mockingjay). You can find the lyrics of the song http://thehungergames.wikia.com/wiki/Songs Among other things, we discussed, using the songs, how relationships were different in Panem and Airstrip One. The lovers described in The Hanging Tree would rather to die together than forsake their freedom, whereas Orwell's Chesnut Tree depicts a story of death and betrayal. This emphasises how Big Brother's society rejects the notion of friendship and loyalty (as a student mentioned, you don't have friends in Airstrip One, you have comrades. It is just as saying that, in general, the people of Ingsoc do not have closer bonds that those of working relationships). Furthermore, the fact that death and betrayal occurs under a tree is significant, for it points towards the destruction of life (trees being traditionally symbolic for life, knowledge and fertility). It may also point towards the horrors of totalitarian regimes.
For next class, you don't have any reading to do because we will be introducing a writing project and have a debate. Should you have tme and motivation, you can check websites such as social justice blogs and humanitarian websites. The debate will be very similar to the discussion we had during the first part of tuesday's class.