From the book 1984 by George Orwell, something that I can relate to is the fear of the inhumanity of the modern world felt by the protagonist, Winston Smith. Orwell's description of a society that is dominated by constant war, lies, and propaganda, and in which the people are forced to unquestioningly accept the ideology of the Party, is a warning for the increasing polarization and corruption of the modern world.

The writing style of 1984 is very direct and minimalistic. Orwell chooses his words very deliberately and writes in a concise manner, for the most part with a very limited use of rhetorical figures, which maximizes the amount of content he can communicate. This upfront style reflects the brutality of the Party's rule and the absolute single-mindedness and utter lack of individuality that the Party propagates.

I found Aoife's presentation on Great Expectations by Charles Dickens very interesting. I'm curious to learn about the lives of people from that time period, and how they were different from people's lives today. Also, I believe the theme of the allure of a society that is different and seemingly better than one's own is still very prevalent in the modern world. I would like to read Great Expectations soon.

Pedro Paramo is the story of a man who, upon his mother's death and by her wish, goes to a town to find his father, Pedro Paramo. However, the town has no living inhabitants and is filled with the ghosts of the past. Pedro Paramo could be the antagonist, because he kept a mistress, mistreated and abandoned the man's mother, and exploited all the people of the town whose land he bought up. The man's mother told him to “make Pedro Paramo pay.“

I am now near the end of 1984, when Winston is imprisoned in the Ministry of Love and he is being “remodeled“ by O'Brien. Something very interesting to me is how O'Brien manages to torture Winston without him believing that it is O'Brien who is hurting him, and how O'Brien states that the aim of the Party is not to break him with torture but to make him sincerely believe in the contradictions of the Party, such as that two plus two can make five.

In the story “Lather and Nothing Else“ by Hernando Tellez, the decision of the barber is so difficult because while feels hatred toward Captain Torres, who killed his comrades, he also feels a duty to carry out his barber's job honorably. Also, he does not want to carry the burden of having killed another human being, no matter how evil, because he still feels some compassion and does not want to resort to the violence that his enemies are using.

George Orwell's 1984 is a dystopian novel following Winston Smith, a middle-aged man living in Oceania under an authoritarian dictatorship. He works in the Party, rewriting history in an attempt to erase all individual thought and make people blindly follow the Party's leadership. However, he secretly believes in a better world and breaks Party rules, including falling in love. I really like the book and look forward to reading more.