Novel Research

In the novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell, government control and censorship are present more so than any other theme in the novel. Even though the novel is purely fiction, these ideas are being promoted in many other countries around the world. South Korea, for example, has very very strict guidlines when it comes to certain freedoms that we take for granted here in Canada. The internet is a very usefull tool for things such as research, social networking, and entertainment. But due to all the fighting and political battles between North and South Korea, the South Korean government has blocked and intensified the censorship of all pro North Korean websites. In order to comletely eliminate influence from the north, the South Koreans have blocked many websites including Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. The Koreans are so serious about this serious matter, that the Korean Communications Commisison was created in order to not only block websites, but to provide an internet surveillance service for the government.

The Danger of Carelessness

  In the short story "The Perils of Indifference" by Shirley Jackson, a woman is stoned to death by her fellow villagers at the end of the passage. This can be related to many situations during high school and middle school life. Multiple students have been bullied by their peers due to peer pressure which is exactly what happens to the woman when she gets stoned by her own family! If kids grow up around bullying its what they're used to and they see no wrong in what they're doing. The same can be said about the children that are handed stones to kill their own mother. They have been brought up on this idea, and the fact that its their mother doesnt even bother them. While reading the end of the story, most people fail to comprehend what took place. Until you take a deeper look at yourself and your own life, it will remain the same way. But once you  take everything into perspective, you will soon realize how capable you are, and how possible it is for events such as this to take place.

  Elie Wiesels message in "Perils of Indifference" can closely relate to the topic presented in "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. The message Elie Wiesel is trying to get across is that in most cases, not caring and not taking action, is even more harmful than releasing your anger in a negative way. As the black dot is drawn by the mother in the short story, the townspeople, and even her own family show no care or any compassion towards her. Instead, they hand her children large rocks in order to stone her with. Elie's points do not only relate to other ideas from stories, but they also depict many tragedys throughout history. As the holocaust was taking place in Germany and other european countries, the United States claimed that they had no knowledge of the events taking place. Think what you want, but to some extent the states must have had some idea of the horrific killings happening. The simple fact that they refused to act and let these events continue, is in a sense, worse than what the Germans were doing.

Perception is Everything

Beau Otta's presentation of "Perception is Everything" can be related to many different events throughout life. The theme he presents to the audience is that everything we see, is not as it seems. In every aspect of life, the way we view things can be manipulated to make us see and believe whatever they choose. Take for example what you perceive to be "normal". To one person, it can mean someone who has gone to university, or graduated high school, while to others, normal can mean simply the fact that you communicate and live your life in a simple everyday fashion. Some people say that it is our actions that define who we are. But upon further speculation it is really our perception of the world that defines us as people. In our usual daily routine we cross people we do not personally know, yet we still feel the need to stereotype them by what we see. Some people may first judge the hair style they have, or what kind of clothes they're wearing. Each of us has our own perspective of certain types of people and until we know them personally, the images we perceive in our mind, are the only things that seem real about them. In fact, with so many controlled views throughout society, the only real things we know are the things we picture in our imaginations.