1984 by George Orwell

Describe Winston's life. Winston talks about things being "dangerous" in this section of reading. Based upon the novel, what does "dangerous" mean? What specific things (give 2 examples) does he state are dangerous? How might these things be perceived as dangerous when they seem very harmless? Explain what you think about the items and their potential for real-life society.

Winston's life is extremely complicated for something so simple. He can't go anywhere and he can't do anything! How can life be any simpler? It is this simplicity that makes his life so complicated. Every step he takes is a conscious choice to follow the rules and do things correctly or to break the rules and destroy everything he considers to be his life.

Walking down the street alone could be considered dangerous. Doing things by oneself is a demonstration of individualism. Why is being an individual dangerous? I suppose that being an individual means that you think for yourself. You don't rely solely on what others tell you. When the world around you tries to make you think what it wants you to think, to rewrite history in the way they think it should be written, then a person taking the initiative to question whether it is true or not would be disasterous. One stray thought might lead to a revolution...isn't that why they have the thought police?

Another dangerous act is sex? I'm not sure where they are getting this idea. They've tried to make the act of sex repulsive and more of a duty than a pleasure. What are they accomplishing? The only benefit I can see from making sex repulsive would be that they could control the population. I suppose they could also make life a little more taxing for married couples. They wouldn't have the "truest intimate" relationship. There would always be a wall between them.

I suppose that individualism could lead to some terrible things. Hitler had an idea to create a race of similar people. I guess that some extraordinary ideas can lead to the kind of society that 1984 points out. My biggest fear about sex comes from the movie "Idiocracy". It scares me to think that genetically the world will become completely stupid. I don't want that to happen.