Yesterday's post was devoted to my 1984 nightmare, but I really didn't write about my thoughts on the book. (No nightmares last night--whew!)
Overall, I liked the book, even though 1984 isn't really "my type" of book. Some passages were a bit dry, but other places were so riveting that I had a difficult time putting it down. It did take me a long time to read this book, mainly because I made the mistake of putting the book down during the dry passages and often decided I would rather blog, watch TV, etc. than read.
Anyway, as I was reading, I was trying to think about it from my students' perspective. Will they like it? (I do make a point early on in the school year, though, that there is a difference between "liking" and "appreciating.") Will they find it weird? Intriguing? Challenging or too difficult? Far fetched? For that last one, I saved the May 22nd Newsweek that reads on the cover, "Spying on Your Calls: Is It Legal? What Else Don't We Know?" I certainly don't want to take an alarmist approach with my students, but I do want them to think about connections between Orwell's society and our own.
If any of you have read or taught 1984, what are your thoughts?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Jen C, I am extremely interested in finding out how you did your literature circles. This is something I've been wanting to try but haven't quite figured out the logistics. We may need to exchange email addresses for this one--or is there a website for it, or do you have some info about it on your own site?
Post a Comment