Tape OZK002

I read up to the second section of this book, referred to as OZK002.
Despite the countless questions that I already have about the three different mysteries, more new characters are brought into the mystery, building up more questions and suspension. In tape OZK002, one character that Brint foreshadows in the story during the conversation between Brint and Adam is Paul Delmonte. Adam apparently is not really familiar with the name, yet refuses to talk about him. Neither does he wish to talk about Amy, whom he does remember as the girl he shared his love with. A clear message of hostility is sent to Brint as he even denies the medication. Brint then cautiously asks for forgiveness, trying to be friendly by assuring Adam that he is simply a guide trying to help Adam recover his memory, in an attempt to break down the wall of hostility. The story goes back to the bike trip as Adam continues his journey to Rutterburg. The song, “The Farmer in the Dell” is introduced as Adam is in deep memory of how his father used to happily sing it for him, enforcing the song to his family, seeing that it is the song written for their family since it has their last name in it.

Hostile air starts to fill the conversation as Adam is in denial of answering Brint’s question about Paul Delmonte. There is something about Paul Delmonte that brings such curiosity to my mind. It is Adam’s denial of talking about Paul, despite Adam’s lost memory, of which Paul was, that brings more interest of who this character is. Although Robert Cormier doesn’t seem as if he tries hard to have us guessing and wondering who Paul Delmonte is, he somehow made me keep reading to find out who Paul Delmonte is and what kind of role he had in Adam’s life. Robert Cormier is somehow able to show that Paul Delmonte is a big character taking a big role in this mystery, within a simple conversation, even when Brint does not give any clues that he was a big part in Adam’s life. Robert Cormier’s writing style is simply astounding, trapping me into this mystery without me noticing that I am already behind the bars.

The reason that I was as engaged in the story as Adam sung “The Farmer in the Dell” was that there was something suspicious about it. Adam remembers how his father strongly enforced the song upon their family, saying that the song perfectly fit their family. There seems to have been something about their last name that Adam’s father wants to be imprinted on Adam’s mind. It made me fall deeper and deeper into trying to figure out this mystery. Questions constantly popped into my head. Why Adam’s father would try to imprint on Adam’s mind that their last name was Farmer? Or is it just that Adam’s father found the coincidence so exciting? If Adam’s father was trying to imprint on Adam’s mind that their last name was Farmer, what caused him to do that? The list of questions was endless. However, it was not only the suspicion that I have of the song that got me into my reading. It was him travelling alone without his family, trying to remember happy memories that he had with his parents. With my family not anywhere close by my side, many times, I found myself travelling and doing things alone since my family is in another country. In those lonely moments, I would also look back at the happy memories that I had with my family to try to keep myself from bursting in tears. Strangely, it was not my best friends or the people whom I thought I loved the most that I thought of when I was lonely. It was family that came into my mind. Likewise, it was his parents that Adam tried to remember of when he was lonely, not Amy or other close friends that he had. This showed the significance and importance of parents in one’s life. Adam reminded me of myself and the hard times that I had to spend alone, making my heart sink deeper and deeper as I read.

Tape OZK001

I read the first section of this book, yet completely trapped in this mystery.
As the story begins, I was simply placed in a mist, with mysteries covering every aspect of the story, dragged into such deep mystery, unheard of. Starting from the way Robert Cormier makes the chapters as the tape number, the book overflows with mysteries, creating countless questions in my head. The story begins with perplexity as the narrator is telling his story of going to Rutterburg, Vermont to visit his father on his old bicycle, not revealing any of his identity, but giving small clues to introduce him. He strangely does not even mention his name in the exposition of the story, yet he mentions this girl called Amy whom he apparently loved before running away to Rutterburg. He also tells of some of his internal characteristics, including his fear of dogs and of large open spaces. Robert Cormier truly engages you with this main character, telling just enough about the main character, to create an irresistible curiosity. Not too little to make the story confusing, not too much to make us without curiosity, but just enough to make us eagerly keep reading.

Robert Cormier continues to stun me with his distinct, yet intriguing way of pulling me into this mystery. The first part of Tape OZK001 is in a first person narrative, but the narratives constantly change from one to other, having three different narratives, each telling of three different events and settings. Without any warning, the narrative and setting suddenly changes from the road trip to a conversation between this man, Brint, who is supposedly a psychiatrist and the main character, whose name was Adam. Brint tries to get Adam to remember of his memories, allowing Adam to fall into memories from long ago. The narrative and setting changes once again, the memories narrated in third person. He is taken into the night as he lay in bed in unknown agony that he realized something was going wrong, having listened to his parents whispering of worry and trouble, than harmoniously having their conversation of love. Then, the narrative and setting changes back to the conversation between Brint and Adam. Brint continues to ask of Adam’s memories and what he remembers from it. However, Adam barely remembers anything, faintly able to remember the bus trip with his parents, travelling somewhere else to run away from something. With only his mother’s perfume and his father’s smell from smoking, clear and strong in his memory. Confused, unable to clearly remember, Adam tells Brint that he does not really remember. Surprisingly, the narrative changes again to a third person, telling of what Adam is truly feeling inside. He feels as if Brint is rather friendly, yet does not even want to give Brint any clues of what had happened. The narrative then changes back to the conversation between Brint and Adam. Despite Adam’s hope that Brint will not know of his memories, Brint seems to have somehow read Adam’s mind, asking about the clues that Adam had been secretly thinking about. Adam is shocked, trying to figure out how he had read his mind, refusing to answer the question by going back to the resting place he was before. Then the narrative again changes to the bike trip.

It is like Robert Cormier places us in a dark night. We can barely see what is going on, but only the slightest idea. However, such as the moon and stars provide some light during the night, Robert Cormier provides enough light to allow us to kind of get an idea of who the character is and what the story is. Similar to the way street lamps, the moon, and the small stars all come from different directions showing some different parts of a figure, leaving the rest of the parts not shown as mystery, Robert Cormier tells the mystery in three different narratives and settings, all three not showing any connections yet, leaving it for us to really think and try to interpret what is going on. He does not simply reveal all that is going on and how the three different narratives and settings come together an make sense, such as placing the mystery on a bright sunny day rather than a dark night, but as we read more and more, he just makes the street lamps, the moon, or the stars shine a bit brighter, allowing us to understand more about the characters, but not about how the three different narratives connect. If he had told the story from one narrative and with a smooth story, it would have been less confusing, but without the kind of suspension that Robert Cormier has made. Robert Cormier makes us confused with the sudden transitions of the narratives and settings, but the confusion attracts us to read more, than put the book down and stating how it makes no sense at all.

The first part of the story, Tape OZK001, brought me into such confusion, yet it trapped me into this deep mystery starting from the bike trip. As the story started from a first person narrative of the bike trip to Rutterburg, it was easier to imagine what was happening in my head as I read the story. Since Robert Cormier also didn’t use much direct characterization, it made me truly think of who the character was and what he was like through the indirect characterization throughout the story. This thinking rather brought me deeper and deeper into this abysmal hole of mystery rather than make me have a headache and have a hard time concentrating on the book. I was very much engaged in the first part of the story, the bike trip where the main character is travelling all alone in a big wide open road, since I also have been in somewhat a similar situation. I wasn’t going somewhere to see my father, but lost in this forest. I realized that I should rather go to the wide open road to get back to where my father was, but the road was rather frightening than the forests. It was empty and something about such openness scared me, having lively imprint on my memory. Although the countless transitions between the narratives and the settings were confusing, this confusion rather brought me more into the mystery, making unable to pull myself out.

Three Characteristics

Depressed, Angry, and Lonely
He never had a smile, always with a frown, looking nowhere but down on the blank ground. His frown wasn't even a frown now, it has become his face. His eyes dark brown and frozen in loneliness. His reponses were nothing but cold, pushing everyone away, walking by himself everyday. He was always murmuring words to himself, and if lucky, you were able to hear a word, but too depressed the word was, too hard to understand. He would not eat, not even look at food, but survive through such anger that gave him energy. He was nothing but a skeleton with only anger controlling its brain.

The signficant four characters in the novel

Who are the main characters in the novel? Do you like them? Why or why not? What is special about them? What do they reveal about the universal human experience?

This depressing novel delivers a saddening and terrifying, but true universal human truth through four main characters, each character strongly emphasizing this truth. The four main characters are Winston Smith, Julia, O'Brien, and the Big Brother. The first character that I want to mention is Winston, the leading character of this book. Winston is a skeptical character, secretly questioning nearly everything he encounters in his life. He continuously questions everything, especially the part. He secretly questions the party and why and how they have taken full control of this entire continent, doubting whatever is actually said by the party. He questions why he can’t go on with his utmost pleasure, sex. He is also intelligent and thoughtful, able to interpret and get some hints to what he must do, and why it must be done. He is able to find places to find hints of what life was like before the party took over such as Mr. Charrington’s Second hand shop. He has a bit of courage inside him to find a secret place and attempt at a rebellion, renting the second floor room in Mr. Charrington’s Second hand shop. He also has the courage to have secretly have sex. This character seems to be the one who will finally save the continent from the evil party, however, his fatalism, his biggest weakness, drives him just insane. Instead of believing in himself and putting all his effort to this rebellion, he just does an effortless attempt of rebellion thinking he will be caught and killed in the end. After he finds himself writing “Down with Big Brother” right in front of the telescreen, he just puts in effortless effort and gives him hopeless hope, thinking that he will be tortured and killed in the end, giving ever since the start of the rebellion attempt.

Winston is the exceptional character that I slightly like since I have an unimaginable abhorrence at every other character in this book. I believe that I couldn’t have done any better than Winston put at his desperate situation. We all would have failed to destroy the party because of our own weaknesses. It is true that Winston couldn’t really overcome his weakness and free the continent from the evil party. However, I believe that was all anyone can possibly do. Think about it. Death and torture is ahead of you and you know that you will probably going to get caught and killed no matter what you tell yourself. Will you be able to just courageously go on ahead and cause great rebellion? I don’t think so. Although I deep inside think he could have done much better, I don’t hate him or abhor for not being able to destroy the party.

Although I do not detest Julia as much as O’Brien and the Big Brother, I still hate Julia. She is a young, realistic lady who only looks for pleasure and nothing more. All she looks for is sex and trouble, secretly going around and making love with many different men. She simply doesn’t care about the future or about the party taking complete control over everything. When Winston talks about the party and how it can be destroyed, she simply loses interprets and ignores what he has to say about it. She angers me because she is rather a distraction to Winston’s attempt to destroy the party, distracting him with his utmost pleasure, sex. She keeps meeting him, throwing him off concentration on what is really important.

O’Brien is one of the most detestable characters in this novel. Before Winston is captured and personally tortured by O’Brien, O’Brien is viewed as a hope for rebels who need support. O’Brien is shown as a brave and just man, trying to destroy the evil party and let freedom spread through out the continent. He gives Winston hope, making Winston think that he isn’t the only rebel, wanting to destroy the party. In their first actual meeting, O’Brien even gives Winston a book to give him more knowledge about the party. However, the shocking truth is that O’Brien is a big part in the inner party, used as a trap, soon capturing Winston and torturing him for his act of rebellion to the party. He makes the fall of Winston much more saddening and depressing, making Winston regret his trust for him, then revealing his evil identity. O’Brien continuously tortures Winston, soon using Winston’s most utmost fear to brain wash him. O’Brien just completely gets in control of Winston after all kinds of torture when Winston finally gives up, doing whatever to get out of the insane pain, betraying Julia.

O’Brien is one of the characters that I gravely hate and want to just kill. He was once like Winston and he could have also destroyed the party, but was also brain washed and now a big part of the inner party as he said, “They got me long ago.” This indicates that O’Brien was also once rebellious, but he has learned to just accept the party. O’Brien emphasizes the hopelessness this civilization is in, none unable to rebel and destroy the party. He also strongly emphasizes how evil and dark the Inner Party actually is and how it cannot possibly be penetrated.

The Big Brother is the character that is quite frightening and mysterious. Big Brother is representing the party as one. He also represents other leaders and rulers, who have had absolute power over their country such as Hitler, Kim Jung-Il, and Joseph Stalin. He is just a character that represents the party, but he is powerful and almighty, in full control as if he is God, Himself. The party choose this character because a real big brother, looks after you, taking care of you, seeing if you are making the right choices or not. This character is supposed to be friendly; the party trying to make it look like the party’s action is for the people such as what a big brother does is for his little brother, not for himself. The character Big Brother is like O’Brien, a tool to brain wash people into believing that the evil party is like a big brother of the country, taking care of the people.
I also detest Big Brother because he is the one behind everything, pulling the strings of party leaders such as O’Brien. He is what has caused this whole civilization of come under evil dictator rulers. He is the reason that freedom, even the world itself is nonexistent. He is the one who has caused this absolute control of every aspect of life not any more special than a evil writer making a play with puppets.

Each character helps show and emphasizes a universal human truth with their special attributes. They each resemble a significant character in this world. Winston resembles those who are quite confused, but realizes God is the only way, trying to get to God, desperately fighting and rebelling against Satan to become a Christian. Winston is quite confused how the continent has turned out to be like it is and how the evil party is in absolute control. However, he knows what is right and what must be done. He realizes that he has to destroy the party and realizes that it is the right thing to do. Therefore, Winston resembles those who realize and find out what is the right thing to do, find God in their lives and become a Christian. Winston represents the ones who take responsibility and try to save the world from falling into totalitarianism which resembles people trying to help people become Christians, saving them from going to hell. This reminds me of people who are just figuring out who God is and try to break the walls evil and get to God since they realize that is the right thing to do, but is scared because of evil odds they will have to face which is the exact same situation as Winston realizing that he has to rebel against evil government and destroy it, but is too scared.

Julia resembles those who simply do not care whether what happens to this world. She resembles the people of young generation who do not have any conscience anymore and just seek for pleasure to satisfy themselves. Not only does she represent young women who just want pleasures such as sex and nothing more with their lives, but also young men who also only want pleasures such as sex and drugs, not caring anything about their lives and wanting nothing more with it. She resembles the corrupt people of the young generation who in the end help in making the dystopian world.

O’Brien resembles the evil rulers, corrupting this world, which I like to call Satan’s puppets. These people do whatever Satan tells them to do, hurting and killing anyone who is reaching for God. These people do not actually believe they are completely possessed by Satan, but actually are like part of Satan, doing all kinds of evil, making the world be captivated with darkness and evil. O’Brien resembles Satan’s followers who do everything to stop people from getting to God and stay in almighty power, nearly equal to God’s, such as in the book as O’Brien stops people from getting to freedom.

Big Brother is Satan itself, the evil and savage monster behind all the dystopian nations. Big Brother is the actual character who stops people such as Winston from destroying the party such as Satan is the one who stops people from getting to God. Satan controls many evil rulers such as O’Brien in order to stop people to go to God. Satan closely watches everyone, hurting anyone who shows that they want to go to God. This is parallel to how “Big Brother is watching” and how when party members are caught, they are tortured and brain washed. When people like Winston just simply wouldn’t give up, O’Brien would use their greatest fears upon them, succeeding in brain washing these victims in the end, same as how Satan would quickly find out greatest fears of people who want to become Christians and use it against theses people, doing whatever it can to stop people from getting to God.

These characters all help to show a universal human truth which also matches what the Bible says. Through these characters, it is shown that such dystopian world can be formed through wicked men such as O’Brien. Such a world full of evil where there is barely any hope for anyone to get to God. Where evil men that the Bible has warned about will conquer and control everything, brutally stomping out any hope a person can possibly have.
1 Timothy 6: 3-6
“3If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth…”

Quote of a Significant Passage

Please choose one passage from the novel that is significant to you. Why is this passage meaningful? Please type it into one of your entries and comment on what you think about the passage.

"War is peace

Freedom is slavery

Ignorance is strength"

This passage is very significant to me for various reasons. This passage reminds me of a country where I have been staring at for a long time and hoping to revive and save, North Korea. This passage is so significant to me because the country that I am passionate about, North Korea is also mesmerized with words such as these. This passage is telling us about evil governments who do whatever they want with their people, controlling every part of their aspects. It tells how extreme these governments are. They say that war is peace. How insane is that? War is peace? This passage showing the totalitarianism of the government reminds me of North Korea, also conquered by the totalitarianism of the government.


North Korea was the country that had the largest impact my whole life, mainly because of my parents who had an unbelievable passion in helping the innocent victims of cruel government such as the government in North Korea. Every time when we gathered up in the living room, or somewhere else, my mom would be telling me about how horrible it is in North Korea, frightening me stories from books such as Eyes of the Tailless Animals. She would go on with how savagely tortured these North Koreans were and how they were made to believe whatever the government said. She said that many times these North Korean civilians were savagely stripped, beaten, tortured countless times, then killed even when the tiniest sign of rebellion was shown. Then she would end the dramatic and emotional speech, telling us that we need to grow up and help these innocent victims of North Korea. These stories were unforgettable because of how inhumanely these people treated, inflaming me whenever I heard stories or situations alike this. This not only made me, but also gave me inspiration to work hard and help these people when I grow up. This is why this passage is so significant to me; this passage reminds me of the violent stories of the North Korean government doing whatever they want with the people, causing a bizarre combination of both anger and inspiration. This passage is also significant to me because it reminds me of a time I encountered hundreds of girls who had escaped from North Korea because the government was so cruel and harsh. I was at another city, visiting a church in the suburban area. Then as I turned around the corner, some North Korean girls came at me. They had somehow escaped from their country controlled by the totalitarianism of the government. Their clothes were ripped, not any valuable that cloth thrown away in the streets. Their hair was messed up, a complete disaster. Their dark black faces had dirt marks everywhere. Some were even barefoot. Then next thing I knew tears were flowing down my ten-year old cheeks. I was only ten, but they were still kneeling down, hanging on to my foot. These North Korean girls were desperately asking for money since they had nothing. My whole family was stuck in the middle of the road with these girls hanging unto our legs, tearfully begging. My mom just completely broke down, giving some money to some of the girls. Then all of sudden, nearly fifty girls came rushing toward us, bowing down, asking for money realizing her sympathy. However, my parents knew the consequences of helping these girls. Therefore our family literally ran to the suburban church we were supposed to go to, not looking back. I could still clearly recall that painful moment, those young girls bowing down for money, as a result of the evil government only caring about their selves, and not about the people. They will all do whatever they want with the people, not giving them any freedom in what they say, do, or even believe in. This fires me up with unimaginable anger especially when I am reminded of the poor, young girls begging for money in their filthy rags. This is why this passage, demonstrating the evil and absolutism of the government, is so significant because it reminds me of the poor, young girls begging for money in their filthy rags, suffering all because of the government.


This passage is very meaningful to me because it reminds me of violent stories of the North Korean government savagely torturing civilians continuously told by my mother as I have said before. This passage gives me inspiration to grow up and succeed in life to help these innocent civilians living a life of puppets with no control, but doing whatever the puppeteer tells them to do. It also gives me more passion and fierceness to stand up for these people, having to do and believe whatever the government says. It brings me back to the real world making me realize how cruel and inhumane the governments have become. It alerts me contradicting my thoughts about how the world is going just fine. Most importantly, it is meaningful to me because it gives me a shock, showing what the civilizations in this world are heading towards, dystopia.

Mood of the novel

What is the mood of this novel? do you find this novel saddens you in anyway? why?



The mood of the novel is so depressing that the word 'hopeless' alone cannot possibly describe the mood. This saddening mood goes throughout the whole novel, emphasizing the 'hopeless future'. The novel starts as Winston enters his apartment, full of broken and dirty areas. As soon as I read this chapter, memories of the suburban apartments in China rushed out of my memory. The morbid apartment, that I have lived in for four years, still frightens me through its lifelessness and hopelessness in the walls. It reminds me of the horrible mood of hopelessness that I felt every time I walked up and down the stairs. This apartment powerfully conveyed this depressing mood. Many other objects and events such as the telescreen and diary also showed the mood. However, the mood then changes as Winston meets Julia and O'Brien. There is hope and possibilies flowing through the story, but it is just another tool used to emphasize the hopelessness by contradicting Winston's thought of hope through O'Brien when O'Brien turns out to be another member of the party used to capture and torture Winston. In the end, after torture after torture, Winston is murdered, ending the story with a powerful mood of hopelessness and sadness.


I found this novel definitely saddening because of this is telling us that soon enough, if we don't take action quick enough, our future is bound for hopeless captivation of evil rulers such as the ones in the party in 1984. We will have no hope to break out of that captivation, unable to live in freedom unless somebody stands up and stops the dark rulers from gaining any more power. It basically shows the road of our civilization heading into a deep abysmal hole of evil. There can be nothing more depressing than to know how chaotic and bad your future will be like. It is like knowing you will be going in jail after a couple of years or months, knowing you will be powerless just stuck in a cage unable to do anything. It is not too depressing to know that your past was with no freedom, completely captivated, because it is already past and the bright future is ahead of you. However, to know that there is no bright future, it makes me feel awfully depressed, even until the level of killing me, for something worse than just pain is ahead of me.

The Climax

What is the climax of this novel? What happens? How do the events of this novel make you feel?

The climax of the story is very close to the ending resolution of the story. It is after Winston is caught with rebellious thoughts and actions with Julia. One of the most shocking parts in the story was that. Mr. Charrington, an old man in the secondhand store who had let Winston and Julia use the room, was a Thought Police, turning Winston and Julia over to the party. This seemed to be the climax, but the climax was to come a little later. Winston and Julia are both captured and brutally beaten down countless times by the evil party, weakened more and more. However, the two persevere, determined to not let go of their rebellion deep inside their heart. A variety of torture are performed to these rebellions of the government including Winston, Julia, and even his neighbor, Mr. Parson, turned in to the party by his own kids. The party hopes to brainwash all of them, making them learn that their one and only option is to obey the party. Winston strongly perseveres through the trials of great suffering, but O'Brien then brings out Winston's ultimate fear, rats. The climax is that savage moment when Winston is put into a cage full of vicious rats biting him, the moment when his soul and mind shatters and just simply gives up. The moment where he just let pain overcome him, doing whatever to get out it. He not only betrays what he believes is right, but he even betrays whom he has loved and promised to love and protect, Julia. The moment is where Winston just simply doesn't care about anything whether what the future is or what the civilization will become of. The moment all he cares about himself and his life, nothing else. The moment his moral and conscience had gone and just wants to get out of the pain, the moment where the triumph sound of the absolutism evil party rings through the air.

These events make me feel more than just simply depressed. It makes me feel as if my future is completely abysmal. Think about it. This story is basically saying that if we are too lazy to quickly change the world, there will be absolutely no hope for anyone to break the world free from the absolutism similar to how the party has absolute control over every aspect of every human being in their country and no one can penetrate that captivity. The party will be in full control of everyone, going around destroying and crumbling anyone who doesn’t carry out their orders when we just stall and wait. There wouldn’t be any hope for anyone whatsoever when it is too late. Another part of the story that makes me sad and depressed is how even the people you trust will turn their backs on you, turning you over to the evil possessed people blinded by lust for power. For example, Mr. Parson is turned over to the party for his rebellious thoughts by his own children whom he loves. Think how depressing it will be to be stabbed in the back by your very own child. A place where trust doesn't exist such as in this novel where they all spy each other turning each other over to the evil party. However, it also gives me inspiration in a sense. It shows that if I don't take quick actions to change the world, the world can soon change into the something shown in the 1984, completely corrupt and full of evil everywhere. It makes me feel inspired and also responsible to change the world before evil government or other sort of power controls everyone of us, killing anyone who doesn't obey. It leaves me with confusing question in my head. "Is it too late for us to change this future? Has this horrifying and shocking future come upon us? Has this desperate hopelessness such as in 1984 reach us yet?”

Isaiah 24:16-20
But I said, "That's all well and good for somebody, but all I can see is doom, doom, and more doom." All of them at one another's throats, yes, all of them at one another's throats. Terror and pits and booby traps are everywhere, whoever you are. If you run from the terror, you'll fall into the pit. If you climb out of the pit, you'll get caught in the trap. Chaos pours out of the skies. The foundations of earth are crumbling. Earth is smashed to pieces, earth is ripped to shreds, earth is wobbling out of control, Earth staggers like a drunk, sways like a shack in a high wind. Its piled-up sins are too much for it. It collapses and won't get up again.