1984 By: George Orwell

If everything you did was closely watched, what would you do? This is a question that has to be answered often by the civilians of the superstate Oceania, formerly known as Great Britain, because every move they make is a life or death decision. The main character of 1984 by George Orwell, Winston, is a very daring man, but as time goes on his confidence wavers. In the beginning of the book, Winston is very confident, in the middle his paranoia starts to kick in and he starts doubting everybody around him. Finally by the end of the book Winston breaks down and goes crazy

In the beginning of the book Winston is very confident in himself and starts a diary despite it being punishable by death. In addition to this Winston writes things that could start a revolt if shown to the right people. An example of this is, “He discovered that while he sat helplessly musing he had also been writing, as though by automatic action… His pen had slid voluptuously over smooth paper printing in large neat capitals- DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER”. This quote shows that Winston was very brave and confident because he was defying all laws just to state his opinion, and express himself.

By the middle of the book, Winston had grown paranoid, doubting his friends and contemporaries. this is shown when Winston starts doubting O’Brien who he was sure was on the same side as he was the whole time, and who he thought hated Big Brother with a burning passion. Winston also starts thinking about leaving his girlfriend, Julia, so she could live a longer life without torture. An example of this is, “ ‘Your young. You look normal an innocent. If you keep clear of people like me, you might stay alive for another fifty years.’ ”. This shows that Winston is growing less confident as the book progresses because it proves that he is worrying about the safety of him and his loved ones. Similarly Winston declines into insanity by the end of the book, and submits to Big Brother.

In conclusion, although strong at first Winston is strong, he eventually bested by Big Brother like everyone else. This means that Winston was less confident by the end of the book because it proves that he was emotionally weakened as he lived under the control of Big Brother for longer, and longer.

The Unwanteds By: Lisa McMann

     The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann is a fascinating book. Although it appears to be a simplistic fantasy novel on the surface, The Unwanteds has many complex underlying themes. The primary issues of The Unwanteds include sibling rivalry, and then the much darker theme of killing the weak for the survival of the strong. The first of these themes, sibling rivalry, comes into play at the beginning of the book when you find out that Alex, the main character, is to be executed, and in turn separated from his brother. Although this is terrible, Alex's brother, Aaron does not show any sympathy for Alex's situation. In fact, you find out later in the book that Aaron was the one who reported Alex in hopes of having him executed. In addition to that the head of their society has a twin who rebelled against her by harboring the Unwanteds, people sent to be executed, and giving them new purpose. Eventually there is a war between the two communities leading to the brothers fighting, and one of the twins ultimately dying. The second theme in this book is a dark, and sadistic take on the survival of the fittest. Every year the community that Alex was exiled from has a purge; in the purge all Unwanteds at the age of thirteen are sentenced to death for showing creativity, a trait that is looked down upon by the citizens of their community. The purged are sent to their graves at the infamous Death Farm to be executed, but in a twist of fate all the purged are saved by Marcus Today, a mysterious man who is later revealed to be the twin of Quill's leader, the society from which Alex is exiled, Justine. When this is found out, Quill, wages war on the saved Unwanteds because they are scared of an uprising that could take away all the power of Quill, and it’s power hungry leadership at the hands of Justine. Overall the Unwanteds is a very meaningful book with themes that make you rethink the way the world works. Similarly to The Hunger Games, The Unwanteds has the reader at the edge of their seat cheering for the victory of the mistreated underdogs. Also like The Hunger Games this book is about a dystopian society with very few individuals in places of power, and the very difficult situations they put their people in. Finally, The Unwanteds shows that even during sibling rivalries, and the looming fear of being killed, you can still defeat the most powerful of enemies.