The Life and Times of Miblo del Carpio

The second item I would like to consign to room 101 is something of a new one to me. Of late when a thing provoked disgruntlement, I may have been inclined to describe it as 'dictatorial', 'capitalistic', or perhaps 'conservative', without an absolutely certain idea of what it was I was accusing the thing in question of being, or, if I did sufficiently understand those concepts, what it is I was supposed to have been accusing the thing of being. However, due to this wonderful course about English Language I'm studying with the Open University, I've recently acquired a new word which does just the job I need, for certain things, and which I would happily consign to room 101. Or, rather, not the word itself, but the concept that it represents.

Simply put, imperialism occurs when one body - be it a person, a collection of people, or an entire cultural group - considers their ways and ideologies to be insurmountable, probably in terms of quality, by anyone who shares not their ways, seeing the other person's ways as inferior, and endeavouring (that's too heroic a word in this situation) to convert them (the other culture) to adopt the ways and ideologies of themselves (the imperialists).

Imperialism can take a number of forms, including: cultural (where, for example, critics impose the criteria of their own culture on cultural practices of other peoples in, say, art); linguistic (where a country considers its language to be the only one fit for certain purposes, like academia, and imposes it on countries it has colonised); or ideological (where a group of people may have their own ideas of how a thing ought to be done, e.g. composing and playing music, and forces these ideologies on people who have different ideologies.

In all instances, I would argue, the ones who are the subjects of imperialism are being dominated, their own identity is being forcibly snatched from them, and they will not be happy. For a Utopia to be such, it is necessary not for only a select group of people to feel it to be a Utopia, but for everyone living there to feel it as such, to be unharmed, to be content. This is my reason for wanting to consign imperialism to room 101: if in consigning it to room 101 it brings this present world closer to Utopia, and considering that a Utopia must be experienced as such by everyone living there, imperialism could not exist in the world, and thus it must be consigned to room 101. Please, Big Brother, you must consign imperialism to room 101.

Word of the Week

Imperialism

imperialism n. 1 an imperial rule or system. 2 usu. derog. a policy of acquiring dependent territories or extending a country's influence through trade, diplomacy, etc.

from

imperial adj. & n. —adj. 1 of or characteristic of an empire or comparable sovereign State. 2 a of or characteristic of an emperor. b supreme in authority. c majestic, august. d magnificent. 3 (of non-metric weights and measures) used or formerly used by the statute in the UK (imperial gallon). —n. a former size of paper, 762 x 559 mm (30 x 22 inches).

Definitions courtesy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary

At the risk of becoming the instigator of my own downfall, I now submit to you, Big Brother, the first item I would like to consign to room 101. Consigning it to room 101 will make this present world more of a utopia for me, but with the risk that if I should ever be captured and subjected to the torments of room 101, I will have to endure all of the things I have consigned to there. But it is for you to decide on all of these items whether they should be consigned to room 101, whether I have made my case strongly enough, and whether they will provide a fitting and just punishment for me.

The first thing (or things) I would gladly do without in my Utopia would be Ticking Clocks. For a long time now these things have done not a little to torment me with their crashing disturbance of the peace, destroying my concentration, and giving me a down-right headache. When one is trying to concentrate on a task - be it writing an article, composing a piece of music, or simply clearing one's mind in preparation for the tasks ahead - one of the most important issues to consider is ensuring that the atmosphere is conducive to such tasks. For me, either an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, or else one constantly shifting yet not intruding to stimulate and occupy developing thought processes, seem to me to fulfill that role. But a ticking clock, with its metronomic rigidity, its unharmonious pulsing, crashes through the still atmosphere and knocks one's thoughts all off course, and instills in one a general feeling of dread.

It has been argued that, to hear the ticking of a clock is a sign of peacefulness and that all is well in the general vicinity. I would argue strongly against that because by its very nature it is destroying any silence or peacefulness there may have been.

Some people cannot abide silence, and seem positively to thrive on any disturbance which they may use as an excuse, if the need for one should arise, for their inability to concentrate their mind on a single task long enough to see it through to a satisfying conclusion. In Utopia I would not like that to be the case for any people, so I put it to you, Big Brother: Will you consign Ticking Clocks to room 101?

Word of the Week

Clock

clock¹ n. & v. —n. 1 an instrument for measuring time, driven mechanically or electrically and indicating hours, minutes, etc., by hands on a dial or by displaying figures. 2 a any measuring device resembling a clock. b colloq. a speedometer, taximeter, or stopwatch. 3 time taken as an element in competitive sports etc. (ran against the clock). 4 Brit. sl. a person's face. 5 a downy seed-head, esp. that of a dandelion. —v.tr. 1 colloq. a (often foll. by up) attain a register (a stated time, distance, or speed, esp. in a race). b time (a race) with a stopwatch. 2 Brit. sl. hit, esp. on the head.

Definition courtesy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary

There was a gasp and a flurry at Winston's side. The man had actually flung himself on his knees on the floor, with his hands clasped together.

'Comrade! Officer!' he cried. 'You don't have to take me to that place! Haven't I told you everything already? What else is it you want to know? There's nothing I wouldn't confess, nothing! Just tell me what it is and I'll confess it straight off. Write it down and I'll sign it - anything! Not room 101!'

'Room 101,' said the officer.

George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Part III, Chapter 1

Our time has come. It seems that Big Brother (you, my loving reader) has finally caught up with me, has judged my actions now to have diverted too far from those of the Party, so far that there is nothing else to be done. It is for you to decide, dear loving reader, my fate. You, of course, know all my actions, all my thoughts and especially my deepest, darkest fears. You will know what will be a fitting punishment for me, what will ensure I will never so much as think about committing these crimes again, and what will bring me back, whole-heartedly and unshakably to the Cause. You will have a list of my most deep-set fears, and must judge on each of these fears whether they will or they won't provide a fitting and just punishment and bring me back.

I will stand in wait of your judgment. I must be cured.

Health was improving at a wonderful rate, but the nose is streaming now as I type. Despite this, assignments need writing, and because of both of these reasons rehearsals have had to be skipped. Thus the end to Chapter Fifteen (or, rather, the beginning to Chapter Sixteen, for you may currently be in the presence of Chapter Fifteen's finale) must come at a later date. I drink my healing brew to your good health.

Word of the Week

Circumvent

circumvent v.tr. 1 a evade (a difficulty); find a way round. b baffle, outwit. 2 entrap (an enemy) by surrounding.

Definition courtesy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary