1984

Here is another book as thought worthy as Paradise Lost. It was George Orwell’s 1984. I am confused about the first two sections.

This novel is set in the future of Oceania and London. The government is all dictatorship. Winston has a small job in this hungry monster. He is a free soul who wants freedom. (Typical of Orwell.) How bad is it? Thoughts and individualism is not allowed. There are posters everywhere that have a huge face with the moving eyes on and they all say in big letters “Big Brother is Watching You”, telescreens are in every room over every flat, even parents are afraid of their own children because they see this whole deal as a game. Yes, it is a game all right. It is a sick and twisted game. Big Brother is even on the money.

There are three phrases that stand out in the book besides “Big Brother is Watching You”. They are:

War is Peace

Freedom is Slavery

Ignorance is Strength

Like anything Lucifer says, these three phrases are twisted and truth.

I am still confused but strangely, I am drawn to this book.

1984 Pt. 2

As I read on, I can’t tell day or night from this book. But I’m still drawn into the book. I want to keep reading 1984.

Winston remembers his mother, father, and baby sister. Those seem to be happy times. He can’t be sure if these memories are real or not. Without people to confirm them, Winston is at a loss. Big Brother doesn’t allow people to have feelings or be smart. People will defied the party ended up disappearing just like in the Soviet Union. They use newspeak, doublethink, and duckspeak. The whole seems ridiculous. The telescreens are used to control people with announcements of shortages and exercise. The people on it even talk straight to you. It all seems creepy if you ask me.

Then Orwell goes into Comrade Ogilvy’s life. He didn’t want toys except for the ones that dealt with war. Then Ogilvy joined the youth league and became a soldier. He seems to be such a high praise to everyone in Oceania. But to me, Ogilvy’s life is a waste.

As the book goes on, we meet Syme. He seems to be an orthodox but as it turns out, Syme is too smart for his own good. Winston is even worried that Syme will disappear.

1984 Pt. 3

I’m still confused on the book. It’s like watching a foreign film without any dubs or subtitles. Winston goes back to writing in his forbidden journal. As he writes, he thinks about his wife, Kathryn. They seemed to be in love but Winston can’t remember because they weren’t married that long. She tried to have a child with him but it didn’t work and they went their separate ways.

Big Brother does not allow sex and want to make it just a duty to produce children if necessary. They hate it completely. The women are like the Stepford wives. They have no hearts or feelings. The women even hold to true to their chastity. They do not have desire for it is a thought-crime. Winston is consumed with shame as he writes about Kathryn.

Later, Winston copies out of a child’s textbook about the past. After he does so, the man wonders if it’s true or not. (No, it’s not!!!!!!)

1984 Pt. 4

I’m starting to get the book. But I’m still confused. I still like the book. I am even writing a sequel to it.

Winston goes down town into the prole area and walks are. Here, people are free and different. He goes into a pub and meets an old man. They talk and the old man takes him to a room with no telescreens. He shows Winston to a picture of St. Clement’s Church. There, our friend learns that B.B. has been lying all of this time. It represents the past. Winston gets a glass paperweight as a farewell present.

On the way home, Winston finds trouble. The dark-haired girl, (aka the princess of lies), has been stalking him. In fear, Winston considers suicide but is afraid of getting caught and tortured by in jail. To sooth himself, Winston thinks about O’Brien. Again we are shown the three twisted lines of truth:

War is Peace

Freedom is Slavery

Ignorance is Strength

Now, we reach book two. Winston meets the dark-haired girl in the first part. Her arm is broken and he takes her to get help. There seems to be sparks when the girl hands Winston a note saying: “I love you”. The girl inspires him to live (and me to change my opinion of her.) They eventually plan to meet in Victory Square. The girl gives her man-to-be directions and they briefly hold hands.

1984 Pt. 5

    This book will help me with my sequel I’m writing to it. I like it and I’m not confused anymore. Also, the plot is thickening.

Winston goes out to the woods and meets his new love there. She strips off her evil red sash and says her name is Julia. They end up getting all hot and passionate in the woods with no one watching. As it turns out, Miss Julia has slept with many men. Excited, Winston finds that he now has something to live for in this hellish world now. Ah, that’s the power of love!

The next morning, Julia and Winston go back to normal lives. Soon, they talk about their lives. Julia just wants to enjoy herself. Winston tells his woman about Katherine and how he wanted to push her off the cliff.

Winston rents a room for Julia so they could sleep together in it. He thinks he’ll get in trouble for it. Outside, he sees a burly, red-armed woman singing as she does her laundry. She represents hope. Winston wishes that he and Julia could live like a married couple in love. Julia comes in with luxury items like sugar and make-up. Winston is aroused by her beauty. Then, they see a rat. Winston is scared of rats and panics. Julia sees the paperweight and her man tells her about how it is a link to the past.

Syme disappears. (No real surprise.) Winston dreams that Katherine will die so that he will marry Julia and he will become a prole. They talk about the brotherhood. Julia is not interested and Winston scolds her for being a rebel half-heartedly.

O’Brien and Winston finally meet. The rat tells Winston about Syme. After the meeting, Winston stupidly believes that O’Brien can be trusted and accepts his address.

Winston wakes up one morning crying. Julia, who is with him, asks him what’s wrong. It all another dream memory about his mother. He thinks he murdered her. His father left them. Winston, his mother, and baby sister were left hungry in underground shelters. Hungry, Winston stole some chocolate and ran away. He hates the Party for they heartlessness.

Julia and Winston worry about being captured and killed. But they decide no matter how much torture they endure; they will not stop loving each other. The smart thing to do would be to leave the room, but they do.

1984 Pt. 6

    There is plenty of irony and oxymoron in 1984. For instance, when Julia and Winston go to O’Brien’s mansion, they discover that he can turn off the telescreens. Hmm, if the members of the party could turn them off, then Big Brother is not as strong as Orwell made him to be. It is also ironic that Julia wants to rebel but won’t really do so. Then she is prepared to do whatever it takes to break Big Brother but not leave Winston.

    Plus, O’Brien seems to be a good guy by says he is part of the Brotherhood, giving Winston a book, and toasting to the past. But later…. (Well, I won’t spoil that for you.) They see there are no laws but the people aren’t free. Sex isn’t allowed but Julia has slept with many men. During hate week the speaker has to see that Oceania has never been to war with Eurasia. But in reality, they really were all along. The party has made Goldstein an enemy but Big Brother is really the enemy.

    As I said before, there is some oxymoron. The three polices are oxymoron.

    1.)   War is Peace: War can’t be peace and vice versa. That is an oxymoron in itself.

    2.)   Freedom is Slavery. That can’t be right. These two clash against each other like mad.

    3.)   Ignorance is Strength. No, Knowledge is strength.

    But yet, these three are true in a sense. Really creepy, isn’t it?

1984 Pt. 7

Here is where the plot really thickens! After we get through the pain of the long book, the story really kicks off.

Winston reads Goldstein’s book and copies from it in his journal while he waits for Julia. He is desperate to find the past through it. (Believe me, it was a tedious read. But it helped me find a plot hole I made.) When Julia arrives, Winston tries to read to her but she falls asleep. Winston stops reading and goes to sleep too.

Here is where the action takes place. Pretty soon, the thought-police come and surround the Antique shop. The couple gets arrested. I really saw this coming. In the process, the glass paperweight is shattered to pieces.

Winston is taken to the Ministry of Love. The Ministry of Love is a prison that stays lit all of the time. In person, our doomed hero meets many people in jail. The worst punishment there is Room 101. One prisoner even begs the guards not to take him there. The first person he meets is woman who he thinks is his mother because of her age and last name. While jail, Winston sadly thinks that O’Brien will save him. (If he only knew…) It is interesting to see that our doomed hero is thinking more about the rat than about the woman he loves. The second person Winston meets is his comrade, Ampleforth. He says he is innocent. Winston also finds Parsons in jail. He believes that he is a thought-criminal.

Parsons evil little daughter denounced him. (Ouch!) But, he is proud that she is clever enough to do so and holds no grudge against her. (Poor man.) O’Brien turns out to be one of the enemy. (Rat!)

1984 Pt. 8

The story is now creepy. It is also turning bad. I can see a bad ending coming all ready. I don’t understand why Orwell lets the enemy win in the end.

Winston finds himself on a bed where he can’t move. He is being tortured by a needle. How it works is that every time a dial goes up, the pain increases. O’Brien appears to him. He starts questioning the poor man about the past, the war with Eurasia, and how many fingers he has up. Winston tells the truth that the freeman knows. But as punishment, he gets stabbed with the needle over and over again as it goes up. Finally, Winston breaks down and gives the rat the answers he wants.

Then, O’Brien has the nerve to say that the Ministry of Love is there to “cure” Winston and make him a loyal subject to Big Brother. The chapter ends with Winston being put to sleep by a needle.

1984 Final

Alas, we come to the end. It will be horrible. I just know it. Winston is getting brainwashed in the last three chapters.

O’Brien says there are three phases in his reintegration: Learning, understanding, and acceptance. Strangely, Winston still believes in the guy. (The poor clueless dummy!) One would think, he would wise up and fight back. But Winston doesn’t because he is so trusting. O’Brien wants Winston to betray he girlfriend but he still won’t do so. Thus, more torture happens to him.

But soon, Winston breaks and tries to make himself believe in the corrupted slogans. He writes them on a slate. He screams out Julia’s name in misery and ends up taken to Room 101 after he says he hates Big Brother.

Room 101 as I guessed holds everyone’s greatest fears. Winston’s greatest fear is rats. O’Brien puts Winston in the room with rats. The rats jump on Winston and eat at his face. The poor man snaps and yells that Julia should suffer from the rats and not him. O’Brien frees him at last.

In the end, Winston loves Big Brother and hates Julia. He is convinced his memories are when he remembers his mother and sister. Julia just leaves for good.