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General theme of George Orwell's 1984
General theme of George Orwell's 1984
General theme of George Orwell's 1984
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In Oceania, love is cast aside and adoration for Big Brother is put in its place. Two people, Winston and Julia, developed a love for one another that is distinct from relationships in Oceania. These lovers must meet in secret and pretend that they do not know one another while they are in public. Due to their circumstances, the two experience isolation from the other citizens as a result of their strong emotions. In 1984, the glass paperweight that contains the small coral represents the fragile relationship of Winston and Julia and their forbidden love life.
The purpose of a paperweight is simple, it is made to hold down paper, however, to Winston; the paperweight symbolizes his love life with Julia. In 1984, Winston relates the paperweight
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The saying, “love is blind” is particularly applicable to the relationship between Winston and Julia. The glass paperweight is symbolic of the lovers living in their own bubble, oblivious to what is happening around them. In the specific room that Winston and Julia meet the and the one that Winston describes as the glass of the paperweight, the forbidden lovers engage in intimate actions. In Oceania, “the Party has outlawed sex for pleasure and reduced marriage to an arrangement between a man and a woman that exists only for procreation” (Bloom’s Guide 239). The purpose of Winston and Julia’s actions is for pleasure and a symbol of their true love to one another. In order for the two to meet they must set up times for them to get together or a brief period of time where they can speak to one another without getting caught. Winston explains that “it had been impossible to arrange meetings,” due to the increase of working hours in preparation for Hate Week (Orwell 138). The lover’s actions depict their emotions and desperation to be with one another despite the constrictions that are exemplified by the confinement of the
She passes him a note that wrote “I love you.” Winston shows a desire; he himself had always had a thought of her. After 2 days, Winston and the girl were able to meet. She had given Winston the location where they could meet again. The two were able to meet away from the telescreen unsupervised. The girl revealed herself as Julia. Winston and Julia made love. Winston sees Julia as a great partner for the rebellion.
Winston’s and Julia’s meeting in the woods signifies breaking the totalitarian ways of the party. Here Winston feels free from observation, and gets a glimpse of the freedom that the party opposes. It is a place for lovemaking, a utter horrendous crime in their state. Here there are only Winston’s and Julia’s eyes,
This is a form of resistance, although it does not hurt the party, it does defy what they stand for. The Party strictly restricts sex and only permits it when it is used to create children. These acts of resistance from Julia and Winston are one of the reasons that they fall in love with each other. They love each other because of the fact that they have a mutual hatred for the Party. Their resistance to the Party is very similar to each other’s in the beginning of the book, but is very different later
Winston expresses his feelings towards Julia in such an extraordinary way, “He would flog her to death with a rubber truncheon. He would tie her naked to a stake and shoot her full of arrows.”(Orwell 15). When he is expressing these thoughts, he is actually talking about someone he was actrate to, Winston just had no way of expressing it besides anger. He sees this beautiful young girl, who has made this vow its remain pure and chaste and he just wants to kill her because of how frustrated about it. Although late in the book, who these same two people are alone in a place without worry, everything is different, for example “You are prepared, the two of you to separate and never see one another again. ‘No!’ broke in Julia….’No,’ he said finally.” (Orwell 173) This second moment gives us a definite second opinion about how he may actually feel towards Julia. When they are both in a safe place, and can freely state and do they things they wish to do, Winston does show that he cares for Julia, enough that he does not want to leave her. I believe that these two different feelings show us that even with the body trying to control how people feel, what they do, along with what they think they never get to have complete control of
Due to the extreme differences in the couple’s personalities, the reader is left to question whether Julia ever loved Winston. Julia embodies the qualities that Winston wishes he had. The differences in their morality, their motivation towards the rebellion and their personalities are the few reasons why they are drawn to each other, but it is bittersweet as their differences cause their downfall.
However, he secretly harbours resentment toward these policies due to his desire to retain his individuality and character. This is evident when he goes against the law by purchasing a diary and writing the statement, “Down with Big Brother”, the person leading his government. In many parts of the book, he uses his diary to express his views on the flaws of his government. This reinforces his desire to be independent and attempt to maintain his character. Thus, it allows him to stray away from his responsibility of being a lawful citizen. Another instance of him attempting to retain his character and individuality is when he engages in sex with Julia on numerous occasions in the grove and in the room rented from Mr. Charrington. In the general, sex is a powerful symbol which represents the essence and vigour of humanity. It is tied with individuality since it allows a human being to experience pleasure and the emotions an individual experience make them unique. Thus this allows Winston and Julia to be different from their comrades. Therefore, this allows average individuals to attempt to maintain their independence and their
Orwell’s quote “but you could not have pure love or pure lust nowadays. No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred” (Orwell 1984) describes the situation between Julia and Winston. I don't believe either of them knew what true love was, they couldn’t see the difference from love and lust. In the book Winston’s feelings towards Julia were always changing. In the beginning he had hated her, wanted to murder her. Towards the middle of the book he began to warm up to her and show feelings towards her. He thought of the feelings as love although I think he truly only felt lust towards Julia. That feeling of lust was not enough for him to take the torture for Julia. He cared more about his well
Love is an emotion affecting people's everyday lives. In the book “1984,”, George Orwell introduces his readers to this idea, with a compelling portrayal of this important feeling. In Orwell’s totalitarian society of Oceania, the ruling party attempts to demolish all love for anyone except Big Brother who controls them. The affection that normally exists between individuals, in Oceania, warps to exist between individuals tortured and those torturing them. This is demonstrated by familial bonds and affection between siblings, wives, mothers, fathers and children, changing and creating an opportunity for the government to monitor its citizens. In contrast the interactions between the main character, Winston and his oppressor, O'Brien exhibit true love. Real connections between regular human beings in Oceania are virtually non existent due to actions taken by the government to destroy these bonds.
Early in the story, the reader is told of Winston 's death. This occurs again in the book using symbolism. Winston’s obsession with the past and trust in a stranger are what leads to his immanent death. The song itself is not the memory of an old man, but more of a morbid warning to Winston. The picture which brings up the rhyme hangs on the wall in the room owned by Mr. Charrington. It is here that Winston and Julia have their secret rendezvous. Likewise, the paperweight is not a simple piece of coral enrobed with glass; it serves as a link to the past for Winston. This item, as well, is also linked to Mr. Charrington.
Throughout the course of history there has been many remarkable people that have created an impact on the world. But what is hero? Robert F. Kennedy once said, “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or lots of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a ripple of hope.” Meaning a true hero is someone who can stand up for an idea, or can help eliminate the unfair treatment in which the rights of a person are ignored; and everytime gives people the faith that everything is going to be okay after all. John Lennon is a good example of a hero based on Robert F. Kennedy's description of a hero. John lennon is a hero because he peacefully fought against war through his fame and music, promoting peace and inspiring many people.
And although Winston cares for Julia more than he cares for Katharine, Katharine also bases her relationship with Winston completely on sex. When Winston reflects on their time together, he thinks, “he could have borne living with her if it had been agreed that they remain celibate. It was Katharine who refused this”(70).... ... middle of paper ...
George Orwell creates a dark, depressing and pessimistic world where the government has full control over the masses in the novel 1984. The protagonist, Winston, is low-level Party member who has grown to resent the society that he lives in. Orwell portrays him as a individual that begins to lose his sanity due to the constrictions of society. There are only two possible outcomes, either he becomes more effectively assimilated or he brings about the change he desires. Winston starts a journey towards his own self-destruction. His first defiant act is the diary where he writes “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER.” But he goes further by having an affair with Julia, another party member, renting a room over Mr. Carrington’s antique shop where Winston conducts this affair with Julia, and by following O’Brien who claims to have connections with the Brotherhood, the anti-Party movement led my Emmanuel Goldstein. Winston and Julia are both eventually arrested by the Thought Police when Mr. Carrington turns out to be a undercover officer. They both eventually betray each other when O’Brien conducts torture upon them at the Ministry of Love. Orwell conveys the limitations of the individual when it comes to doing something monumental like overthrowing the established hierarchy which is seen through the futility of Winston Smith’s actions that end with his failure instead of the end of Big Brother. Winston’s goal of liberating himself turns out to be hopeless when the people he trusted end up betraying him and how he was arbitrarily manipulated. It can be perceived that Winston was in fact concerned more about his own sanity and physical well-being because he gives into Big Brother after he is tortured and becomes content to live in the society he hated so much. Winston witnesses the weakness within the prole community because of their inability to understand the Party’s workings but he himself embodies weakness by sabotaging himself by associating with all the wrong people and by simply falling into the arms of Big Brother. Orwell created a world where there is no use but to assimilate from Winston’s perspective making his struggle utterly hopeless.
Along with a patriotism kind of love, the heart-quenching portrayal of two siblings and their childhood love fo...
For example, Orwell shows readers a statement regarding the Proles of the society on page 161, “The masses never revolt of their own accord, and they never revolt merely because they are oppressed. Indeed, so long as they are not permitted to have standards of comparison, they never even become aware that they are oppressed.” ( Orwell,207). The proles in Oceania are the outcasts of society, yet they have the potential to rebel against the principals of the Party. However, Winston recognizes that the Party has blinded them, causing them to be unaware of the conditions in which they are living in. Furthermore, Orwell adds a thought of Winston’s relating to his relationship with Julia by claiming, “ But you could not have pure love or pure lust nowadays. No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred. Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act.” (Orwell,126). The Party restricts citizens from doing things as simple as feeling emotions. Nevertheless, Julia and Winston often perform actions considered illegal by the Party. Relationships are intolerable in Oceania; even family bonds do not exist. Even so, Winston and Julia sustain their relationship. Winston understands their love as an act against the Party. Since bonds and emotions are
Paperclips are an everyday use in today's world. They hold our papers together, when we don’t want to use a stapler that will poke the unwanted holes into our paper. They also keep our papers organized and neat. There are many types of paper clips that were created, but only a few really were the ones. Over the many years, since ancient Eurasia, the clip has made its way through many patents, inventors, machines, and much more. There are many different colors, sizes, forms of paper clips.