Since We´re Running Out Of Time

He Loved Big Brother

Winston is tortured in the Ministry of Love and is almost “cured” when he cries out about loving Julia, which causes O'Brien to threaten Winston with having rats eat his face (but Winston betrays Julia when he pleads to O'Brien that the torture should be done to her and not to him). Winston is later reintegrated into the life of a normal Oceania citizen, he believes in everything the telescreens say and is disgusted by any idea of change in his society. He also runs into Julia, who confesses to Winston that she betrayed him, too. After hearing about Oceania´s victory against Eurasia, Winston imagines himself confessing to all of his crimes, being shot dead, ultimately understanding that Big Brother's mysterious smile was one of love, supposedly winning the victory over himself, and (astonishingly), admitting to loving Big Brother.

The book contains an appendix, called The Principles of Newspeak, which talks about how Newspeak will abolish as much terms of English as possible in order to decrease the range of free thought of citizens (Newspeak is predicted to be adapted completely by 2050).

I´ve Figured It Out...

“ -Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.- ” (Orwell, 263)

I think that this quote, said by O'Brien towards Winston, highlights the depths of human nature. I thought about this a lot and, although it makes me sad to admit it, I think that this is true. Throughout history, humanity has shown that power is usually uncontrollable and can sometimes lead to disaster. I also believe that most of the social problems in society are caused by the need of power. Either one gender wants to have power over the other or one country over the other. I guess power has also caused a lot of wars then. This quote also made me feel very helpless in humanity because it made me realize that the world is not as wonderful as it seems.

“The long-hoped-for bullet was entering his brain. He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark mustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.” (Orwell, 297-298)

I think that this was an excellent way to end the book. I think this signifies defeat. Even though Winston describes this as a “victory”, his love for Big Brother goes against everything that Winston had ever dreamed of and believed in at the beginning of the book. On one side, the Winston Smith that was introduced at the beginning of the book was free, intelligent, and self-sufficient. But on the other side, the Winston Smith that came out of the Ministry of Love is the Party´s robot, dependent on the telescreens, and simple-minded. I think that this shows Winston's negative character development since he has become everything that he feared he would become. I remember that Winston once mentioned that true freedom is to die hating them while talking about the Party, I believe that the Winston Smith introduced at the beginning of the book would be disappointed at the Winston Smith described at the end of the book.

Happily Ever After?

So, I'm done with the book (YAY!) I am extremely surprised with the ending of it since it is not similar to other dystopian novels I've read. When I was kind of in the middle of the book, I genuinely thought that Winston would be able to change his society in the future, but I now realize that is not the case. The book has taught me about the importance of memories and history and about the dangers of an excess of power. 1984 is also a vivid example of how an individual's opinion and decisions can affect a whole society, but most of all, I think that 1984 is a warning. When George Orwell died in 1950 (just a year after this book was published), he did not live to see his success, and he did not live to see what the world became after 1949 (or how it was actually in the year 1984). He wrote this book with the fear of becoming a society with no past or future but, have we become a society with no past or future? This book has also taught me about love and how it's present even in the darkest of times, but most importantly, this book has taught me that the hero, does not always win.

"Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind
Possessing and caressing me
Jai Guru Deva OM

Nothing's gonna change my world

 Nothing's gonna change my world"

 

But Then Again, No

Room 101

Winston gets a hold Emmanuel Goldstein's book and begins reading it aloud for Julia to hear. The book discusses most of Ingsoc´s believes and slogans (War is Peace, Ignorance is Strength, Freedom is Slavery) but it does not teach Winston anything since the book says things he already knows. Then, Winston and Julia are arrested by the Thought Police, but are surprised when they find out that Mr.Charrington (the prole who owned the store whose room Winston and Julia were renting) is a member of the Thought Police. They are separated and Winston is taken to a prison with other Party members and normal outlaws and then to a cell in the Ministry of Love. He is then beaten by workers of the Ministry of Love (and is then taken to Room 101) and tortured by O'Brien (who had been arrested a long time ago), who confesses to Winston that the pain he is going through is necessary in order for him to be supposedly “sane”.

What Do You Mean?

“A peace that was truly permanent would be the same as a permanent war.” (Orwell, 199)

Emmanuel Goldstein, in his book, talks about everything that conforms Ingsoc and its members and explains it to members of the Inner Party. I think that Goldstein is a very smart and honest man, he is the hope for everyone who wants to destroy the Party and Big Brother. Through messages like the one above, he is able to abolish any doubts of the readers of his book regarding the stupidity of the Party and Big Brother.He is able to understand the Party and its ways yet he doesn't follow them, but instead uses them to terminate Big Brother. Due to this fact, he is widely wanted in Oceania and is now an outlaw. I wonder how Emmanuel Goldstein became the fugitive he is depicted as, but most importantly, why did he get there?

" - We are the dead, - he said. - We are the dead,- echoed Julia dutifully. - You are the dead,- said an iron voice behind them.” (Orwell, 221)

This shows Julia´s and Winston´s character development throughout the book. At the beginning of the book, Julia did not admit to “being the dead” when she was seeing Winston, but he did. Ironically, she did not admit to this statement until only moments before her arrest. I think Julia has learned from Winston, he has taught her about the Party´s strategies and about how cruel they can truly get. Nevertheless, Winston still believes that going against the Party will end with him dead while Julia has just began realizing it, even if it is too late.

To Be Continued...

I think that I've just reached the most interesting part of the book. I honestly did not think that Winston and Julia would be arrested, and I definitely didn't think that the Thought Policeman that would spy on them was actually a prole. I'm strangely disappointed by the fact that the book did not give me any more information about Emmanuel Goldstein even though I would've liked it. I apprehensive about what will happen next in the book since I really don't want Winston to be tortured any further. Julia disappeared so that is someone else I would like to come back, but I guess I won't find out until I keep reading the book.

"In the clearing stands a boxer,
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of ev'ry glove that laid him down
And cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame,
"I am leaving, I am leaving."
But the fighter still remains"

How We Plan To Take Over The Planet

Welcome To The Inner Party

Julia (the girl who gave Winston the note) and Winston are able to contact each other and eventually start meeting in secret places in order to discuss their hatred for the Party. Then, Winston rents a room above a store owned by a prole and begins meeting Julia there. They both consider the possible existence of an Inner Party that wants to destroy Big Brother and are not surprised when O'Brien makes both of them a part of it. O'Brien clarifies that, by being a part of this conspiracy, their lives could end. Winston is later sent a copy of a book written by Emmanuel Goldstein (the Inner Party´s leader) and is ordered to read it to become an official member of the Inner Party.

Figure It Out

"She did not understand that there was no such thing as happiness, that the only victory lay in the far future, long after you were dead, that from the moment of declaring war on the Party it was better to think of yourself as a corpse. 'We are the dead,' he said. ´We're not dead yet,' said Julia prosaically." (Orwell, 135-136)

This conversation between Winston and Julia reflects the difference in their personalities. On one side, Winston considers himself to  be realistic regarding his situation with the Party while Julia wants to stay optimistic while fighting Big Brother and the Party. Winston accepts death and, in fact, welcomes it. Julia ignores it and, unlike Winston, values being alive while it lasts. On the other side, they both, essentially, think the same about the Party and are trying their best to destroy it.

“To hang on from day to day and from week to week, spinning out a present that had no future, seemed an unconquerable instinct, just as one's lungs will always draw the next breath so long as there is air available.” (Orwell, 152)

This is an excellent example of Winston´s capability to destroy the Party´s ideas and laws and instead follow his natural human instinct. Throughout the book, human emotions and necessities seem to have been vaporized from citizens´ lives, but Winston still holds on to them. I find it admirable that, even though love is almost obsolete and prohibited, Winston is still able to remember it and is capable of loving Julia. Will Winston, later in the book, be able to awaken more instincts or actions that were supposed to be abolished by the Party?

To Be Continued...

This part of the book has answered a lot of questions I had from my previous reading, and I'm glad for that. It clarified my questions about the letter sent to Winston, the room above the prole´s store, and about O'Brien´s role in the story. I still wonder about what happened to the diary Winston had been writing since it hasn't been mentioned (lately) in the book. I have developed a better understanding of Winston´s society and Winston´s need of having a past he can't change and that he can look back to, even if that means looking back at his mistakes.

"Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away.
Now it looks as though they're here to stay."