"Victory!" (Orwell, 296).
Although the Party hasn't been destroyed and they give no power to any outer party members or prole, they do use the word "victory" freely. They have named apartments "victory mansions", named food services after the word, and other such things. Interestingly, the word victory is defined as the "achievement of mastery or success in a struggle or endeavor against odds or difficulties". The irony is that no one will ever be able to have a victory over the very people that overuse the word.
Links:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/victory
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Chestnut Tree
" Under the spreading chestnut tree I sold you and you sold me-" (Orwell, 293).
Winston was betrayed throughout this entire story, and now he has been tortured into becoming the exact thing he was fighting against. Orwell is showing that even though there are minorities willing to stand up to what they believe is right, the party in power usually has absolute control and resistance will only end in disappointment.
Excuse Me
"' Excuse me, old man,' he said. 'I can't help it. It's the waiting.' He plumped his large posteriors onto the lavatory pan...'" (Orwell, 234).
This man has let his animistic instincts take precedence over his conditioned mind. Winston has just realised what he is actually going to be changed into, and unfortunately there is nothing he can do about it. Orwell is making a direct comment on our society. People have begun behaving more and more like animals because of the society we live in. In 1984, people act the same way, which only means our society is in danger to dissolve into a similar society.
This man has let his animistic instincts take precedence over his conditioned mind. Winston has just realised what he is actually going to be changed into, and unfortunately there is nothing he can do about it. Orwell is making a direct comment on our society. People have begun behaving more and more like animals because of the society we live in. In 1984, people act the same way, which only means our society is in danger to dissolve into a similar society.
Atomic War
"...and the ravages of the atomic war of the nineteen-fifties have never been fully repaired" (Orwell, 189).
Although our society and Winston's are very different, Orwell is trying to say that there are some fundamental similarities. Ever since the USA dropped the first atomic bomb, the world has been an entirely different place. In fact, the world has progressed based on atomic power. This appears to also be the case in Winston's world, showing that this book is based on some actual events.
Although our society and Winston's are very different, Orwell is trying to say that there are some fundamental similarities. Ever since the USA dropped the first atomic bomb, the world has been an entirely different place. In fact, the world has progressed based on atomic power. This appears to also be the case in Winston's world, showing that this book is based on some actual events.
Oranges and Lemons
"Oranges and Lemons, say the bells of St. Clement's, You owe me three farthings, say the bells of St. Martin's, When will you pay me? say the bells of Old Bailey, When I grow rich, say the bells of Shoreditch" (Orwell, 178).
These lines come from an English Nursery Rhyme that has unknown origins. It is very interesting that Orwell chose to put this apparently meaningless poem in his novel. However, his purpose is just that. This is yet another example of something from the past that had survived the Party's overthrow, giving the reader hope that this story may just have a happy ending despite their gut feeling of doom and hopelessness. It is also showing the reader that they spirit of London has survived in the people, shown by the references to different London Bell Towers.
Links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A696125
These lines come from an English Nursery Rhyme that has unknown origins. It is very interesting that Orwell chose to put this apparently meaningless poem in his novel. However, his purpose is just that. This is yet another example of something from the past that had survived the Party's overthrow, giving the reader hope that this story may just have a happy ending despite their gut feeling of doom and hopelessness. It is also showing the reader that they spirit of London has survived in the people, shown by the references to different London Bell Towers.
Links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A696125
Monday, March 30, 2009
The House of Lords
"' The 'Ouse of Lords,' put in the old man reminiscently. ' The House of Lords, if you like...'" (Orwell, 91).
The House of Lords is a branch of Parliament in England that has existed since the 13th century. The House of Lords was (in this novel) a old form of government that no longer existed in the Party's society. Interestingly enough, the old prole remembered its existence, once again proving that the Party didn't have as much control as it thinks it does.
Links:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/348064/House-of-Lords
The House of Lords is a branch of Parliament in England that has existed since the 13th century. The House of Lords was (in this novel) a old form of government that no longer existed in the Party's society. Interestingly enough, the old prole remembered its existence, once again proving that the Party didn't have as much control as it thinks it does.
Links:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/348064/House-of-Lords
Pubs
" It was nearly twenty hours, and the drinking shops which the proles frequented ("pubs," they called them) ..." (Orwell, 84).Although the Party has tried to destroy any evidence of prior societies, Orwell has just showed the readers that they were not completely successful. "Pub" is a word that has been used for hundreds of years and that continues to be used today. If the proles still call the drinking shops "pubs", then there is still some people who remember the days before the Party. Pub is a slang word for public house, which shows the reader that there are still community centers for the general public.
Rebel
" Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious" ( Orwell, 70).
Conscious is defined as "perceiving, apprehending, or noticing with a degree of controlled thought or observation". Not only is Orwell saying that the Proles have no information, but that they don't really know how to think or react to their surroundings. This passage is also informing the reader that the chances of a rebellion are slim to none because of the proles ignorance.
Links:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conscious
Conscious is defined as "perceiving, apprehending, or noticing with a degree of controlled thought or observation". Not only is Orwell saying that the Proles have no information, but that they don't really know how to think or react to their surroundings. This passage is also informing the reader that the chances of a rebellion are slim to none because of the proles ignorance.
Links:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conscious
Proles
" If there is hope, it must lie in the proles, because only there, in those swarming disregarded masses, eighty-five percent of the population of Oceania, could the force to destroy the Party ever be generated" (Orwell, 69).
Because of the inner parties complete control and observation of the outer party, a revolution could not be generated in the outer party without getting detected. This means that if this society will ever be destroyed, it must come from the sect with the least amount of information and, perhaps, the least motive. The Proles are the class that the Party is overlooking, and also may be their undoing. Orwell is also linking our culture to his novels in this passage. Whenever great change happens in our world, it is usually caused by a revolution of the middle or lower classes, begging for change.
Because of the inner parties complete control and observation of the outer party, a revolution could not be generated in the outer party without getting detected. This means that if this society will ever be destroyed, it must come from the sect with the least amount of information and, perhaps, the least motive. The Proles are the class that the Party is overlooking, and also may be their undoing. Orwell is also linking our culture to his novels in this passage. Whenever great change happens in our world, it is usually caused by a revolution of the middle or lower classes, begging for change.
Isolation
" Was he, then, alone in the possession of a memory?" (Orwell, 59).
One of the ways the Party has been able to keep absolute power is by keeping everyone isolated from each other and the world around them. The Party has left little room for people to come together and discuss their questions and ideas. By doing this, the Party has wiped out almost all ways for people to realise that the Party is doing a terrible injustice.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Newspeak
"The Ministry of Truth-Minitrue, in Newspeak..." (Orwell, 4).
The Party has so much control of its people that they are now speaking one language. this is interesting because Europe has always been a place of variety and of different cultures. The countries of Europe almost all speak a different language then their Neighbor. Orwell has taken away the variety of languages to emphasise that the Party is making everyone as identical as possible.
The Party has so much control of its people that they are now speaking one language. this is interesting because Europe has always been a place of variety and of different cultures. The countries of Europe almost all speak a different language then their Neighbor. Orwell has taken away the variety of languages to emphasise that the Party is making everyone as identical as possible.
London
" Everything had been different back then. Even the names of the countries, and their shapes on the map, had been different. Airstrip One, for instance, had not been so called in those days: it had been called England or Britain, though London, he felt fairly certain, had always been called London" (Orwell, 32).
It is interesting that although the Party had the power to wipe out the entire map of the world when they came into power, they either couldn't make people forget London's name or they wanted to keep it. London has been known for hundreds and hundreds of years as one of man kinds most powerful places. It has outlasted change and invasion longer then most countries on today's map. Orwell could of had the Party keep London because of its Worldly importance and because he is trying to say that they do not have all of the control in their society.
It is interesting that although the Party had the power to wipe out the entire map of the world when they came into power, they either couldn't make people forget London's name or they wanted to keep it. London has been known for hundreds and hundreds of years as one of man kinds most powerful places. It has outlasted change and invasion longer then most countries on today's map. Orwell could of had the Party keep London because of its Worldly importance and because he is trying to say that they do not have all of the control in their society.
Youth Leagues
" A handsome, tough-looking boy of nine had popped up from behind the table and was menacing him with a toy automatic pistol, while his small sister, about two years younger, made the same gesture with a fragment of wood. Both of them were dressed in the blue shorts, gray shirts, and red neckerchiefs which were the uniform of the Spies" (Orwell, 22).
In Nazi Germany, there were clubs for both girls (German Girls League) and boys (Hitler Youth) that made children become loyal members of the Nazi Party. Orwell is drawing another connection between the Nazi Party and the Party described in his novel. This makes the reader think of the Party in the context of the Nazi's and also helps Orwell push that the Party is not good.
Links:
http://edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension_35_370.html
In Nazi Germany, there were clubs for both girls (German Girls League) and boys (Hitler Youth) that made children become loyal members of the Nazi Party. Orwell is drawing another connection between the Nazi Party and the Party described in his novel. This makes the reader think of the Party in the context of the Nazi's and also helps Orwell push that the Party is not good.
Links:
http://edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension_35_370.html
Race
" It was a lean Jewish face, with a great fuzzy aureole of white hair and a small goatee beard-a clever face, and yet somehow inherently despicable..." (Orwell, 12).
Before this passage, readers had already discovered that this society wasn't very welcoming to people of the Jewish race. Winston had written about the film he had watched in which Jewish people were grotesquely murdered, and he had described how people had found the film enjoyable. With this second reference to this particular race, Orwell is making it very clear that people of different races are not embraced in this novel. He is also drawing a connection between his novel and WWII, Hitler, and the Holocaust.
Before this passage, readers had already discovered that this society wasn't very welcoming to people of the Jewish race. Winston had written about the film he had watched in which Jewish people were grotesquely murdered, and he had described how people had found the film enjoyable. With this second reference to this particular race, Orwell is making it very clear that people of different races are not embraced in this novel. He is also drawing a connection between his novel and WWII, Hitler, and the Holocaust.
Big Brother
"On each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran" (Orwell, 1-2).Although the society in 1984 is very different from the one that we actually live in, there are some similarities. When reading this passage, many people think of the Uncle Sam poster. The large face, eyes, and personal slogan are all features that both posters posses. Orwell is making a statement by drawing connections between his novels world and ours.
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