The terrible controlling regimes have been displayed in cinema and books alike, such as the Hunger Games where in the future, the Capitol annually sacrifices others for the sake of obtaining control over others due to a situation that happened long ago. There are also different types of futuristic over controlling events like The Terminator where a system called Skynet accidentally became too powerful and all humans tried desperately to shut it down and failed. However, I feel as though the events -a mix of common dystopian futures - in 1984 have never been done before, especially in this specific manner. Usual dystopian media tends to contain one main character who wants to act against the oppressive regime, which applies to 1984 as Winston has heavy negative feelings toward Big Brother. Yet, the LANGUAGE and PERSPECTIVE used is what mainly makes things different. The entire book is in 3rd person, and interestingly smoothly combines observations and feeling - deep dives into the thoughts of Winston. For example, on page 4 it begins to state observations: “From where Winstoin stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering…” and “Winston turned around abruptly. He had set his features into the expression of quiet optimism which it was advisable to wear when facing the telescreen. He crossed the room into the tiny kitchen”. Moving on ahead on page 5 however, Winston's thoughts and feelings are cited: “Instantly his face turned scarlet and the water ran out of his eyes. The stuff was like nitric acid, and moreover, in swallowing it one had a sensation of being hit on the back of the head with a rubber club.” There are comparisons being made. 

It is as if Winston cannot properly control his emotions and they are usually on either ends of the spectrum - no emotion at all or way too much. For example, on page 15 it states “Suddenly, by the sort of violent effort with which one wrenches one’s head away from the phillow in a nightmare, Winston succeeded in transferring his hatred from the vivid face on the screen to the dark-haired girl behind him. Vivid, beautiful hallucinations flashed through his mind, He would flog her to death with a rubber truncheon. He would tir her naked to a stake and shoot her full of arrows like Saint Sebastian. He would ravish her and cut her throat at the moment of climax. Better than before, moreover, he realized why it was that he hated her. He hated her because she was young and pretty and sexless, because round her sweet supple waist, which seemed to ask you to encircle it with your arm, there was only the odious scarlet sash,  aggressive symbol of chastity”. Then immediately after this he went back to “The Hate rose to its climax. The voice of Goldstein had become an actual sheep’s bleat, and for an instant the face changed into that of a sheep.” Winston is now focused on the facial structure of Goldstein, the vile thoughts so abrupt but pretty much left his find quickly. 

Thoughts
I wonder if Winston can’t properly control his feelings in a healthy manner - he tends to have outbursts of extremely harmful emotions randomly/periodically, then suppresses them and continues with his day.

Questions
Does Winston even realize he does this to himself, or has it become normal? Does society as a whole suffer like this?

Epiphanies
This made me realize that Winston being unable to control his emotions properly is a result of the oppressive regime forced upon society, hence why no one has learned to control their emotions.

[AFTER GROUP DISCUSSION] → A group member said that suppressing your emotions IS a way of controlling them, meaning they have been taught to control them otherwise they would literally be punished because of their thoughts.

For Discussion: Real world connection: Many people around the world suffer from suppressing their emotions, whether that be from mental illnesses, toxic surrounding environments, etc. Winston may be a representation of how others deal with their emotions and where it will lead them if they don’t let them out.
Book connection: The author of this book is a war veteran and wrote this book while being healed from getting shot in the neck from an injury in the war. This could represent how he was feeling - it is shown that Winston suffers from PTSD at times, remembering his past life when there was no controlling regime. Could all of this possibly represent George Orwell himself and how the war has affected him?

Thoughts
The way Winston describes certain things is truly fascinating to me.  I can clearly picture this exact scene in my head right now because of the detailed language used. Winston appears to be slightly making fun at the person speaking, but mainly just using many comparisons and revealing the hard truth about how the speaker looks. Winston describes not only physique but also how this person SOUNDS.  “His voice, made metallic by the amplifiers, boomed forth…” - the man has a tiny figure, yet loud voice - contrast. This person is most likely Goldstein which makes the contrasts even bigger.

Questions
Why did George Orwell choose to make Goldstein such a scrawny and small man?

Epiphanies
Goldstein is hated so much yet well known hence why he is depicted as a small scrawny annoying man who is partially influential.

For Discussion:
Is this character Goldstein? Is there a reason you think he was made like this?

Thoughts
It is a lot of work in order to be a party member. You have to be two-faced in a sense at all times. As a party member, in terms of class, you were either high or middle. And it takes a lot of commitment and Possibly even betrayal to one’s own values, however if you are in low class you will be thought of as less and ignorant and belittled. Essentially you are losing either way. Everything in the society in 1984 represents the state of war, this repressive regime strives to have a constant state of war in all senses and areas. That may mean physically a war, mentally a war, war as people. War invokes different emotions and urges, keeping society in one constant and continuous state.

Questions
The author George Orwell was recovering from an injury due to war during a war period when he was writing the book, so does all of this connect to how he was feeling at that time? Did George Orwell feel that as a member of the army, fighting in the war, that he himself needed to be in a constant state of preparation for a war that was potentially meaningless, or incredibly meaningful?

Epiphanies
When one is in a war/thinking you are in a constant state of war causes one to be ready and also obedient to a higher power with more knowledge about the war. This represents the society depicted in 1984, as history is constantly being rewritten simply based on what people choose it to be.
Being seen as a higher member/person comes with a price.

For Discussion:
Is George Orwell essentially depicting himself throughout the entire book? Do the oppressive regimes on society represent his own mind and well-being?

Thoughts
Yet again, I am revisiting the constant idea that George Orwell is simply conveying his thoughts onto the character Winston - this is common surrounding authors and their choices about the main character. I feel as though sometimes, an author may feel a certain way or have a certain thought/input towards a topic that they feel would get the message across to the readers more clearly through the body of the main character - essentially, having the main character embody their own opinions.

Questions
Why does Winston believe that physical pain is the worst thing in the world? I'm sure there would be many other people who would argue that things such as heart break or grief - more mental and psychiatric aspects of pain. Is this what George Orwell believes because he had to endure much physical pain during the war?

Epiphanies
I had 2 epiphanies:
1) Winston does not know much other pain other than physical pain due to the Thought Police and how everyone's thoughts and emotions are controlled and suppressed.  Winston has some pain when he has memories of his mother and sister or even when thinking back to rats, however I believe physical pain is a pain more rare and unknown to Winston, therefore giving him a sharp, vivid, clear cut hatred and fear of physical pain.
2) George Orwell is partially expressing his own thoughts onto Winston's character. Its ironic that most war veterans suffer from PTSD - involving mentality, yet George feels that all of the physical pain he has endured from the war is worse than that.

For Discussion:
- George Orwell uses Winston to embody his thoughts
- Winston has been controlling his thoughts for so long, physical pain is probably new and sharp to him

Thoughts
Honestly, this passage invokes such sadness within me - the fact that Julia and Winston said they would die for each other, die with each other, wouldn't want to live without each other. Yet, when Winston was faced with a situation that would seriously affect him, its as though he forgot all about their "love". The heartbreak Julia must feel, yet the very first thing she said to Winston was that she betrayed him. I think Julia is a very interesting character because she is predictable at times, and also isn't. The fact that she changed so much and Winston was fixated so much on her physical body changing and how he feels no desire to sexually love her as he once did is really sad, how people can change so soon under pressure. 

Questions
Why was Winston so fixated on her body and nothing else? Why did Julia start out the conversation saying that she betrayed him (even though we all know Winston is the one who betrayed her) then goes talks about how hurt she's feeling? Why does Winston have nothing to say for himself, and why does she still agree to meet up in the future?

Epiphanies
In the part of the book where Winston and Julia's small hidden apartment get invaded, Winston stated that that was the last time he saw her, yet we clearly see him speaking to Julia after he betrayed her - this meant that was the last time Winston saw the original Julia, the Julia he fell into love with. The Julia he had talked to recently was different - a dark, painful shadow of what used to be. The process of being physically tortured and emotionally tortured scared her for life.
For Discussion:
- Winston is the cause of Julia's change
- Why did they agree to meet up again?
- Winston was one of the last people to see the true Julia

Totalitarian governments don’t permit individual thoughts and being different. The government exercises a large amount of control over its citizens' private lives as well as the public. Some very well known Totalitarian governments were The Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and North Korea. When the book was written, World War II had ended roughly 3 years before the book was published, and there were tensions leading up to the Cold War and the Soviet Union was gaining power. Thus the fear of a Totalitarian government was becoming very strong and Orwell was hinting toward just how terrible it would be to live under these rules and regulations in constant fear of being killed. These governments control virtually everything and as such propaganda becomes very prominent. The War is Peace quote is a slogan and piece of propaganda and used to prevent people from understanding just how controlled they are and from wanting to get out of their situation. Specifically, the world being at war in the name of the ruling party means peace for the people living under INGSOC as well as accepting and being under the party (slavery) is the ultimate freedom in the world. Being ignorant about the history of the world before the main party is a strength because there is no chance of history repeating itself and no one would dare to rise up to change the world. 

The warning Orwell is sending through the book is the dangers of a Totalitarian Government and how it can harm the world and erase everything about being a human. “It struck him as curious… Comrade Ogilvy, who had never existed in the present…would exist just as authentically, and upon the same evidence as Charlemagne and Julius Caesar''.  Winston sees the creation of people as well as the forgery and deletion of Historical events by the leading party and Big Brother while working for the Ministry of Truth. The Newspeak and recreation of the dictionary as well as the workers who erase and rewrite what was history were largely very loyal to Big Brother and the Party. As stated before in the previous question, Totalitarian governments control everything within their control including history. It’s quite ironic that the Ministry of Truth is built and thrives on creating and spreading lies. “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” By manipulating the past the government can say they’ve liberated the human race and no one would be able to say anything different as there are no longer any records to say such. This is dangerous and should be stopped at all costs.

Then we can see once again the description of an animal used to describe someone. “A smooth prizefighter’s jowl” or a pig’s jaw or lower cheek is how Winston describes one of the soldiers. Epiphanies

Winston was mentally ready to understand the Party’s methods, but he would never have been ready to stand up against them. Julia wouldn’t dare outwardly or publicly denounce the Party which is why she stuck with smaller rebellions. It’s possible the reason people are often described as animals is because that’s how Winston sees them. Not human, but animals struggling to survive. 
Discussion Questions:
Is there a reason Orwell didn’t include the second chapter, Freedom is Slavery when Winston was reading to Julia and to himself? If there was a reason, what was it?

IB Language and Literature

Zinia Fengel

1/31/22

Come up with guiding questions:

1984 involves a very unique concept and setting/mood. A major part of this world is the existence of Big Brother. Big Brother is established as a haunting, watchful figure by the words chosen by the author. When describing a picture of Big Brother, the book mentions that it is “one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move.” The way Big Brother is described here invokes a certain feeling in the reader. I felt uneasy, the same way Winston must feel. In another instance, Big Brother’s “dark eyes looked deep into Winston’s own.”Again, this contributes to the uneasy feeling. The personification of the picture feels almost creepy, and adds to the careful word choices that contribute to the ominous mood. 

This mood is supported by the setting as well. The world of 1984 seems to be bleak and uniform. “Outside, even through the shut window pane, the world looked cold… though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no color in anything except the posters that were plastered everywhere.” The author wrote that the sky is a “harsh blue,” which should be a bright color. However, despite this, everything has no color at all. The diction allows me to infer that a big factor in this is the mood of the place, not just physical factors like buildings. 

The mood is again supported by parts of the 1984 world such as “thought police.” The thought police monitor the people closely for thought crime. You can be killed for disobeying. This is enforced by “telescreens” too. A telescreen is another word from the 1984 world, which is a device all over the streets and in rooms. It can hear and see you, so you have no privacy and might be being watched at all times. I wonder if there will be many more new words in the 1984 world as the book progresses, and how they might contribute to the mood too. I also am curious to find out if more will be revealed about the thought police and how it works by instilling fear in the people. 

ThoughtsThis chapter included a lot of information about the 1984 world. My view of the Party has slightly changed because of this information. I had always seen the Party as incredibly controlling. However, I now have a deepened understanding of how truly beyond repair the government system is. The “war” that is drilled into the minds of the people seems useless. “A peace that was truly permanent would be the same as a permanent war.”(199). Instead of constant war, there could be constant peace. The slogan “war is peace” makes more sense to me now, as it was difficult to understand without context before.
QuestionsWhat does the “war” situation in 1984 tell us about our own real-world violence? How many “rebels” actually are there? How had revolt not occurred yet when the society is so clearly messed up?
EpiphaniesIt’s clear to me now that I should have realized that the store owner could be a member of the thought police. The store was described as an institution that had always been around. It sold items that shouldn’t have been allowed, like the paperweight. Owning such a shop that was so shady wouldn’t have been undiscovered by the Party. I’m sure it was allowed to be kept to draw people in who have committed thought crime.
For DiscussionWhat does the “war” situation in 1984 tell us about our own real-world violence? Owning such a shady store that has been there for such a long time wouldn’t be allowed unless it were a trap. I thought it was upsetting that they are in a constant state of war when in the same way, they could be in a constant state of peace. How had revolt not occurred yet when the society is so clearly… messed up?

ThoughtsThis chapter/section was mind-blowing to me. The way that O’Brien has been able to break Winston down has been astonishing. The brain-washing and control of the mind that the Party instills in people is incredible. “You are outside history, you are nonexistent.”(270). I wonder how this relates to the real world. This exaggeration in 1984 could be telling us about the misinformation and propaganda that is spread in our own world today.

QuestionsWhat does the brainwashing in 1984 tell us about information in our own world? Did O’Brien ever have to undergo the same treatment that Winston is now going through? Was O’Brien always like this?
EpiphaniesThe way that O’Brien speaks to Winston makes me realize that although I was skeptical before, it makes sense that Julia gave in quickly. Like Winston, Julia was also passionate about breaking the rules and going against the Party. I thought that, like Winston, it would take a while to break her down. However, she never cared in the same way as Winston. When Winston first received the book from O’Brien, he couldn't wait to read it. Julia however, upon being informed that they had the book, said,“‘Oh you’ve got it? Good,’ she said without much interest.”(200). Based on the word choice used, it's clear that Julia didn’t care about preserving history or being a part of a big group like the Brotherhood. Therefore, when tortured, she quickly abandoned her ways of thinking.

For DiscussionThe exaggeration in 1984 could be telling us about the misinformation and propaganda that is spread in our own world today. Julia didn’t care about preserving history or being a part of a big group like the Brotherhood. Therefore, when tortured, she quickly abandoned her ways of thinking.What does the brainwashing in 1984 tell us about information in our own world? Did O’Brien ever have to undergo the same treatment that Winston is now going through? 

ThoughtsWhen Winston and Julia met each other after their experiences, it was nothing like old times. It was stiff, awkward, and uncomfortable. They had been through hell during the torture phase of their mental rebirth, and both had turned the other in at one point or another. ‘“And after that, don’t feel the same toward the other person any longer.’”(292). Being tortured until you beg for your loved one to recieve pain instead of you is an extreme. However, this series of events can be linked to how delicate relationships really are in the real world. The line separating love and hate is thin, and relationships dear to a person often turn sour. This turn of events in the relationship between Julia and Winston reflect the world we live in.
QuestionsDid George Orwell have just one or two social issues in mind when writing this book, or were many comments about society woven in carefully? What did Julia go through while Winston was being tortured? How are the societies outside of Oceania being treated?
EpiphaniesNow that I have finished the book, I have come to the conclusion that Winston truly didn’t ever have a chance at surviving with his beliefs. At various points in the book, Winston had admitted to himself that it was only a matter of time before he was captured and eventually put to death. As the reader, I never really believed it. This may be because I have been conditioned to believe that the main character always perseveres and therefore emerges triumphant, but this was not the case. Even Winston himself always believed that they could hurt and torture him, make him say things he didn’t want to say, but would never change the way he really felt. But this was not true. “He loved Big Brother.”(298). The final sentence in the book cemented the idea that the Party really could change the way a person thinks and feels. The entire book had been leading up to this point, but I could not fully accept that until the last sentence.

For DiscussionThe line separating love and hate is thin, and relationships dear to a person often turn sour. This turn of events in the relationship between Julia and Winston reflect the world we live in. Did George Orwell have just one or two social issues in mind when writing this book, or were many comments about society woven in carefully? Now that I have finished the book, I have come to the conclusion that Winston truly didn’t ever have a chance at surviving with his beliefs.

ThoughtsI’m shocked by this turn of events. I never would have guessed that Julia would hand Winston such a scandalous note! Before this point, Julia had been described as someone Winston was very wary of, almost someone to be afraid of. “One, much the more likely, was that the girl was an agent of the Thought Police, just as he had feared.” (107). Just pages before, he had thought of Julia as a member of the Thought Police, the people he fears and hates. I wonder what was going through Julia’s head at that moment when she gave him the note.
QuestionsWhy did Winston have such a chilling impression of Julia? Does Winston have any mental conditions? Had Winston forgotten about the feelings he had gotten from her previously?
EpiphaniesThe pages up to 143 have made the reason for Julia following Winston apparent. I realize now that Julia too hates the Party and Big Brother. She is willing to risk her life to break the rules of the government. I have come to realize that Winston has been desperate for someone to share in his thoughts and feelings. “He did not consider any longer the possibility that she might be laying some kind of trap for him.” (109) Winston was quick to throw away his notions about Julia from previous encounters and openly embraced her advances. It demonstrates how Winston truly wants to find others like himself and will do anything for that dream.

For DiscussionI was very surprised by the events in this chapter. Does Winston have any mental conditions? Had Winston forgotten about the feelings he had gotten from her previously? It seems that Winston is desperate to find people like himself. 

Thoughts:

This quote highlights the contrast in Winston’s confidence when he is by himself compared to when he is actually confronting O’Brien. Before meeting O’Brien, he idolized him and even dedicated his whole diary/journal to him. He thought of O’Brien quite often. When O’Brien first reached out to Winston, “his heart bounded violently.”(157). Winston thought of O’Brien as someone who was undoubtedly on his side. However, when he actually was face-to-face with O’Brien, he started to doubt himself. He felt that what he said was feeble and pretentious. This diction leads me to believe that Winston felt less confident when O’Brien was really in front of him.

Questions:

Is O’Brien who he says he is? Can the telescreens actually turn off? Is O’Brien being watched? What is the significance of the phrase “Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clement’s?” 

Epiphanies:

 Looking back, I find it suspicious that the telescreens can be turned off. Based on the nature of this society, it doesn’t seem like the telescreens would be able to be turned off, even for the inner party members. In this society, everyone is supposed to be perfect, never committing thought crime or physical crime. If this were true, why would the telescreens be turned off sometimes? I wonder if O’Brien is a messenger for rebel information without his knowledge. 

For my Group:

What is the significance of the phrase “Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clement’s?”“Both feeble and pretentious” show Winston’s sudden uncertainty with himself when actually approaching O’Brien. Why are the telescreens allowed to turn off? Motives during the time it is off?