In this excerpt of 1984 written by George Orwell (1948), Orwell describes about the forced indifferent emotions of Winston Smith after he was mentally tortured by the betrayal of Julia. Orwell builds his argument by initially using euphemism, and then describes how Winston festers, in a chronological pattern. He uses superfluous diction to support his main claim- how the argument between Julia and Winston contributed to Winston’s current emotional state. From his choice of diction, he seems to target people who are interested in History and old Literature. Orwell begins this passage by hinting to the fact that the cause of Winston’s depression was due to Julia’s “betrayal”. He writes, “Perhaps her thickened, stiffened body was no longer recognizable from the behind”. In other words, due to the previous argument, Winston feels indifferent of her presence even through the scurrying figures around him; His mind is clouded with her betrayal. Orwell clearly uses emotional diction in these lines to emphasise Winston’s state of mind, and that “trusted” people in Oceania have no true meaning; People would end up betraying him. Here, as Orwell writes “no longer recognizable”, he intends to exhibit that from the moment of the argument, Winston has been spaced out and unvigilant. This makes him vulnerable to any emotional outbursts caused by anything that reminds him of her. If the argument did not occur, then he would not have been insubstantial. With these lines, Orwell foreshadows
Through his failure, Orwell portrays the dangers of a disunited society for the individual. Even though Winston willingly chose to oppose the Party and offered his life towards the eradication of his oppressors, his sacrifice proved futile without communal support to usurp the tyrannical regime. Despite the common suffering the people endured, their fear of the individual torment each would suffer motivated them to submit to the government. In Winston, Orwell highlights the frailty of an individual person in comparison to a mob. When imprisoned at the Ministry of Love, Winston’s will crumbled under torture and he even offered the life of the one individual he had earlier seemed hesitant to sacrifice, Julia. Hence, Orwell illustrates the need for a united social front for individuals to change the society in which they live in. Otherwise, self-preservation shall remain dominant within each individual, leaving them vulnerable to continuous manipulation through propaganda.
In the book 1984, Orwell vividly describes a society driven by a totalitarian government that thrives on controlling what everyone does, think, or say. The main character, Winston Smith, undergoes the loss of his distinct character as he is created in the Party's image in anticipation of him not only obeying, but loving Big Brother. As discussed in class this novel was written not only for entertainment or pleasure but as a warning sign to others. Throughout the novel Orwell discussed many things that made him believe that the problems in 1984 will still exist in today’s society. Although there were numerous issues discussed I consider the most relevant were the discussions about Big Brother, War, and Newspeak.
Quote 1: "Do anything to me!" he yelled. "You've been starving me for weeks. Finish it off and let me die. Shoot me. Hang me. Sentence me to twenty-five years. Is there somebody else you want me to give away? Just say who it is and I’ll tell you anything you want. I don't care who it is or what you do to them. I've got a wife and three children. The biggest of them isn't six years old. You can take the whole lot of them and cut their throats in front of my eyes, and I'll stand by and watch it. But not Room 101!" (1984 Orwell, Book 3 Chapter 1)
Orwell is characterized through the eyes of Winston when he realises her as ‘beautiful’. It shows his distaste for the Promiscuousness of Julia and strengthens the misogynistic scrutiny of the female sex.
It is evident that within the novel 1984, that George Orwell establishes several moods through the use of literary devices, in which the reader is delved into the environment that Winston has to undergo subpar conditions amidst the ubiquitous and intrusive telescreens. This could be seen through the setting, imagery, and the diction that Orwell employs in conveying this mood. By George Orwell utilizing specific diction and imagery in describing the setting, this therefore contributes to a desolate, invasive, and tranquil mood; this could be seen through the instances of Winston’s apartment, Winston’s workplace, the apartment, and the Ministry of Love.
George Orwell's 1984 What look on humanity and human nature, if any, can be seen through this book, 1984?
In the excerpt, Orwell uses the rhetorical device of repetition in order to create suspense. For example, right before the rats are going to attack, Winston says, “‘Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me!’” The repetitive screams for help from Winston reveals the tone as he is frantically begging for mercy. Another example of repetition is used is when Orwell writes, “To think, to think, even with a split second left--to think was the only hope” This reveals the tone as it reveals Winston only has a split second to save himself from the rats, and he must be able to think fast in order to do it.
Jacobs made a strong argument about the body representation made by Orwell in his book, especially in the character of Winston. This seemed to be attributed to the fact that Orwell was dying when he wrote the book, so the story included his “personal failings” (Jacobs 14). Since Winston’s resistance did not win in the end, and he was overcome by Big Brother, the book seems to tell that resistance is doomed. This is especially true in the last two sentences in Orwell’s book in which he wrote, “He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother” (376). Referring to Winston’s loving of Big Brother as victory over himself was like Orwell telling the readers that minds can be broken under torture, and that this pain could make the mind think of betraying loved ones. When Winston was tortured with his greatest fear, the rats, he said, “Do it to Julia! Not me! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones” (Orwell 362).
"He was already dead, he reflected. . . . Now that he recognized himself as a dead man it became important to stay alive as long as possible." In 1984, by George Orwell, I came across the above mentioned quote. At this time, the character has just realized that if his acts are known by others, then his identity, his words, his existence and even all the proofs of his existence would vanish into thin air, as though he had never existed.
Initially, the imagery of this section is the memory that connects with the reader. This precisely articulated expressions and emotions of the characters brings life to the argument that itself it could not create. The preface to this interrogation, the period of torture Winston suffers, creates the mindset of helplessness and pain before Winston ever even discusses with O’Brien. “Always there were five or six men in black uniforms at him simultaneously. Sometimes it was firsts, sometimes it was truncheons, sometimes it was steel rods, sometimes it was boots. There were times he rolled about on the floor, as shameless as an animal…” (Orwell 263). All of this inhumane torture degraded our protagonist to a decrepit state. For
Orwell begins this passage by hinting to the fact that the cause of Winston’s depression was due to Julia’s “betrayal”. He writes, “Perhaps her thickened, stiffened body was no longer recognizable from the behind”. In other words, due to the previous argument, Winston feels indifferent of her presence even through the scurrying figures around him; His mind is clouded with her betrayal. Orwell clearly uses emotional diction in these lines to emphasise Winston’s state of mind, and that “trusted” people in Oceania have no true meaning; People would end up betraying him. Here, as Orwell writes “no longer recognizable”, he intends to exhibit that from the moment of the argument, Winston has been spaced out and unvigilant. This makes him vulnerable to any emotional outbursts caused by anything that reminds him of her. If the argument did not occur, then he would not have been insubstantial. With these lines, Orwell foreshadows
Orwell uses Winston and Julia’s relationship to show the power of the human emotion of love. Winston is a pessimistic man that has nothing to live for except for life itself, until he meets a love interest; Julia. Orwell narrates “At the
George Orwell’s 1984 is probably one of the most famous political novels in History. It´s strong criticism to authoritarianism, government abuses and sameness makes it one of the most analysed novels of the twentieth century. Hence, Orwell uses a lot of literary devices such as vivid imagery, symbolism of color and all sorts of allusions to convey the reader into his powerful criticism of authoritarian societies and how the promote the decay of free-thinking and individualism, which his the meaning of his narrative prose.
In 1984, Orwell makes excellent use of symbolism to further enhance the novel's theme and to reveal character. He wrote 1984 as a political message to warn future generations about the dangers of totalitarian societies. He relays this message through various themes and characters, in turn utilizes powerful symbols to give them further significance. His symbolism is very vast but it can be classified into three categories: characters, places and objects.
The Book 1984 was written by George Orwell shortly after W.W.II. I think this book really shows us what would happen if the government gets too powerful. It was written long ago and set in the future, but I feel like the message is still very relevant today.