George Orwell’s 1984

Part Two

Orwell’s motivation for writing 1984

“I fear totalitarianism and leader worship- are on the increase. Hitler, no doubt, will soon disappear, but only at the expense of strengthening Stalin….”----“ But if the sort of world that I am afraid of arrives, a world of two or three great superstates which are unable to conquer one another, two and two could become five if the fuhrer wished it. That, so far as I can see, is the direction in which we are actually moving, though, of course, the process is reversible.

Chapter I• Chapter begins w/ Winston at work. He

notices the girl with the dark hair wearing a sling on her arm.

• Remember that Winston has strange, complicated feelings toward her: is she a spy? a member of the Thought Police?....

• She slips him a note. He slips away into his cubicle. It reads, “I love you.”!!! (inciting incident)

• Panicked, he is not able to have any sort of real peace until he is at home in bed.

Chapter I• Winston is desperate to meet w/ her and talk

about her note and his feelings. • He must wait a full week before he can

actually sit down w/her in the canteen.• New characters: Ampleforth- poet who works

w/ Winston & Wilsher- coworker Winston briefly imagines murdering. (He is angered at Wilsher for interrupting his plans to speak w/ the girl).

• Winston makes plans to meet her that evening at Victory Square. …Notice how the overall tone/mood of story is changing at this point….

Chapter I• The two make plans to meet at a far-off

countryside location where they can (presumably) be alone. Their hands meet and clasp poignantly…..

• Notice the narration surrounding the truckloads of prisoners and how they are both Asian and European.

• Oceanians have little interaction w/ foreigners: they live in a closed world.

• How might the presence of the prisoners be a foreshadowing?.....

Chapter II• Winston goes to meet the girl w/ the dark

hair. As he makes his way toward her, he reflects back on his train ride and the prole passengers.

• He wonders if he will be safe here in the country even though there aren’t telescreens. Perhaps he and the girl could be found due to hidden microphones….

Chapter II• When they meet, Winston explains to her

that he isn’t sure why someone like her- about 15 yrs younger than he is- would be attracted to someone like him….

• She doesn’t seem to care apparently; she jumps on him.

• Winston “had no physical desire….”Why?

Chapter II• Winston is genuinely nervous, even

frightened; plus, he isn’t really used to being with women…

• Reader finally learns her name is Julia.• Notice how honest and open he is w/ her. He

even tells her that he had wanted to rape and murder her. Julia seems delighted at this but seems offended that W thought she was member of Thought Police.

• Julia & Winston seem to be in Golden Country, which had appeared in Winston’s earlier dream sequence. (foreshadowing?...)

Chapter II• Why do you think the bird and its singing

are described at such great length?• Julia, too, is brutally honest. She has had a

rich and varied sexual past, esp w/ Party members, which Winston loves to hear.

• “Anything that hinted at corruption always filled him with a wild hope…”

• Julia, in a way, has used sex as a means of rebellion. Her feelings about the Party, esp the Inner Party, become very clear.

Chapter I, II1. The inciting incident occurs in Chapter I.

Where? 2. Why does Julia draw the line at having sex w/

Inner Party members? 3. Do W and J feel the same about sex? 4. Why has she slept w/ so many Party

members? 5. Why does Winston like that she has been with

so many men?6. Why does Winston say he hates “purity”?7. What does it mean to say they use sex as a

political tool?

Chapter III• It becomes clear that Winston and Julia

cannot always meet in Golden Country due to Big Brother/The Party’s constant monitoring- or potential monitoring. (They never actually go back to Golden Country).

• They cannot meet indoors, exchange written notes, etc.

• Notice how they must talk to one another as they walk on the pavement- speaking in “intermittent conversation” and not looking at one another.

Chapter III• A rocket bomb goes off. Winston fears she

is dead, but she is perfectly fine. • Notice the constant fear and threat of death

around them• They can only have sex as time and the

limitations of their existence permit; reader learns they have sex twice in May (presumably).

Chapter III• The reader learns much about Julia- not her

surname. She is a bit of a workaholic, ironically enough.

• 26, lives w/ women, works in the Fiction Dept on Pornosec materials, doesn’t even really like books (“I’m not literary dear….)

• Rewrite Squad- a censoring group of the Party, edit and rearrange written material to keep it looking as it ‘should’

Chapter III• Julia truly does not like the Party, but she has no

desire to be an outright rebel. She has no real belief in the Brotherhood.

“Any kind of organized revolt struck her as stupid…”- why not just live in secret?

• She shows some rebellion, though, by living how she wants to live- on what she feels are her terms.

• More on Julia- 1st affair at 16. He later committed suicide.

• Do you think the Party is filled w/ corruption? How many others like Julia break the rules, evade authority?

Chapter III• They don’t discuss the possibility of marriage

for multiple reasons; it cannot be done- getting Party approval, the ‘Katharine issue’

• Katharine is described as goodthinkful- Newspeak for ‘incapable of thinking a bad thought’

• Julia is very articulate and intelligent in her explanation of why the Party wants to ‘kill’ and crush the sexual impulse- yet another means of control to drive people toward the Party. The family has become an extension of the Thought Police.

Chapter III• Winston on Katharine- feel she was

ridiculously stupid and brainwashed.• He had thoughts of killing her at one point

by pushing her over a cliff at a chalk quarry, but he felt that would accomplish nothing. He actually seems to regret it now.

• Julia and Winston try to make some sort of sense of death but really cannot. Winston seems to be prepared for possibility of death by the Party but is scared. Julia, instead, lives for the present, has no fear.

Chapter IV• The affair continues, and it starts to become as

close as it possibly can to a more ‘normal’ modern-day love story…..

• The coral glass paperweight continues to function as a powerful symbol all throughout this chapter.

• Winston has ‘let’ or rented a room above Charrington’s shop for his rendezvous (meeting) with Julia. He knows what he’s doing is stupid (“folly”….lunacy”) and extremely dangerous, but he appears to be deeply in love. ….

Chapter IV• Winston is saddened and frustrated that he

cannot see Julia as often as he likes: he even wishes they could be married.

• Notice how much the relationship has so dramatically developed and how quickly….

Chapter IV• Notice:• 1. singing female prole& nursery rhyme-

again, their sympathetic portrayal by Orwell- a hardworking mom doing laundry, singing somewhat beautifully to pass the time

• 2. Winston’s growing tenderness and passion for Julia- Their physical relationship is truly blossoming in a beautiful way….

• 3. Julia’s access to goods/commodities: much better coffee and food from the Inner Party, something the proles and Inner Party members do not have (corrupt system?....)

Chapter IV• “ In this room I’m going to be a woman, not

a Party comrade…”• Julia ‘paints’ her face to appear more

attractive to Winston, just as any normal female might want to do in a romantic relationship.

Chapter IV• Winston’s deepest, darkest fear is revealed in

his intense reaction to the rat in the room.….foreshadowing?.....• Symbolism of paperweight continues to be

developed as chapter closes…“It’s a little chuck of history they’ve forgotten

to alter. It’s a message from a hundred years ago, if one knew how to read it.”

• Winston uses the paperweight as a metaphor for the room, his life, and Julia’s life…..

Chapter V• As Winston had predicted, Syme, the

brilliant linguist working on updating Newspeak, has vanished. It appears he has actually been ‘unpersoned.’ “He had never existed….”

• Preparations for Hate Week are well underway. The reader is not exactly told what this event actually is, but we can assume it has to do w/ directing hatred toward Emmanuel Goldstein, leader of the Brotherhood.

Chapter V• Hate Week preparation/effects: a new song

that the proles seem to love, Parsons’ kids are thrilled, posters of Eurasian soldiers are plastered everywhere, more rocket bombs…

• Interestingly enough- notice the proles’ reaction to all of this….

• W & J’s love affair continues to blossom- notice how W’s health has dramatically improved.

• What do both W & J recognize about their love affair?.....

Chapter V• Mr. Charrington’s room provides them great

safety, and they often find comfort in numerous daydream scenarios, but Winston and Julia both realize that “what was happening could not last long….”

• Remember that Julia does not believe that rebelling will do any good. She prefers “secret disobedience..” She does not even believe in the Brotherhood or EG….

• She basically thinks Oceania’s ongoing war is nonsense and is “not happening.”

Chapter V• Julia on war, Big Brother, rebellion, and life

in Oceania can basically be summed up in the following statement:

“Who cares?...It’s always one bloody war after another, and one knows the news is all lies anyway…”

• Julia is bold: she does not seem to care at all what Winston tells her about the Party: the photo of J, A, & R, the lies about the airplanes, his forgeries….

• Why does Julia not care?.....

Chapter V• Julia does not understand why Winston

would care about the Party’s goals or intentions.

• Notice her reaction when he tries to explain how he destroyed the photo of R, J & A.

• Leaving behind records and even rebelling is “folly” according to Julia….

• Winston is at odds w/ Julia on this point: “You’re only a rebel from the waist downwards…” – Julia finds this tremendously amusing.

Chapter VI• Winston finally comes face to face w/

O’Brien in the Ministry of Truth: “All his life, it seemed, he had been waiting for

this to happen…The conspiracy that he had dreamed of did exist….”

• Notice that much of O’Brien’s comments are a ‘cover’ for his real intentions, which Winston is able to pick up….

Chapter VI• O’Brien tells Winston that perhaps they

could meet sometime at O’Brien’s apt so he could have a look at the 10th edition of the Newspeak dictionary.

• Winston senses there is more to this discussion. Even vague discussion of an unperson such as Syme is dangerous (thoughtcrime).

• How can we tell that O’Brien has privileges as an Inner Party member?

Chapter VI• O’Brien actually writes w/ a gold pen, has a

servant, seems very at ease in front of the telescreen writing down his address….

• Winston has a sense of foreboding (chilly darkness) as the chapter closes….Notice the reference- yet again- to his impending death….

Chapter VII• Recall the past references to Winston’s

family. His memories had been very blurry, but Winston does sense he is alive b/c they had died under strange, sacrificial circumstances.

• Winston, while definitely a twisted character w/ murderous impulses, has a soft side capable of love, deep emotion, and an appreciation of beauty- references to the paperweight and the Jewish mother from the “flick.”

Chapter VII• We do not find out exactly what happened to

his family. • We have confirmation of the following: his

dad died first, his mother had a sense she was next, she was a strong person capable of great love, and Winston is not completely sure she is dead….

• Why is the episode w/ the chocolate a big deal?....

Chapter VII• Recall how Winston had paid close attention

to the Party’s current rationing of chocolate in 1984. This struck a deep pyschological chord in him….

• As a boy, he had taken his sister’s ration of chocolate even as she had seemed to be dying from starvation. Ashamed of his actions, he runs out into the street. Upon his return, his mom and sister are gone.

• Winston sent to a Reclamation Center….

Chapter VII• Winston makes a comparison btwn his

mother and the refugee woman from the “flick.”

• At this point, why does Winston have an even greater appreciation for the proles?

• Also, why does Winston remember what he had done to the severed hand lying in the gutter?

Chapter VII• Winston and Julia’s love affair still goes

strong, but notice how their conversations increasingly start to show signs of panic…

• Winston- death, betrayal, and confession cannot be avoided but one thing can be avoided. What is it?.....

“The object was not to stay alive but to stay human…”

Questions for Review1. What characters seem truly trustworthy? 2. What details show that Winston is deeply in

love with Julia?3. Do you think Julia feels the same way? Why

or why not? 4. What functions as a powerful symbol?5. Where have we seen foreshadowing so far? 6. What does Winston mean by “staying

human”? 7. What three characters has Winston thought

about murdering?

Chapter VIII• Winston and Julia both go to O’Brien’s flat-

Winston regards this action as “folly…”• It is a big deal apparently to be in the home

of an Inner Party member.• Winston starts to have doubts about going

here. After all, how does he know O’Brien can be trusted? “For what evidence had he in reality that

O’Brien was any kind of political conspirator?...”

Chapter VIII• A huge risk: Winston basically puts himself

completely at O’Brien’s “mercy.” He admits everything- opposition to Big Brother, adultery, etc…

• New character- Martin, O’Brien’s servant• O’Brien- Brotherhood & Emmanuel

Goldstein do exist. O & M are part of it. • He asks Winston: What are you willing to do

for the Brotherhood?....

Chapter VIII• Winston is willing to do anything/whatever it

takes to prove his loyalty to the Brotherhood and O’Brien, including murder, suicide, spreading venereal disease….

• Winston’s love for Julia is very real and intense- he will do anything but separate from her.

• Notice that Martin is a bit of a creepy weirdo, a dark and mysterious fellow.

Chapter VIII• O’Brien’s description of the Brotherhood:- Ultra secretive group: no one knows who the

members actually are, even the members themselves. Everyone is in the ‘dark.’ This is how they protect themselves….

- The only protection members give one another: a razor in your cell in drastic circumstances…

- Otherwise, members do not help one another. If caught by the Party, one confesses and dies.

Chapter VIII• O’Brien makes plans to give Winston a copy

of EG’s book. • An allusion to an earlier quote: “We shall meet in the place where there is no

darkness…”• O’Brien seems to recognize this quotation

but is not really fazed. • What other quotation is O’Brien able to

provide Winston?....

Chapter IX • Winston is completely exhausted from his work

preparing for Hate Week.• The Party has again changed the past and present

in terms of the war.---It is decided that Oceania is now at war with

Eastasia. Eurasia is now an ally.• Citizens, as usual, do not question this. In fact,

they actually blame EG.“The Hate continued exactly as before, except the

target had changed…” • Winston works crazy hours to change records to

match this new decision about the war.

Chapter IX• Winston begins to read the book. As he tells

Julia, all members have to read it.• As he states, the book does not contain

anything he didn’t already know.• He understands how the Party does what it

does- taken complete control of people’s lives, changes the past, uses Newspeak- but he doesn’t understand why.

Chapter X• Winston awakes; it is cold outside.• He hears the same prole woman singing. • Notice how his reaction to her size and

appearance is much different from Julia’s reaction. He finds the prole beautiful.

• Winston & Julia: “We are the dead.” (foreshadowing)

• A third voice from behind the pic of St. Clement’s emerges: a telescreen has watched W & J the entire time….

Chapter X• Mr. Charrington is a member of the Thought

Police; he set them up.• Julia is beaten; Winston and she are taken

away….• What happens to the singing female prole?

Why might this be significant? • The paperweight is destroyed- the past and

all beauty are dead….. • Notice how everything about Mr.

Charrington’s appearance has changed: apparent age, height, etc….