1984 Book Notes
Chapter 5
“Yet she had only the dimmest idea of who Goldstein was and what doctrines he was supposed to represent. She had grown up since the Revolution and was too young to remember the ideological battles of the fifties and sixties. Such a thing as an independent political movement was outside her imagination: and in any case the Party was invincible. It would always exist, and it would always be the same” (Orwell 89).
This quote is significant as a connection or a prediction of Modern times. It notes that she was too young to remember a true revolution, or ideological battle, and that the political parties continued unchecked by those that would stand against it. This is a serious reflection of the current political situation. We have allowed entertainers and those with dishonest intentions to run, unopposed. People are verbally opposed to all, or most, or the candidates in the 2016 election, and there is no candidate running, or at least no candidate with a strong backing, running outside the party system. Given the divided legislative branch in the last few years, and the inability to do a basic job, coupled with situations like the current stall in finding a ninth supreme court justice, it is clear that the current system that gives power to two overtly controlling parties is not working. Yet, rather than revolutionizing the way the nation is run, people are simply complaining on social media. The closest the current generation knows to a revolution is the #blacklivesmatter movement which has encouraged rioting and violence rather than n meaningful ideological battles and revolutionary traction.
“Four, five, six — seven times they met during the month of June. Winston had dropped his habit of drinking gin at all hours. He seemed to have lost the need for it. He had grown fatter, his varicose ulcer had subsided, leaving only a brown stain on the skin above his ankle, his fits of coughing in the early morning had stopped” (Orwell 87).
This quote is significant as it relates to one of the major themes in the book. The Party has repressed sexuality, making it both disgusting and obligatory, as a duty to the state, rather than a private act. As such it is significant that Winton’s life, and perhaps more meaningfully, his health, begins to improve after he begins a sexual affair with Julia. It is not only significant to the theme of repression, but also serves as a symbol. The father that Watson removes himself from the Party’s beliefs and system of control, the better off he is. His health is symbolic of society, in that they are both improved by departure from the Party line.
Chapter 6
“Even while he was speaking to O’Brien, when the meaning of the words had sunk in, a chilly shuddering feeling had taken possession of his body. He had the sensation of stepping into the dampness of a grave, and it was not much better because he had always known that the grave was there and waiting for him” (Orwell 93)
This is a very interesting metaphor. He does not literally step into a damp area here, both rather symbolically realizes that the transaction with O’Brian places him in jeopardy, and leads him closer toward death.
“Any identifiable reference to him would have been mortally dangerous. O’Brien’s remark must obviously have been intended as a signal, a codeword. By sharing a small act of thoughtcrime he had turned the two of them into accomplices.” (Orwell, 92).
I thought that this connected, in an interesting way, to Orwell’ s shooting and Elephant. The speaker in that work talks about “what he had already decided in his mind” but then goes on to act as he has been directed by the imperial powers, and the national situation that he is in. This is because to do otherwise, would be detrimental to his career, or more significantly his life. In essence, his belief that imperialism is wrong is equal to the “thoughtcrime” perpetrated in 1984.
Chapter 7
“He did not suppose, from what he could remember of her, that she had been an unusual woman, still less an intelligent one; and yet she had possessed a kind of nobility, a kind of purity, simply because the standards that she obeyed were private ones” (Orwell 96).
This is a significant reflection of Marxism, and of the theme in the novel of what is public vs. what is private. As is consistent with Marxism, priority is to be given to the needs of the whole, or what is best for the socialistic model. In 1984, this takes the extreme stance of alienating people from one another, in order to put the Party First. His mother’s kindness and sense of love is born of private loyalty. She derives her standards of behavior from her private life, and not from her public, or Party related life. This demonstrates Orwell’s view of, or criticism, or Marxism, and what is asks of people, especially as it relates to their private life.
“He thought of the telescreen with its never-sleeping ear. They could spy upon you night and day, but if you kept your head you could still outwit them. With all their cleverness they had never mastered the secret of finding out what another human being was thinking. Perhaps that was less true when you were actually in their hands.” (Orwell 97).
The use of personification here, for both the party, and the technology in the telescreens is essential. The party has used technology to invade the privacy of individuals as a means of exerting control. There personification of these devices, found in phrases like “the never sleeping ear” increases that feeling of intrusion and exploits the concept that the Winston is threated by his beliefs and actions, because the party is everywhere, or has infiltrated their private life to the extent that the only thing still secret is a man’s thoughts.
Chapter 8
’You can turn it off!’ he said.
’Yes,’ said O’Brien, ’we can turn it off. We have that privilege” (Orwell 100).
Here, irony is used to reinforce the human need for privacy, and the lack of equality among persons under the party system. It is ironic that the innermost party members are least controlled by the party. This is also a criticism of Marxism. One of Marxism’s primary tenants is that of socialism, or to make all man equal, and yet even in this system, there are the elites, who are more privileged, and the censored who are less privileged.
“We believe that there is some kind of conspiracy, some kind of secret organization working against the Party, and that you are involved in it. We want to join it and work for it. We are enemies of the Party. We disbelieve in the principles of Ingsoc. We are thought-criminals. We are also adulterers. I tell you this because we want to put ourselves at your mercy. If you want us to incriminate ourselves in any other way, we are ready."
This passage is extremely powerful as it relates to labels, and labeling one’s self. They want to be seen as a threat to the party, and loyal to the cause of those working against the Party. As such, they are willing to incriminate themselves. This means making their private life public, through the declaration that they are “criminals” guilty of thinking, and “adulterers” guilty of having sex for pleasure. This labeling is both liberating, and an act of self-entrapment, because it throws them upon the mercy of the listener, who can either recruit them to the revolutionary cause, or penalize them for their private loyalties.
Chapter Nine
“If he were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to him and that most of what he has been told about them is lies. The sealed world in which he lives would be broken, and the fear, hatred, and self-righteousness on which his morale depends might evaporate.” (Orwell, 115).
This is prophetical of the modern world, in that the media is often guilty of fear mongering as it relates to certain groups. For example, the media as demonized all of Islam, or all Muslim believers in the wake of ISIS and the terrorist acts perpetrated by extremists around the globe. This weakens man’s unity, from a global or cross cultural perspective, and gives those who align themselves with the media, or the majority, a sense of self-righteousness.
“The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human laborThe social atmosphere is that of a besieged city, where the possession of a lump of horseflesh makes the difference between wealth and poverty. And at the same time the consciousness of being at war, and therefore in danger, makes the handing-over of all power to a small caste seem the natural, unavoidable condition of survival. “
This quote is interesting because it shows war as a political tool. In modern society, war is known to stimulate a weak economy, and to provide additional jobs, among other things. I think it is highly likely that some war is enacted by governmental powers in order to control the weak.
Chapter 10
“You are the dead," repeated the iron voice."It was behind the picture," breathed Julia."It was behind the picture," said the voice. "Remain exactly where you are. Make no movement until you are ordered" (Orwell 128)
This is also prophetic. It is similar to the hidden cameras, like nanny cams, in use today to catch people I the act. It also makes me think of recent FBI/NSA actions to watch and listen in on people.
“Past events, it is argued, have no objective existence, but survive only in written records and in human memories. The past is whatever the records and the memories agree upon. And since the Party is in full control of all records and in equally full control of the minds of its members, it follows that the past is whatever the Party chooses to make it.” (Orwell 124)
It has been said that history belongs to the victor, or that history are the spoils of war. That is to say that the oppressed, or losing power, in a conflict never gets to tell their side of the story. That premise is reflected here in Orwell’s writing. History is subjective, and is specifically subject to the fact that it almost always gets told from a single perspective.
Works Cited:
Orwell, George. 1984. 1949.
