Wednesday, May 7, 2014
1984 so far
One of the elements in 1984 that I have found most interesting so far is Winston's cautiousness and attention to detail. He seems very suspicious of everything around him. One would think that he would have gotten used to life forever under the watchful eye of the government and the thought police, but he seems to be constantly on guard when the governments' presence becomes known. His first reaction to Julia is particularly intriguing, as he knows practically nothing about her but assumes that she is a part of the thought police because he got a "dark feeling" when she passed him in the hall. He seems almost paranoid, yet he has very little to be paranoid about. He is not a part of any active resistance force, and he has hidden his journal entries well. This paranoia is seemingly dissonant from what his mindset perhaps ought to be.
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I don't necessarily agree with you that he has nothing to be paranoid about. Clearly, he is not so dull that he blindly questions everything the party has to say and does often commit "thoughtcrime". Therefore it as not at all farfetched that he is paranoid and afraid of the thoughtpolice. Also, although his diary is well hidden, writing it is an act of resistance.
ReplyDeleteHis cautiousness and attention to detail is due to the fact that he knows that he is unorthodox. When a person is oppressed and is conscious of it, I think it is really impossible to get used to those conditions. The person will be constantly, subconsciously, looking for a way to rebel. We see this through Winston and his actions as we read the book and get deeper into the plot.
Also, just a side note: the album The Resistance by Muse is about 1984. (Fun fact!)
It's interesting, though - why is he so outraged at this time? He's been living in this world for so long, you'd think he would have found a way out of the stasis he's in now.
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