What are some of the symbols and themesthe the story?
What are some key facts in the story?
How is the society of the book like that of it's time period?
How does the party function and what is it's purpose?
Appendix
The appendix talks about New Speak and some of its basic principles. It is Oceania’s official language and was mainly created to narrow the range of thought and reduce thought crime. The way it works is by using simple words such as good or bad and adding prefixes to determine its strength. And example of this for the phrase “really bad” one could say “plusungood” or if you want it stronger it could be “doubleplus ungood.” As you can see a whole range or synonyms for a word can be eliminated and the thought range decreases.
Key Facts
The whole saying that is in the book about St. Martin relates to the end of the book about how Julia and Winston sold eachother out as they confess to this in the Chestnut Tree Cafe.
Charaters
Winston Smith—He is the protagonist of the story. He is middle aged and in an unkempt state with a big ulcer on his leg. He is skinny and weak since he doesn’t get enough to eat. Winston is rebellious against the party internally but on the outside he is a loyal member. He is rebellious enough to test the powers of the party because he has hope that he can beat the system. Also his personality lets the reader into his world and how everything works. He explains things about the party through his eyes. From the beginning he foreshadows his capture. So it is his knowing of his capture that leads him to rebel further since he thinks of himself as a dead man. He also under estimates the power of the party and thinks that even if he is captured they won’t be able the change how he feels about certain things like his love for Julia. The party does however change him in the end and Winston is changed from being someone to being a cell in an organism which will never die in other words the party.
Julia—she is another rebel against the party much like Winston. She however has different views on the party and what it meant to rebel. She likes to live in the moment and not worry about the larger issues like what the future holds for mankind. Julia sees rebelling as private acts in which see doesn’t want to get caught. She lives her life on temporary highs and wants to keep it that way. The main thing that keeps her with Winston is their hate for the party and the sex. Aside from that they don’t have much else in common which is why maybe she betrayed him before he betrayed her. She thinks that the party will stay in power and that they can’t be defeated on a large scale. That is why she only rebels ona small scale.
O’Brian—He is an inner party member who betrays Winston. He is an example of double-think because he is Winston’s enemy and friend for some time in the story. Through him the audience of the book is able to see the inner party and its functions. Through him we learn how inner party members live and operate. By some of his actions it raises some questions about him and the story, like when O’Brian tells Winston that the party got him a long time ago. Does this mean that he was once rebellious like Winston and was tortured extensively and brain washed until he became true party member? Or that maybe he is sympathetic towards Winston to gain some trust and toy with him?
Emmanuel Goldstein—He is an enemy of the party which we don’t actually meet. Some think that he is a party invention along with others that are used to keep the people in line. It it’s something that the two lower classes can direct their anger and frustration at. He is also supposedly the leader of the Brotherhood and whatever else the party accuses him of. His is also that at times Winston looks up to as a rebel.
Big Brother—Another character that the reader doesn’t actually meet. He is the leader of the party and looked upon as a godly. He represents the party and his image is often used for propaganda. He is too an example of double-think since he is a leader but at the same time he is fictional to the main characters in the story.
Parsons—They are Winston’s neighbors and Mr. Parsons is his co-worker. They are an example of the supposedly middle class even though the live in inadequate conditions. Mr. Parsons is eventually caught for thought crime and ends up with Winston in the ministry of Love. His daughter hears him down talking big brother in his sleep so she reports him. This is an example of what sometimes happened in World War II in parts of Europe. Kids were often brain washed to spies on their parents and report them if they broke the law or committed act of treason.
Syme—He is an example to the reader of what happens when you get too smart within the party. He was really smart since he was working on the New Speak dictionary and Winston recognizes this and knows that he will eventually be vaporized. This is done to keep the people dumb so that they don’t realize what is going on and rebel on a large scale against the party.
Mr. Charrington—He is the person that owns the shop with all the antiques. He also owns the room above the shop where Winston and Julia meet. He is a spy working for the thought police and eventually helps with the capture of Winston and Julia. This is also related with World War II where people would help others by hiding them only to turn them into the authorities later.
Julia—she is another rebel against the party much like Winston. She however has different views on the party and what it meant to rebel. She likes to live in the moment and not worry about the larger issues like what the future holds for mankind. Julia sees rebelling as private acts in which see doesn’t want to get caught. She lives her life on temporary highs and wants to keep it that way. The main thing that keeps her with Winston is their hate for the party and the sex. Aside from that they don’t have much else in common which is why maybe she betrayed him before he betrayed her. She thinks that the party will stay in power and that they can’t be defeated on a large scale. That is why she only rebels ona small scale.
O’Brian—He is an inner party member who betrays Winston. He is an example of double-think because he is Winston’s enemy and friend for some time in the story. Through him the audience of the book is able to see the inner party and its functions. Through him we learn how inner party members live and operate. By some of his actions it raises some questions about him and the story, like when O’Brian tells Winston that the party got him a long time ago. Does this mean that he was once rebellious like Winston and was tortured extensively and brain washed until he became true party member? Or that maybe he is sympathetic towards Winston to gain some trust and toy with him?
Emmanuel Goldstein—He is an enemy of the party which we don’t actually meet. Some think that he is a party invention along with others that are used to keep the people in line. It it’s something that the two lower classes can direct their anger and frustration at. He is also supposedly the leader of the Brotherhood and whatever else the party accuses him of. His is also that at times Winston looks up to as a rebel.
Big Brother—Another character that the reader doesn’t actually meet. He is the leader of the party and looked upon as a godly. He represents the party and his image is often used for propaganda. He is too an example of double-think since he is a leader but at the same time he is fictional to the main characters in the story.
Parsons—They are Winston’s neighbors and Mr. Parsons is his co-worker. They are an example of the supposedly middle class even though the live in inadequate conditions. Mr. Parsons is eventually caught for thought crime and ends up with Winston in the ministry of Love. His daughter hears him down talking big brother in his sleep so she reports him. This is an example of what sometimes happened in World War II in parts of Europe. Kids were often brain washed to spies on their parents and report them if they broke the law or committed act of treason.
Syme—He is an example to the reader of what happens when you get too smart within the party. He was really smart since he was working on the New Speak dictionary and Winston recognizes this and knows that he will eventually be vaporized. This is done to keep the people dumb so that they don’t realize what is going on and rebel on a large scale against the party.
Mr. Charrington—He is the person that owns the shop with all the antiques. He also owns the room above the shop where Winston and Julia meet. He is a spy working for the thought police and eventually helps with the capture of Winston and Julia. This is also related with World War II where people would help others by hiding them only to turn them into the authorities later.
Context
George Orwell’s real name is Eric Blair. Orwell was just a pen name he used and eventually just stuck. He was born in India in 1903 and later moved to England. During his education he considered himself an outsider. He was not poor but still struggled throughout his life. He felt as an outsider because in school he was there because of scholarships while other student’s parents could afford to pay for them. After his education he went out and lives with the lower classes for some time and wrote books about what he saw. In the mid 1930’s he went to Spain and observed the Spanish Civil War. In 1945 he wrote a book called Animal Farm which was his view on totalitarianism and politics. After that book in 1949 he wrote yet another novel 1984. Some saw this book a warning towards political authority in a nation. The book was based on what he observed in the lower classes, and in Spain during the war. He also got the idea for big brother form some of the evil leaders of the world which were in power at the time like Stalin or Hitler.
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