book post 3: freedom

After having our third and final discussion of our third part of the book 1984 by George Orwell, we discussed the last themes we saw in the part and the overall themes of the whole book. In our discussion, we all asked questions about that revolved around how the party changes peoples mind. We also discussed further options into how Winston is naturally rebellious and how he became to fight against the party and big brother.

Amon the themes in the book, we talked about how the party has total power of the people. They have total surviellance of everybody at all times though the use of tele-screens that can watch people as well as display their propaganda to further subdue the people. The party also has total control over society, dictating their culture their activities, even public transportation. Holding an iron-fist over the people, they have little threat over being overthrown. However, they go the extra length and persecute people of their thoughts. Thoughts that have themes of freedom:integrity, democracy and equality, that could potentially grow a resistance to the government. As all threats that could overthrow them have to come from the inside, and the inside is the people, then they only way they would be overthrown would be by their people.

Winston sees the only way as it could be overthrown from the beginning is the Proletarian people of Oceania. Which are the lower-class, unformed masses. Having been not formed by the party to follow the principles of INGSOC, they still have the ideas from freedom. They already have integrity and equality, and are able to have individuality. The idea of individuality is very important to Winston If you compare his descriptions of the proletarian people to the people of the party and the inner party, they description of the proletarian people are much more vivid. He is able to look into the past and contemplate how people go the way their were. These ideas all come from the book of goldtein which despite the efforts of the party has never been eradicated. These ideas are what can throw the party over.

Book Post #2: Winston's Love

 After reading and discussing the second part of the book 1984, by George Orwell, our group has talked more about Winston rebellious nature against the party. In the second part, he explores more options of resisting the government. He has become more carefree, exploring areas of the proletarian sections of London and even inquiring in their bars and shops. He does this to find enjoyment in the experience and to learn more from the past and history. These two things is what the governments aims to prevent. They try to eliminate history and stop the people from enjoying anything, as enjoyment lsets off a chain of events that leads to free thinking. Orwell explains that enjoying anything leads to you feeling good, which leads you to be able to do more things the same way as a efficient machine gets more done than a broken one. Free thinking will inevitably bring down the government, as then the natural order of things will play out, and the party will fall.

However, a large development in Winston's life occurs at the beginning of the second part The dark haired girl he used to despise greatly became an ally to him instead. Being even more of an ally, the dark haired girl, whose name is revealed as Julia, actually loves him. After arranging meeting through elaborate means of communication, they are allowed to flourish together.

Being brought together by their resistance of the party, they enjoy each other in sexual acts to please themselves and as well as showing an act of rebellion to the government. But their love for each other is uncalled for, as they go from strangers to soul mates in a matter of days of being together. This raised a question in our group discussion of why Winston loves Julia and how their relationship grew so quickly. We came to a decision that Winston's want to destroy the party their the inevitable act that they had been trying to prevent from happening, sexual interaction and pleasure, and Julia was one of the only ways for him to do that.

1984: Winston's individuality.

 In the novel 1984, by George Orwell, the protagonist Winston, a man in his late thirties lives in a dystopian country of Oceania. He lives as a citizen of “The Party”, a group of government obssesed zealots that sole purpose in life is the preservation of the Party's principles. However, these principles are what makes the novel dystopian fiction: they revolve around oppressing the common people, making them nothing short animals. They watch the people and display propaganda through, “telescreens”, violating the privacy and having constant video and audio contact with everybody in the counrty. Through watching them, the Party aims to oppress the minds and destroy individuality among the people. Also, the culture is molded around militaristic ideals, so therefore, everybody is in complete unison and stepping out of line is impossible. To step out is to commit thoughtcrime, punishable by death. Thought crime can be anything that is different than what the party wants. Whether it be speaking your mind or showing any sort of intelligence beyond average, you are taken away during the night, “vaporized”, or having all records or you existing being deleted.

On the contrary however, Winston is unaffected by the Party mind altering tactics. Being a unique character in the book and the narrator, we are able to see through the party's eyes through the eyes of Winston. As a middle aged man, he lived near the establishing of the party, which was around the 1950s, as it is 1984 in the book.

Modern themes of democracy and natural rights that are common today are seen in Winston. As he is someone who commits thoughtcrime, you can see how the book is a inverse of today's world where equality is common.

The plot of the story and where I see it is going is how Winston becomes involved with the destruction of the party and the bringing about of a new better world. I see him gravitating and him become closer and closer to the Brotherhood, which is a rumored organization that conspires agianst the party that may or may not exist.