"He obeyed the Party, but he sill hated the Party. In the old days he had hidden a heretical mind beneath an appearance of conformity. Now he has retreated a step further: in the mind he had surrendered, but he had hoped to keep the inner heart inviolate. He knew that he was in the wrong, but he preferred to be in the wrong" (231).
What you can see here is Winston mentally broken. The amount of torture the Party has done to him has reached a level were he cant function like his old self. He has given into the idea that the Party is great that Big Brother is what matters, what he needs to love. He is not to love or obey no one else than Big Brother. That any idea for rebellion should be eliminated from his mind. Even though they broke Winston mentally in his heart he still beliefs whats right. That the Party is bad and so is Big Brother that a change has to happen. Winston finally obeyed the party but just outwardly his spirit is not yet broken. He still beliefs.
Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don't care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me!" (236)
This quote is really strong because it shows how much Winston is really broken. For him to sell out Julia like that reminds me of that one guy who didn't want to be taken to Room 101 that he was screaming to so anything but take him to Room 101. He preferred have his family killed right in front of him. Even though in this case Winston is being torture with his worse nightmare, rats. Rats in 1984 I represent them in two ways. Greed/theft: when thinking back to that time when Winston stole chocolate and got shared, Phobia/Petrify: During a scene in which Julia and Winston are together he tells her that he is afraid of rats. It doesn't clearly state why Winston fear them maybe something happened to him when he was younger. Thinking about it maybe Julia betrayed Winston by telling O'Brien about it.
I actually really liked your first comment because the way it is written is very specific to show Winston's reality a certain way. Orwell chooses to write that Winston knew his feelings were wrong, which suggests that he can see the truth to what O'Brien says about the Party and the new order of things. He also says he prefers to be wrong, which is really interesting, because in that way, Winston and loyal Party members are the same. The book of the Brotherhood explains that the inner Party members must constantly employ doublethink in order to keep Oceania running smoothly. They are completely aware that they are robbing people of their individuality and consequently humanity, that they are rewriting history until it is obsolete, and that ultimately, they are destroying the meaning of life by replacing it with only the quest for power that doesn't even matter in the end.
ReplyDeleteThat makes me think that really, Winston has been broken, because he has learned to do what the Party does. Because we are outside of the text, we see that Winston is obviously in the right and the Party is crazy, but in the text, the Party surely has created a new reality. Winston rejects it for what he prefers to keep his sanity, just like them.
It's subtle, but so sad when you think about it.
Okay, lemmie just start by saying I LOVE your formatting and background. It looks professional and classy! Well done!
ReplyDeleteAnd that carries over into your quotes and evaluations. You choose quotes that truly show how broken Winston has become. One a rebel, he is now just a shell of a man, just the empty shell of who once was someone who cared for truth and justice, and wanted to know the evils of Big Brother so he could stop them. Winston was a rebel... But now? Now, as your excellent analysis... Even though his mind is broken after some time being tortured, his heart and soul only shatter when he betrays Julia...
Your second quote is good! It caught myattention too because of how much he loved Julia. The way he ratted her out shows hwo low he had gotten; that's really sad.
ReplyDeleteI really like the second quote that you chose. I really explores the limits of the human mind and the lengths you will go to survive. It also questions the basis of Winston and Julia's relationship. Were they truly in love or did the only "love" each other because there was no one else that would publicly rebel with them? Anyways, I really like the way you provided two different symbolisms of the rats in the novel. It was very insightful and interesting.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your second quote, especially the connection that you made of Winston to the other man who had a similar reaction, in which he sold out his family and Winston sold out Julia. I think the party had been watching Winston and Julia this whole time, which might explain the reason they know why he was afraid of rats. Both of your quotes were very insightful and interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteI like the second quote you chose! I felt that in that moment, Winston was expressing his raw, untamed love for Julia. There is a certain type of romance for it. I felt that your analyzes of it really helped explain it in a simpler way.
ReplyDeleteYour second quote was amazing and the way you connect with Winston is so good! i imagined myself in his shoes and the feeling of being ratted out is not a good one!
ReplyDeleteI like your first response to that quote, because I chose the longer version of that quote, and I agree with how mentally affected Winston was by the Party. They totally broke down his spirits.
ReplyDeleteThat second quote is a very strong and meaningful quote. I like the way you put it in your own words and compared it to another part from the book where another man was in a similar situation. Proving that when people are put under a lot of pressure they show their true colors. This shows that fears can take over all the love you have for people.
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