1984 Review
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1984 Test Review
Characters:
Katherine- Winstons wife, separated, hates intercourse
Mr. Parsons- sports nut, neighbor, has the stupidity of an animal, proud of his daughter turning him in
Mrs. Parsons- meek, scared of her children, always needs help
Ampleforth- poet arrested for leaving “God” in poem he edited
Syme- editor of dictionary for Newspeak, very intelligent, loyal to the Party but felt you should guard your thoughts and think before speaking, read too much, disappeared and was vaporized
Charrington- old man that own junk/antique shop, prole, actually a member of the Secret Police
Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford- arrested for treason and executed, Winston knows that they were innocent and had a picture as proof, Chestnut Cafe and the song lyrics,”I sold you and you sold me”
Martin- OBriens servant
Julia- dark-haired girl from the Fiction Department, a rebel “from the waist down”, believes in following small rules so you can break big ones, very clever, spends much time on Party activities to hide true feelings, attracted to Winston because he thought his face showed something that opposed the Party
OBrien- member of Inner Party, can turn off telescreen, actually is head of the Thought Police, tricks Winston, torturer
-reality exists only in the mind
-feels the joy and proof of power is making others suffer
-feels the Party clings to power because it desires power. It does not care about the good of the people.
– “The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.”
-image of future is boot stomping a face
Winston Smith- works in Records Department at the Ministry of Truth, discontent with life, but enjoys his job because of the challenge, rewrites material to reflect the present truth, thinks too much, keeps diary of revolutionary thoughts, buys the book/diary simply because he has to own it, diary keeps him sane, remaining sane will continue human heritage
Winstons diary reflections and his beliefs
-first wrote Down with Big Brother several times
-believes the proles will overthrow the Party one day and hope lies with them
-freedom is the right to say 2+2=4
-intelligent people destined to be caught while stupid people will survive
-the only proof that the government lies is ones instinct
-realizes that there is no way to compare old life before Revolution with present life
-in moments of danger you are fighting your own body
Winston has memories of his childhood that reflect wars, disappearance of his family.
He has several dreams including one about the dark-haired girl in the Golden Country, a nightmare in which he faces a wall of darkness, and one in which OBrien tells him they will meet in a place without darkness.
Symbol of Winstons life- the coral paperweight
OBrien brought Winston to Ministry of Love to cure him of his insanity and convert him.
He empties Winston of knowledge and fills him up with Party beliefs.
The purpose of the torture is not to extract a fake confession, but to alter the way that Winston thinks.
OBrien takes him to Room 101 when Winston says he still hates Big Brother.
Winston saves himself from the rats when he does what OBrien wants him to do, betray Julia.
Ministries of Oceania
Oceanias four ministries are housed in huge pyramidal structures, and visible throughout London, displaying the three slogans of the party (see below) on their facades.
The Ministry of Peace
Newspeak: Minipax.
Concerns itself with conducting Oceanias perpetual wars.
The society seems to immune to seeing violence in the novel. They even cheer for it, like in the war film, or the hangings of the enemies of the state.
According to Goldsteins book the main purpose of modern wars is to maintain the social structure.
The Ministry of Plenty
Newspeak: Miniplenty.
Responsible for rationing and controlling food and goods.
The Ministry of Truth
Newspeak: Minitrue.
The propaganda arm of Oceanias regime. Minitrue controls information: political literature, the Party organization, and the telescreens. Winston Smith works for the Records Department (RecDep) of Minitrue, “rectifying” historical records and newspaper articles to make them conform to Big Brothers most recent pronouncements, thus making everything that the Party says true.
The Ministry of Love
Newspeak: Miniluv.
The agency responsible for the identification, monitoring, arrest, and torture of dissidents, real or imagined. Based on Winstons experience there at the hands of OBrien, the basic procedure is to pair the subject with his or her worst fear for an extended period, eventually breaking down the persons mental faculties and ending with a sincere embrace of the Party by the brainwashed subject. The Ministry of Love differs from the other ministry buildings in that it has no windows in it at all.
The ministries names are ironic — the Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Plenty: