Chapter 5 part 2

Winston's friend, Syme has been evaporated.  To make sure Winston instincts were right he went to the notice board of the chess committee in where Syme was a member but  his name was not found as if he had never had existed.

Everyone was very busy for hate week preparations, stands had to be erected, effigies built, slogans coined, songs written, rumors circulated, and more photographs faked. The anthem or the hate song was all made by drums and the telescreen was consistently showing it.  At the same time, rocket bombs were thrown and had killed a large amount of people such as the one that fell on the theater in Stepney, or in the playground were many children were blown to pieces. Winston's and Julia's conspire went on, they have met for six times in Mr. charrington's shop. Winston started talking about all the things that the party does such as, forged documenting, changing history according to their perspective, but Julia was actually falling asleep. This type of knowledge was already known by her, but she found them so boring that she did not mind what the party was doing with history. She was more concern about the present and future. Julia sees the past as something that does not affect her,  since the truth will never be found out, and something that's a waste talking about. In the other hand, Winston has been trying to find more about his past, and its an interesting topic for him. I believe that talking about the past is more interesting for Winston because he is older and half of his memories are about the past which he is trying to bring them back to decode some mysteries in his life. But Julia is a young girl, and she had her memories very clear so, for her there is no need to find out anything. She is more of a girl who looks forward at the present and future, to always find a way to live a happy life breaking the rules and never getting caught, that's her purpose in life. Winston sees life differently, he wants to know, more about how things came to what they are now, a controlled society by an imaginary man who no one knows if he actually exists. ( BIG BROTHER).

Chapter 4 part 2

While visiting  Mr. Charrington's shop Winston realizes that he could meet up with Julia on the little room above the store. Since Julia was busy with the hate week preparations, she was not able to meet with Winston, he felt like she was cheating on him. He even thought how great it would be if he had a family with Julia, here we see that he is drawn to have a serious relationships not knowing how Julia will respond to his request. Finally when Julia meets with Winston in the rented room, Julia offers him sugar, coffee, and bread, something not everyone from the party could eat, only the inner party members had access to this luxurious food. After showing him the food, she decided to surprise Winston by putting make up on. They stayed in the room for the whole evening. Julia, notices a paperweight and Winston says to her that its a passage to the past, he imagines living inside the paperweight with Julia eternally.

As we can see,  Mr. Charrington knows about Julia’s and Winston’s affair, which I believe it might be perilous since he might reported to the thought police. Winston, as a lonely man who almost forgot how it felt when someone gave him affection, he would start wanting Julia for himself which might turn their perfect relationship upside down by Winston becoming more of a controller. In this chapter we also know that Julia knows the song of the St. Clement’s Church, which is such a great coincidence, in that song there might a hidden clue to understand their past, everything before the revolution that neither Julia or Winston have not figured it out. The paperweight is also a prominent symbol, its the world Winston wants for his life, which is to always be beside his girlfriend Julia.

Chapter 3 Part 2

In this chapter we can see that Julia and Winston have develop a romantic relationship between them. They started to set some rules when they meet. They will have to meet in different places, if they were on the street they could only talk for 30 minutes, and  they had to have an intermittent conversation.  It was hard to plan their rendezvous since Winston worked for 60 hours and Julia worked even longer. So, they could not meet every single day, since it was hard to plan a schedule that was good for both of them.

In order to camouflage propitiously, Julia would:  attend lectures, distributed literature for Junior Anti- Sex League, prepared banners for Hate week, and did collecting for saving campaigns. Winston also decided to volunteer one evening every week for 4 hours in the part- time munition so, he could start having good qualities of a good citizen and to not avert any possible suspicion. Julia had a perfect party record even though she is ont 26 years old, the party has trusted to work at the pornography department which has the strictest confidentiality. Julia does not remember anything before the 60’s, all she remembered is that before the revolution her grandfather disappeared when she was 8 years old. She had her first love affair when she was 16 with a 60 year old man who rather commit suicide that getting arrested.

Winston also talked about his wife Katherine described her as “goodthinkful” which meant natural orthodox, incapable of bad thought. His wife believed in the Ingsoc principles and in Big brother, he believes that if she was there she would of had denounce him to the thought police. Winston is scare to get caught by the thought police, and he thinks of death but Julia full of life, makes him believe that the only way to live the fullest of life is by doing the contrary of what the party says.

In order to survive and have a good time, you had to have an infallible record, so the party can trust you,  this way you can break the rules after and be ecstatic. I believe the party doesn't let their citizens be jubilant because its easier for them to control them and always checking what they do, if everyone had freedom to do what they want they wouldn't be working for so much hours, they would start to have other mentalities that can overthrow the leader, Big brother.

Julia was so young when she had her first affair, she was not able to have a childhood which means that in her life there must be a empty space that looks for one day having a family.If she has a daughter she will take of her a lot because she wont want her daughter to experience that same thing as what she did.  Julia and Winston are completely different on how they see the chance of surviving, Julia is full of youth and wants to live her life to the fullest.I believe Winston’s self- esteem will grow now that he was a girlfriend, he would find a new purpose for living.

Chapter 2 Part 2

It was on the second of May when Winston and the girl from the fiction department got to meet in the country away from the city of London, where they could calmly talk without been surrounded by telescreens. Winston was fortunate since no patrols asked him for his passport or asked him questions. When he took the train, most of the passengers were proles who were going to the country to visit their family. When Winston met with the girl they got to know more about each other. For example, the girl’s name was Julia, she was 10 or 15 years younger than Winston. Even though Winston was 39 years old , he had varicose veins, had false teeth, Julia didn't really mind all his imperfections. Julia fell in love with him because she notice in his face that he was against THEM, referring  to the party. In this chapter we get to know that Julia buys in the black market, since she gave to Winston a chocolate that tasted different than the regular chocolates. She was also a troop-leader in the Spies, voluntary work three evenings a week for the Junior Anti-Sex Leagues. Julia was the type of girl who is very active in her society, she did all this to used it as a camouflage so, she won't be a target to be followed by the party. After work, and volunteering she was the opposite of a perfect citizen, she used coarseness language as rebellion, and did not followed any Ingsoc teachings.

An analogy between our society and the society of 1984 is that if we go out of the country or even away from your neighborhood is important to take your passport or identification because you never know when the patrols might ask for it. Another resemblance is that there are black markets just like in our society, here Julia bought a chocolate. I wonder what would happen if they caught Julia buying in the black market? of if the party members were allowed to buy it.

Julia is a very queer girl because she likes Winston even though she is younger, I wonder why she is not with a guy of her age and weather because of age difference they can only see each other in secret. She is also astute to make the party think that she is like a role model that the society should look up to, since she participates, volunteers in most of the party’s activities. In the next chapter, I hope to see more about Julia’s comportment when the party is not watching her.  I wonder if there are more people like her who all camouflaging because they don't believe in Big Brother.

Chapter 1 part 2

There is no chapter nine, instead there is chapter 1 part 2. In the other chapters we had seen that the girl from the fiction department has caught Winston’s eye, during the hate hour or when Winston was getting out of the shop but they never really talked to each other. In chapter 1 part 2, we finally see that the girl from the fiction department meets with Winston as a really casual occasion. One day Winston was walking when suddenly he sees that girl with a bandaged, she falls on the side of her injured,  Winston immediately goes after her to see if she is alright. The girl gave Winston a folded scrap of paper in his hand. He didn't have no clue what the paper said, only that it must have some kind of political meaning, or might even be a threat from the Thought Police. After he sled his work into the pneumatic tube he decided to open the scrap of paper, and it read “ I love you”. Since that incident Winston Was always thinking of how to approach to her, or else she might forget about him and move on. He sees that the only way they can meet was during lunch hours, at first there will be some interruptions by WInston friend, Parson. Then we see that the girl had not be seen for three days at the lunch hours, and Winston starts to worry and think that she must be avoiding him because she has changed her mind.

Winston visits the community center in where he eats his meal in the canteen, was part of solemn discussion, played two games of table tennis and stayed for an hour on lecture called              “ Ingsoc in relation to chess”. Ingsoc is the ideology of the totalitarian government of Oceania. Ingsoc translated to “ English socialism”. Finally Winston  got the idea of how to approach to the girl, and that was by going to the cafeteria earlier than he usually does. Winston approached to the girl’s table and they clandestinely started talking:

‘What time do you leave work?’

‘Eighteen-thirty.’

‘Where can we meet?’

‘Victory Square, near the monument.’

‘It’s full of telescreens.’

‘It doesn’t matter if there’s a crowd.’

‘Any signal?’

‘No. Don’t come up to me until you see me among a lot

of people. And don’t look at me. Just keep somewhere near

Here they met as they planned and when they got there, they made another arrangement  for another meeting. The next appointment was on Sunday afternoon at Paddington Station but before they left they hold hands and parted away on their own direction.

I now understand why the girl from the fiction department appeared so many time in the other earlier chapter, she must had been looking at him since that time. I wonder why they both can’t meet together publicly and what would happen if the telescreen caught them? We can see that there is a community center in where people can have a fun time without thinking of work, so they can stay healthy by playing games such as table tennis. But the government teaching are everywhere and  it never rests, such as “ Ingsoc in relation to chess”. Is nice to see how this two people had the chance to meet and get to talk, but how can Winston say that he also likes her just by that note, and not even knowing her name, or her eye colour. I feel that in the next chapter we will see more about the relationship between the girl from the fiction department and Winston.

Chapter 8

Winston Smith takes a walk around at the neighborhood of the proles. By the time he gets there, he experiences a bomb, nicknamed a “steamer” by the proles. Winston decides to go in the pub, here he finds people drinking gin and talking about the lottery. The lottery was managed by the Ministry of plenty, and there was a small chance that a prole could win it. In the pub he finds an old man, who had lived before the revolution. Winston was trying to know more about how life was before the revolution but the man never said any interesting facts about the past. After the bungle plan of getting information from the old man, Winston entered to the antique shop where he once bought his diary. In the shop he bought a convoluted glass that was less than a 100 years old. The convoluted glass was going to be used as a paperweight. The owner of the antique shop was a man who had lived before the revolution, his name was Charrington, a 64 year old window. Charrington taught a nursery rhyme to Winston, “Oranges and lemons say the bells of St Clement’s, You owe me three farthings, say the bells of St Martin’s!” . After getting out of the shop, he finds himself with the dark- haired girl from the fiction department. He believes that she him is following him and envisaged hitting her in the head with a cobblestone. He also remembers what O’Brien had said to him in a dream “ We shall meet in the places where there is no darkness” and starts envisioning what it would be if the thought police took him away. 

The nursery rhyme, “ you owe me three farthings, say the bells of St Martin’s” comes form the poem oranges and lemons. In the real world, this is a nursery rhyme and a singing game which are are about churches near the city of London. 

Poem

Oranges and lemons,

Say the bells of St. Clement's.You owe me five farthings,Say the bells of St. Martin's.When will you pay me?Say the bells of Old Bailey.When I grow rich,Say the bells of Shoreditch.When will that be?Say the bells of Stepney.I do not know,Says the great bell of Bow.Here comes a candle to light you to bed,And here comes a chopper to chop off your head![1]

The games works this way, there are two people on both sides holding hands in a form of an arch,  the players will pass through, if the arch drops and the children are caught in the middle: they are out, and will have to make another arch. We do not know the meaning of the nursery rhyme but there is one theory that its about child sacrifices. I believed its a rhyme about people been killed for their crimes, we can find it in the last line, “And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!”. The interesting fact that Winston mentions is that he has never heard the sound of bells. If he has never heard the sound of bells it must mean that there are no churches since it might be prohibited. In the addition, there must be some reason why the party does not allow people to worship a God or Gods. We still don't know why Winston always writes to O’Brien in his diary and even dreams about what he says. What O’Brien might meant by  “ We shall meet in the places where there is no darkness” it must mean that the only way they can get to know each other is after the party is overthrown because that's when peace and light will shine through. It wont be possible to do it now because the telescreen is always watching them. In the next chapter I believe that the Thought Police will start tracking Winston because he is too curious of the past, which is seen as a threat by the party.

Chapter 7

‘Proles and animals are free‘ is the party's slogan of this chapter. In chapter seven we are introduced to the lifestyle of the proles, how life was before the revolution, and the the leaders involved in the revolution. Before the revolution London was a filthy city ,where the poor people did not have a roof to live or food to eat. During this time in history we find ourselves with customs such as:  kissing the pope's toe, and the use of pillory for humiliation and punishment, sometimes the device was be used for killing. By the phrase ‘Proles and animals are free‘ we are introduced to how the proles were perceived by the party. We can see that the proles were as less important as the animals, the proles were the subordinate class. This is so discriminating and humiliating, and a perfect example of how cruel and indifferent the party was.

The proles were the working class, thought to be innocuous and not peril by the party, but Winston knew that if one day the proles become conscious they will rebel against the party and maybe even. Now lets take a look at the life phases of the proles before the revolution.  At the age of 12 the proles started working, they married at the age of 20, and died at the age of 60. The proles were controlled by powerful men called the capitalists, they  were the owners of the lands in where the proles lived. The capitalists had the proles in their hands, they let the workers starved, flogged them, and fed them by bread crusts and water. The capitalists were also allowed to be in internal relationships with the women that worked in his land. You could identify the capitalists  by the clothes they wore, a frock coat which was a long black coat, and a stovepipe which is a queer shiny hat. They were treated with reverence and honor. We can compare this lifestyle as the lives of the peasants in the feudal system. The peasant will be the proles and the lords would be the capitalists. This system was discriminatory because people did not have a the freedom to be what they wanted to be and who they wanted to be, such as having access to an education to have a better future other than a worker of the capitalists.

Before the revolution children were sold on factories and capitalists having around 30 servants in their houses.  After the revolution was not so different as before the revolution since even now,  women worked on mines. The party always painted a perfect image of the way big brother was governing, but the truth was that everyone knew it was not like that but they had no choice than to believe it.  The party said that thanks to the revolution the proles were free. The party did not taught the proles their ideologies, they were only persuade to have a primitive patriotism, just in case the party needed to add longer hours of work and shorter wages, this way they will accept without no rejection. Part of the doublethink principle is that the proles should be considered to be natural inferiors, and kept in subjection like animals. I believe the party was discriminating them and lowering their self-esteem, so the proles could not have confidence in themselves and never succeed . This way the proles would never question their lifestyle and accept the partys desire. I wonder why the proles has not rebel against the party and the populations of the proles that way they can rebel against the party with more support.

    The proles were allowed to commit promiscuity, they were allowed to divorce, and they were allowed to have a religion as long as they had a reasonable reason. This was a fair law for the proles since they can at least have a their own options in their relationships.

Winston says that in the telescreen he hears how the revolution has brought jubilance to the citizens: , the mortality rate of infants is lower, there is more food, and that everyone has a better lifestyle. But no one knew if it was true since history was always changing to the benefit of the party. We now have evidence of how the party lies and lies all the time.

Before the revolution we had leaders like big brother, Goldstein, Aaronson, Jones, and Rutherford but most of them were wiped out before the sixties because they were mostly accused of being traitors and counter revolutionaries. Some of the leaders disappeared, some executed after they confessed their crime. Big brother was a leader that survived since he was not accused of any crime. Other leaders like Jones, Aaronson and Rutherford were accused, arrested and charged of treason to the Party, the strange fact was that Winston had seen the three men at a café when they were rearrested for conspiracies with Eurasia and then were executed.

Later on in the chapter Winston finds a photograph of the three men attending a prominent Party function on the same date they were said to have been launching conspiracies on Eurasian soil. This strange fatc shows how the party makes up and change history according to their benefit. Winston says that the party has such an amaizing energy to persuade the citizens that they even make you believe that 2 plus two is 5 and not 4. At the end of the chapter we have two prominent and worth emphasizing phrases that causes you to ponder.

“ I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY “, this slogan is telling  us that he knows how to falsify a document since he works in the department of truth but doesn't understand why the government is making them do this. I assume that the government is doing this so, the citizens never know the truth! and there we can understand why its called the ministry of truth. Their main purpose is to eliminate doubts, erase true history that can cause rebeliation, contradictions to their ideologies. The second phrase is “ Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.“ in this phrase we can understand that since the party makes them believe that two plus two is five this means that Winston is conscious that he is not living a free country, he knows he is been controlled by the party and has no other choice to accepted.