Transcript 1984
1984 Book 2; Chapter 9 Ricky Reinoso and Alexis McClellan Characters • Winston Smith- is a hard worker as is proven in this chapter by the fact that he worked 90 hours in five days. • He receives the book in the briefcase but has not had the chance to read it for six days. • He reads the book while in the room above Mr. Charrington’s shop and is convinced after reading it that he is not insane and that all along he has been right. Characters • It is only by indirect means that you get to know Winston’s character. It doesn’t specifically state that he is a hard worker but when it says things such as “all the blood was drained out of him and he was gelatinous with fatigue”, you know this is true. We are also indirectly told how Winston feels about Goldstein’s book Characters • Julia- In this chapter she is glad Winston gets the book but she isn’t really interested in it. Indirectly, you know this because when he tells her he got the book, she says “Oh good.” and continues making coffee. • Later on, to prove how uninterested she is in it, she falls asleep while he is reading it aloud. Newspeak • blackwhite-the ability to believe that black is white or even better to know that black is white • crimestop-protective stupidity or the ability to stop short at the start of any dangerous thought • doublethink-the power of holding two contradictory beliefs at the same time Vocabulary • collectivism-wealth and privilege are possessed jointly-“The only secure basis for oligarchy is collectivism.” • expropriated-taken away from a person the possession of or right to property-“If the Capitalist class is expropriated, Socialism must follow.” • fecundity-intellectual creativity-“Eastasia is protected by the fecundity and industriousness of its inhabitants.” Vocabulary • gelatinous-having the consistency of gelatin or jelly-“Winston was gelatinous with fatigue.” • gyroscope-a wheel or disc which spins freely about an axis-“A gyroscope will always return to equilibrium.” • Oligarchy-a form of government in which the ruling power belongs to a few persons Literary Elements • Diction- Orwell chooses words that are contradictory in the slogans of the Party such as War is Peace and Ignorance is Strength as chapter titles for his book to show how doublethink is important in deceiving the people in a totalitarian government. Other Newspeak words used in the chapter contribute to setting the tone of a totalitarian government. • Irony- After Winston gets the book he feels like he is a member of the Brotherhood and as he reads the book he thinks things will change in Oceania. Winston was excited that he “was reading in comfort and in safety” but this foreshadows what is to come. As the chapter ends, Orwell states “He is safe, everything was all right” referring to Winston. • A book within a book- Most of Chapter nine’s action is Winston reading from the book “The theory and Practice of Oligarchical collectivism”. Since it contains the history of the Party, Orwell is able to educate the reader on anti-totalitarianism not just once but twice as he reads it to himself then to Julia. Literary Elements Imagery- The way Orwell describes Hate Week allows the reader to sense the sights and sounds of the demonstration going on. He talks about the oxton on the scarlet-draped platform with a bald skull and disproportionally long arms. He creates a clear image of the noises heard-the shouting, singing, rolling of drums and grinding of tanks. At the end of the chapter Orwell creates the image of everything being right with the sun shining down on them and Julia’s body touching his own as he fell asleep. Discussion Questions #1- What is a major contrast between Winston and Julia? A major contrast between Winston and Julia would be that of Goldstein’s book and the possibility of a rebellion. Winston is very excited about the book, reads it with great detail and becomes excited with the possibility of the Brotherhood. While Julia on the other hand does not believe in the Brotherhood at all and falls asleep while Winston reads the book aloud. This shows that she does not care about it the way Winston does at all. Discussion Questions #2- Why must the three superstates be at war with each other? The three superstates must be at war with each other to maintain peace within each one superstate. Hence come the slogan “War is Peace”. Although there is some fighting that takes place between them along the borders, this only helps to keep the power of the High class. The war helps to split the intelligence of the Party which help keep power in line, with the Inner party having the most hatred for the enemy. Truly the war seems as if it is a cover up for everything that goes on in the three superstates and is more of a destuction of products of laborers than that of human lives. The whole scheme of the war also helps Oceania to use propaganda to go against Goldstein and the Brotherhood. Discussion Questions #3- How do you think that Winston will be affected by reading Goldstein’s book? Winston will become more confident about the idea of the Brotherhood and the rebellion since it was sort of a reassurance for him to read it from the book. He said “nothing was new to him” from what he read to his ideas. This made the book very appealing to him. He finally knows that he has been right about everything all along. Discussion Questions #4- How does the party manipulate the people through Hate Week? The party manipulates the people with the sudden changes of who they are at war with. This causes the people to get very upset and blame all of it on Goldstein who sabotaged everything which is exactly what the party wants. They have banners and signs saying who they are at war against and of Goldstein and all the hatred towards both builds up inside the people causing them to have a controlled anger against them. Also with the many hours they make the party members work leading up to Hate week, in a way forces the party members to go and see what they created. In all the party manipulates the peoples minds into believing whatever the they believe is right. Discussion Questions #5- Synopsis/Analysis This is the longest chapter in the novel and begins in the middle of Hate Week. Winston gets Goldstein’s book, “The Glory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism” during one of the rallies. The rest of chapter 9 includes chapters taken from the book including “War Is Peace” and “Ignorance is Strength”. The book deals with the makeup of the party and the three superstates. Synopsis/Analysis According to Goldstein’s book, there are three superstates, Eurasia (Russia and all of Europe), Oceania (U.S. and the British Empire) and Eastasia (all remaining nations). These three nations are always at war in order to ensure that the higher class always has the power. The aims of the Party are to conquer the whole surface of the Earth and extinguish the possibility of independent thought. Members are cut off from the past so there is no basis of comparison and history is controlled. Orwell digs so deeply into the political philosphies that the chapter becomes long, but it is necessary to achieve his aim of warning against issues of totalitarianism.