1984 Ampleforth Essay
Readers of 1984 may think that only the big betrayals that happen in the book are important, they are wrong. There are several fascinating characters found in George Orwell's novel 1984. One of those characters is Ampleforth. Learn about Ampleforth in this lesson and test yourself with a quiz.
Who Is Ampleforth?
Ampleforth is a character in George Orwell's incredibly popular novel 1984. He's a poet who works at theMinistry of Truth, which is the government ministry that churns out all the propaganda and rewrites history and fine art. He's a colleague of the novel's protagonist, Winston Smith, in the Records Department. Ampleforth's job is to rewrite old, pre-Big Brother poems, in order to make them total propaganda.
He must remove all religious …show more content…
references and any positive references to things besides Big Brother; every poem, after Ampleforth has finished rewriting it, must solely glorify Big Brother and the government. He does his job well because he enjoys language.
Ampleforth is characterized as being smart but a bit of a dreamer.
You can tell this job pains Ampleforth a bit because he struggles through his day, constantly scratching away. Winston shares an office with Ampleforth and often gets annoyed with how often Ampleforth sighs. Later, the reader learns that Ampleforth truly enjoys his work, adores the written word and is a poet in his heart of hearts--not some Party stooge, as evidenced by his unfortunate end.
Ampleforth the Poet
As mentioned above, Ampleforth's job in the Records Department is to rewrite old poems so they properly reflect adulation of Big Brother and the Party. The beauty of a character like Ampleforth is that the reader can learn so much chilling information about the Party's views from his mere inclusion and existence in the novel.
Maybe you're not a huge fan of poetry - it can be a bit confusing, after all - but just think about how scary Ampleforth's job is for a second. The government has a staff of people, poets, who rewrite old poetry, which is supposed to be a prime example of self-expression and true feeling...and what do they turn it into? Love poems to Big Brother. That's right - basically love poems to the symbol of a government that routinely imprisons and tortures its citizens and constantly watches them in their daily
lives.
So what does Ampleforth's job mean, really? Well, he reads old poems every day and rewrites them, which does take a bit of poet finesse. He takes out any mention of God or religion, any public figure pre-Big Brother, and basically anything that has nothing to do with Big Brother or the Party. He then has to rewrite the poem, sometimes almost entirely. He might have to take out words or even whole lines or phrases.
Who Is Ampleforth?
Ampleforth is a character in George Orwell's incredibly popular novel 1984. He's a poet who works at theMinistry of Truth, which is the government ministry that churns out all the propaganda and rewrites history and fine art. He's a colleague of the novel's protagonist, Winston Smith, in the Records Department. Ampleforth's job is to rewrite old, pre-Big Brother poems, in order to make them total propaganda.
He must remove all religious …show more content…
references and any positive references to things besides Big Brother; every poem, after Ampleforth has finished rewriting it, must solely glorify Big Brother and the government. He does his job well because he enjoys language.
Ampleforth is characterized as being smart but a bit of a dreamer.
You can tell this job pains Ampleforth a bit because he struggles through his day, constantly scratching away. Winston shares an office with Ampleforth and often gets annoyed with how often Ampleforth sighs. Later, the reader learns that Ampleforth truly enjoys his work, adores the written word and is a poet in his heart of hearts--not some Party stooge, as evidenced by his unfortunate end.
Ampleforth the Poet
As mentioned above, Ampleforth's job in the Records Department is to rewrite old poems so they properly reflect adulation of Big Brother and the Party. The beauty of a character like Ampleforth is that the reader can learn so much chilling information about the Party's views from his mere inclusion and existence in the novel.
Maybe you're not a huge fan of poetry - it can be a bit confusing, after all - but just think about how scary Ampleforth's job is for a second. The government has a staff of people, poets, who rewrite old poetry, which is supposed to be a prime example of self-expression and true feeling...and what do they turn it into? Love poems to Big Brother. That's right - basically love poems to the symbol of a government that routinely imprisons and tortures its citizens and constantly watches them in their daily
lives.
So what does Ampleforth's job mean, really? Well, he reads old poems every day and rewrites them, which does take a bit of poet finesse. He takes out any mention of God or religion, any public figure pre-Big Brother, and basically anything that has nothing to do with Big Brother or the Party. He then has to rewrite the poem, sometimes almost entirely. He might have to take out words or even whole lines or phrases.