Compare And Contrast 1984 By George Orwell
Sydney Derrick
Ms. Jody Herndon
English IV Honors
14 October 2013
Julia vs. Winston in 1984 by George Orwell
The Modern Period of British literature was often written about one person trying to find comfort and satisfaction in a world that has lost its values and traditions. Writers of this time would often show the characters dealing with societal struggles and their ways of overcoming them. George Orwell is one author of this era who shows characters facing and dealing with a society that no longer has values. Orwell’s 1984 is set in a totalitarian society where everyone and everything is watched by Big Brother. People work to cover up the lies of the Party to make Big Brother look better even though they secretly hate it. The two lovers, Winston and Julia, represent the two contrasting ways to resent the oppressing society they live in, but still have a common goal. Winston acts and thinks rebelliously in a much more ideological manner while Julia enjoys personal rebellious acts to keep her satisfied.
Winston Smith, acting in rebellion, …show more content…
begins to write in a diary he bought from a poor village where the proles live. Orwell writes, “The thing that he was about to do was to open a diary. This was not illegal (nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws), but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a forced-labour camp” (6). Winston does not mind taking risks to show his hatred toward the Party, even though he works for the Party. As Winston begins to write (after a hand cramp, that is), his brain gets to reeling and not after too long, the paper is halfway filled up with “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (18). Without even thinking, Winston naturally writes this. His diary entries show that naturally his brain goes to how much he hates the Party and that he does not care what he has to do—Winston is filled with rebellion and has had enough of the Party’s nonsense. To illustrate his direct defiance to the Party, Winston wrote in his journal “theyll shoot me i don’t care theyll shoot me in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother they always shoot you in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother” (Orwell 19).
In addition to writing about how much he hates the Party, Winston includes the proles and the possibility of rebellion in some of his entries. In his diary, Winston records his thought that if there is hope, it lies in the proles (Orwell 69). Because of the large number of people that are a part of the proles, Winston believes that they are the only chance of a successful rebellion-- if only they knew their strength. Winston explains this in his diary, “Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious” (Orwell 70). Pen agrees with the fictional character Winston when he states, “Because the masses are relatively free, whereas his own life is rigourously controlled, they could seize the opportunity to rise up and overthrow the oppressive state. The 'swarming disregarded masses ' could overwhelm the ruling minority if they acted consciously” (Pen). Winston wants to revolt and is somewhat frustrated by the fact that people underestimate the proles and, therefore the proles underestimate themselves. The proles, in turn, will not be able to “achieve the kid of goals Winston has in mind” (Pen). Pen makes a point that Winston wants to rebel even though thinking of it is Thoughtcrime. The character knows he cannot accomplish anything by himself but does have faith in “large masses” to be successful in an overthrow if they were to try. All of his ideas of the proles gathering to take part in a counterrevolution shows his desire for an across-the-board change where as Julia does not care how Big Brother affects other people. Winston is also very intrigued in the idea of an anti-Party group and the ability to disobey the Party with people of common interests. This is not something that Julia would want to take part in, because it includes a large-scale overthrow. She only really cares about avoiding the Party herself. Winston convinces himself that O’Brien is a member of the Brotherhood because of how he simply sees the man. Orwell explains Winston’s thoughts on O’Brien before getting to know him:
Winston had seen O’Brien perhaps a dozen times in almost as many years. He felt deeply drawn to him, and not solely because he was intrigued by the contrast between O’Brien’s urbane manner ad his prize-fighter’s physique. Much more it was because of a secretly held belief – or perhaps not even a belief, merely a hope – that O’Brien’s political orthodoxy was not perfect. Something in his face suggested it irresistibility. (11)
Winston is so obsessed with the idea of a rebellious group that he assumes O’Brien is on his side when O’Brien is actually manipulating him. If Winston were not so consumed in finding someone to lead a huge overthrow, then he may not end up how he does with O’Brien torturing him. Julia does not put this much interest into O’Brien and trying to find a force strong enough to overcome Big Brother. Winston, in a way, seems to like the idea of being bossed by O’Brien. Julia, on the other hand, believed in disobedience more for personal satisfaction and happiness, i.e. sexual acts. Orwell writes about Winston’s’ thoughts on sex, “And what he wanted, more even than to be loved, was to break down that wall of virtue, even if it were only once in his whole life. The sexual act, successfully performed, was rebellion. Desire was thoughtcrime” (68). While both agree that sex is an act of defiance, Julia’s views are still a little different on why people should still take part in these acts:
Unlike Winston, she had grasped the inner meaning of the Party’s sexual puritanism. It was not merely that the sex instinct created a world of its own which was outside the Party’s control and which therefore had to be destroyed if possible. What was more important was that sexual privation induced hysteria, which was desirable because it could be transformed into war-fever and leader-worship. (132-133)
The logic over sexual actions could also be seen as a reason for the start of Winston and Julia’s relationship. Julia is a part of the Anti-Sex League but admits to having sex with party members “hundreds of times—well scores of times anyways” with party members (Orwell 125). Winston sees sex as a crime because it is desire, but does he do it because it is disobeying the Party? Or because he wants it? Orwell explains Winston’s new reason for sex within the party:
His heart leapt. Scores of times she had done it: he wished it had been hundreds — thousands. Anything that hinted at corruption always filled him with a wild hope. Who knew, perhaps the Party was rotten under the surface, its cult of strenuousness and self-denial simply a sham concealing iniquity. If he could have infected the whole lot of them with leprosy or syphilis, how gladly he would have done so! Anything to rot, to weaken, to undermine! He pulled her down so that they were kneeling face to face. (125)
Winston has a different reason for participating in sexual actions than Julia. Julia does it because that is what she wants and her little way of defying the rules. Winston, on the contrary, has a plan that maybe it will corrupt the entire Party enough to make it easy for people to over throw Big Brother.
Winston and Julia do not share the same views in overthrowing the Party. Winston does understand this logic, but does not believe it would help to overthrow the Party. This is because Julia’s goal is not to overthrow the Part y but to simply go behind its back. Orwell states that Julia “had her first love-affair when she was sixteen” showing that Julia only really cares about making the best of her life and not about change for everyone like Winston (131). Julia seems more selfish than Winston. She does not think about the future because of her immaturity. She comes off as immature because she is not as old as Winston and does not really think ahead. Instead, she lives for the moment:
“‘…and even leaving a few records behind, so that the next generations can carry on where we left off.’
‘I’m [Julia] not interested in the next generation, dear. I’m interested in us [Julia and Winston].’
‘You’re [Julia] only a rebel from the waist downwards,’ he told her” Orwell (155-156).
Orwell also writes that Julia is happy to hear Winston tell her this and responds by hugging him (156). Julia does not care about taking large-scale stands against the Party because she grew up with it in power and that is all she knows. When Winston attempts to read to her a book by Goldstein, she falls asleep because she does not really care, and is fine with how her life is (Orwell 201-217).
The only time Julia is considered with the power of Big Brother is when the Party’s power somehow affects her directly, such as when she cannot have sex as she wishes. Julia seems to almost bring out a more rebellious part of Winston, because he starts to see how he should be happy like Julia. She tries to get away with the little things that make her happy and does not really care about the Party as long as she does not get caught and in trouble—but she still hates it. Winston, on the other hand, wants a change everywhere. He wants people to get together and overthrow Big Brother because of the oppression and his hatred for the Party. The reasons for their differences probably occur because Winston is older than Julia and can remember the past more than Julia. Winston has more ideological motivations, and Julia’s are much more for personal satisfaction and happiness.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold.
George Orwell’s 1984. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. Print.
Enteen, George M. "George Orwell And The Theory Of Totalitarianism: A 1984 Retrospective." Journal Of General Education36.3 (1984): 206-15. ERIC. Web. 14 Oct. 2013
"Modern/Post Modern Period of British Literature - 1900-1980." StudyGuide.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. .
Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Penguin, 1949. Print.
Stephens, Piers H. G. "NATURE AND HUMAN LIBERTY: The Golden Country In George Orwell 's 1984 And An Alternative Conception Of Human Freedom." Organization & Environment 17.1 (2004): 76-98. Business Source Premier. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Tyner, James. "Self And Space, Resistance And Discipline: A Foucauldian Reading Of George Orwell 's 1984." Social & Cultural Geography 5.1 (2004): 129-149. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Pen. "Module Five." The Proles in 1984. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
.
Ms. Jody Herndon
English IV Honors
14 October 2013
Julia vs. Winston in 1984 by George Orwell
The Modern Period of British literature was often written about one person trying to find comfort and satisfaction in a world that has lost its values and traditions. Writers of this time would often show the characters dealing with societal struggles and their ways of overcoming them. George Orwell is one author of this era who shows characters facing and dealing with a society that no longer has values. Orwell’s 1984 is set in a totalitarian society where everyone and everything is watched by Big Brother. People work to cover up the lies of the Party to make Big Brother look better even though they secretly hate it. The two lovers, Winston and Julia, represent the two contrasting ways to resent the oppressing society they live in, but still have a common goal. Winston acts and thinks rebelliously in a much more ideological manner while Julia enjoys personal rebellious acts to keep her satisfied.
Winston Smith, acting in rebellion, …show more content…
begins to write in a diary he bought from a poor village where the proles live. Orwell writes, “The thing that he was about to do was to open a diary. This was not illegal (nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws), but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a forced-labour camp” (6). Winston does not mind taking risks to show his hatred toward the Party, even though he works for the Party. As Winston begins to write (after a hand cramp, that is), his brain gets to reeling and not after too long, the paper is halfway filled up with “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (18). Without even thinking, Winston naturally writes this. His diary entries show that naturally his brain goes to how much he hates the Party and that he does not care what he has to do—Winston is filled with rebellion and has had enough of the Party’s nonsense. To illustrate his direct defiance to the Party, Winston wrote in his journal “theyll shoot me i don’t care theyll shoot me in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother they always shoot you in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother” (Orwell 19).
In addition to writing about how much he hates the Party, Winston includes the proles and the possibility of rebellion in some of his entries. In his diary, Winston records his thought that if there is hope, it lies in the proles (Orwell 69). Because of the large number of people that are a part of the proles, Winston believes that they are the only chance of a successful rebellion-- if only they knew their strength. Winston explains this in his diary, “Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious” (Orwell 70). Pen agrees with the fictional character Winston when he states, “Because the masses are relatively free, whereas his own life is rigourously controlled, they could seize the opportunity to rise up and overthrow the oppressive state. The 'swarming disregarded masses ' could overwhelm the ruling minority if they acted consciously” (Pen). Winston wants to revolt and is somewhat frustrated by the fact that people underestimate the proles and, therefore the proles underestimate themselves. The proles, in turn, will not be able to “achieve the kid of goals Winston has in mind” (Pen). Pen makes a point that Winston wants to rebel even though thinking of it is Thoughtcrime. The character knows he cannot accomplish anything by himself but does have faith in “large masses” to be successful in an overthrow if they were to try. All of his ideas of the proles gathering to take part in a counterrevolution shows his desire for an across-the-board change where as Julia does not care how Big Brother affects other people. Winston is also very intrigued in the idea of an anti-Party group and the ability to disobey the Party with people of common interests. This is not something that Julia would want to take part in, because it includes a large-scale overthrow. She only really cares about avoiding the Party herself. Winston convinces himself that O’Brien is a member of the Brotherhood because of how he simply sees the man. Orwell explains Winston’s thoughts on O’Brien before getting to know him:
Winston had seen O’Brien perhaps a dozen times in almost as many years. He felt deeply drawn to him, and not solely because he was intrigued by the contrast between O’Brien’s urbane manner ad his prize-fighter’s physique. Much more it was because of a secretly held belief – or perhaps not even a belief, merely a hope – that O’Brien’s political orthodoxy was not perfect. Something in his face suggested it irresistibility. (11)
Winston is so obsessed with the idea of a rebellious group that he assumes O’Brien is on his side when O’Brien is actually manipulating him. If Winston were not so consumed in finding someone to lead a huge overthrow, then he may not end up how he does with O’Brien torturing him. Julia does not put this much interest into O’Brien and trying to find a force strong enough to overcome Big Brother. Winston, in a way, seems to like the idea of being bossed by O’Brien. Julia, on the other hand, believed in disobedience more for personal satisfaction and happiness, i.e. sexual acts. Orwell writes about Winston’s’ thoughts on sex, “And what he wanted, more even than to be loved, was to break down that wall of virtue, even if it were only once in his whole life. The sexual act, successfully performed, was rebellion. Desire was thoughtcrime” (68). While both agree that sex is an act of defiance, Julia’s views are still a little different on why people should still take part in these acts:
Unlike Winston, she had grasped the inner meaning of the Party’s sexual puritanism. It was not merely that the sex instinct created a world of its own which was outside the Party’s control and which therefore had to be destroyed if possible. What was more important was that sexual privation induced hysteria, which was desirable because it could be transformed into war-fever and leader-worship. (132-133)
The logic over sexual actions could also be seen as a reason for the start of Winston and Julia’s relationship. Julia is a part of the Anti-Sex League but admits to having sex with party members “hundreds of times—well scores of times anyways” with party members (Orwell 125). Winston sees sex as a crime because it is desire, but does he do it because it is disobeying the Party? Or because he wants it? Orwell explains Winston’s new reason for sex within the party:
His heart leapt. Scores of times she had done it: he wished it had been hundreds — thousands. Anything that hinted at corruption always filled him with a wild hope. Who knew, perhaps the Party was rotten under the surface, its cult of strenuousness and self-denial simply a sham concealing iniquity. If he could have infected the whole lot of them with leprosy or syphilis, how gladly he would have done so! Anything to rot, to weaken, to undermine! He pulled her down so that they were kneeling face to face. (125)
Winston has a different reason for participating in sexual actions than Julia. Julia does it because that is what she wants and her little way of defying the rules. Winston, on the contrary, has a plan that maybe it will corrupt the entire Party enough to make it easy for people to over throw Big Brother.
Winston and Julia do not share the same views in overthrowing the Party. Winston does understand this logic, but does not believe it would help to overthrow the Party. This is because Julia’s goal is not to overthrow the Part y but to simply go behind its back. Orwell states that Julia “had her first love-affair when she was sixteen” showing that Julia only really cares about making the best of her life and not about change for everyone like Winston (131). Julia seems more selfish than Winston. She does not think about the future because of her immaturity. She comes off as immature because she is not as old as Winston and does not really think ahead. Instead, she lives for the moment:
“‘…and even leaving a few records behind, so that the next generations can carry on where we left off.’
‘I’m [Julia] not interested in the next generation, dear. I’m interested in us [Julia and Winston].’
‘You’re [Julia] only a rebel from the waist downwards,’ he told her” Orwell (155-156).
Orwell also writes that Julia is happy to hear Winston tell her this and responds by hugging him (156). Julia does not care about taking large-scale stands against the Party because she grew up with it in power and that is all she knows. When Winston attempts to read to her a book by Goldstein, she falls asleep because she does not really care, and is fine with how her life is (Orwell 201-217).
The only time Julia is considered with the power of Big Brother is when the Party’s power somehow affects her directly, such as when she cannot have sex as she wishes. Julia seems to almost bring out a more rebellious part of Winston, because he starts to see how he should be happy like Julia. She tries to get away with the little things that make her happy and does not really care about the Party as long as she does not get caught and in trouble—but she still hates it. Winston, on the other hand, wants a change everywhere. He wants people to get together and overthrow Big Brother because of the oppression and his hatred for the Party. The reasons for their differences probably occur because Winston is older than Julia and can remember the past more than Julia. Winston has more ideological motivations, and Julia’s are much more for personal satisfaction and happiness.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold.
George Orwell’s 1984. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. Print.
Enteen, George M. "George Orwell And The Theory Of Totalitarianism: A 1984 Retrospective." Journal Of General Education36.3 (1984): 206-15. ERIC. Web. 14 Oct. 2013
"Modern/Post Modern Period of British Literature - 1900-1980." StudyGuide.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. .
Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Penguin, 1949. Print.
Stephens, Piers H. G. "NATURE AND HUMAN LIBERTY: The Golden Country In George Orwell 's 1984 And An Alternative Conception Of Human Freedom." Organization & Environment 17.1 (2004): 76-98. Business Source Premier. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Tyner, James. "Self And Space, Resistance And Discipline: A Foucauldian Reading Of George Orwell 's 1984." Social & Cultural Geography 5.1 (2004): 129-149. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Pen. "Module Five." The Proles in 1984. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
.