The Importance of Music in George Orwells 1984.

George Orwell uses music to set the tone in 1984. In some instances, it inspires Winston Smith, the protagonist, or represents a need for something he cannot get from the Party. In others, it reminds him of tragedy, and in certain instances, it contains valuable insight from the past. It also represents Winston’s happiness between himself and Julia and predicts Winston’s fate. Music in 1984 plays an important role in the overall attitude of the novel. In the first instance, Winston hears a song and is instantly touched by a moment of tragedy. In the Chestnut Tree Café, he witnesses Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford, three men who were heroic in the early days of the Party. However, the Party caught up to them, but they could not catch up to the Party. Nonetheless, they were caught by the Thought Police. This incident is where he saw the men while the song “Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree, I sold you and you sold me,” was playing over the telescreens (Orwell 77). By using this song, Orwell created a dreadful tone. It represents the trade that they made to keep their lives, even though they were never the same. They were once prosperous Inner Party members, and they lived greatly, until the society around them changed. They were no longer orthodox as the definition had been distorted. They had lost everything, even their mind. Winston even says, “They were corpses waiting to be sent back to the grave” (Orwell 76). This may be foreshadowing to what inevitably will happen to Winston, although, his life was not excellent to begin with. He still loses everything in the end. Winston meets Julia, a woman who he wants to have sex with to rebel against the Party. Originally those were his intentions, but their relationship evolved into a mature, developed emotional relationship. She leads him to the Golden Country, a beautiful place full of nature where they seem untouchable. It is here that they witness the striking song of the thrush bird (Orwell,