1984 is a story meant to reveal the truth behind the government's role in society. Written by George Orwell, it tells a story of two lovers who are torn apart by an evil government due to their lack of support for it. The government, or Party as it is referred to in 1984, tortured these lovers until each were brainwashed and were patiently awaiting their deaths. Each of the masks are a representation of the lovers and one member or the Party who took part in the lover's demise. The first mask is a representation of O’Brien, a political leader or member of the Inner Party. His role in the story was of utmost importance to the plot. Throughout the largest portion of the story, O’Brien presents a hope that the readers silently look to, believing …show more content…
he will make a difference in the lives of the lovers and even make a difference within the Party. However, upon chapter three, the readers see that O’Brien is not only a true member of the Party but also plays as one of the main figures within the Thought Police, an organization made to capture members of the Party who doubt its strength. O’Brien’s mask is painted red with black outlined around the eyes. Across the forehead and plastered where the eyebrows should be are over 20 eyes, staring straight at the viewer of the mask. There are several different explanations as to why the mask has been designed to look this way. Starting with the eyes, one must remember that O’Brien was a member of the Thought Police. The Thought Police controlled the lives of the Outer Party members through the telescreen. A telescreen gave out information much like a TV. However, it was never able to be turned off and “the telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously… [Winston] could be seen as well as heard” (Orwell 6). The eyes represent his part in the Thought Police and betrayal of Winston. The red face and black outline around the eyes work simultaneously toward an image that represents two separate ideas. The first idea is that O’Brien is a very ugly man. Winston himself describes O’Brien as an ugly man with a worn face several times throughout the book. The black outlining around the eyes was made to resemble the worn look of O’Brien’s face. Black surrounds the eye, giving a sunken-in look. Underneath the eye is a thick layer of black paint, representing the tired bags under his eyes. The second idea the mask wants to convey is a look resembling satan. The readers understand that O’Brien is truly an evil man. The go-to look for satan is often an ugly red face and dark, evil-looking eyes. With this common knowledge, the mask appears very ugly and evil, a good representation of O’Brien. The second character to receive a mask was a main character by the name of Julia, the lover of the main character.
Julia was described by Winston as the ideal Party girl. She was a member of the Anti-Sex League and participated in many community events. Later readers learn the Julia is very much against the Party and falls in love with Winston. Truthfully the relationship between the two can only be described as strange, but it works for them. Julia’s rebel spirit is later dimmed when she is caught, tortured, and brainwashed to believe the doctrine of the …show more content…
Party. Julia’s mask has two sides which represent her deception of the Party.
The front of the mask is painted white. Although not planned, the white paint seems to be cracking and breaking, almost see-through. This represents Julia’s cover that she wears for the Party. She could pretend, but the longer she left the mask on, the paint began to wear more and more thin. There is also a small ribbon across the forehead. It is bright red, the color of the Party, and wraps around the entire front of the mask. Above the ribbon are large words stating “Anti-Sex League,” a group of people who agreed to never have sex. The front of the mask is very simple, as it should be. Any true Party member was a simple person who never thought on their own. However, the back of the mask reveals the true thoughts of Julia.The entire back of the mask is painted black with words written in white. Each word or set of words represents Julia’s thoughts and motives. The mask is painted black to represent that Julia is not a pure Party member. Julia herself even stated that “girls are always supposed to be so pure. Here’s one who isn’t, anyway” (Orwell 109). Based upon this quote, the bottom of her mask has a short statement saying “trade purity for pleasure,” a very fitting quote for Julia. In this relationship, Julia and her lover are very different in one way: Julia thinks that life is for living. She believes in doing anything and everything she can to have a good time. Based on that, in the corner of her
mask is the single word “alive.” The most important words, however, are located at the top of the mask, These words read “I love you,” the single, most important line of the story. The words written on the mask were the same words Julia had written on a paper given to the man she loved. This was a vital and pivotal point in the story. The final mask is a reflection of Winston Smith, the main character in the story. Most main characters of any story represent a hero-type quality and Winston does not have this characteristic, making him a very different character from what readers would expect. Winston is the lover of Julia and, as earlier stated, the two were torn apart by the Party. Winston had never supported the Party. In turn, there is no red located anywhere on his mask. Winston's mask is painted half black and half white. On each side there is writing of the opposite sides color, similar to a yin-yang symbol. At the top of the mask is a small pencil painted black and white to match the mask.The pencil was placed there to incorporate the part of the story where Winston wrote in his journey. It is a symbol of all of the thought he has toward Big Brother and the world itself. All of his thoughts about the world were contained within that journal so including it into the artwork was of great importance. All white on the mask represents the Party and all black represent Winston’s thoughts. The white half of the face represents, just as Julia’s did, the “mask” Winston wears in front of the world to show he supports the party. The black half of the mask shows his true feelings toward the party: “I hate purity, I hate goodness. I don’t want any virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone to be corrupt to the bonnes” (Orwell 104). Written on the black side of the mask are his feeling at the end of the book: his love for BB, or Big Brother, and two statements he learned while being “cured” by O’Brien. However, the words printed in black on the white side of the mask are the most important. Winston in often recorded stating that his life is just the same as his death. While Winston is being tortured, O’Brien makes a statement, “You know the Party slogan- slavery is freedom? Has it ever occurred to you that it is reversible?” (Orwell 218). When using this technique, the mask tells both of the important messages that Winston applies to his life, both before and after being tortured: Life is Death, Death is Life. These both greatly apply to Winston, as all readers see throughout the book. 1984 challenges readers to look beyond what can easily be seen. In his book, How to Read Literature Like A Professor, Thomas Foster challenges readers to do this exact thing. One quote from his book states, "What we mean in speaking of "myth" in general is story, the ability of story to explain ourselves to ourselves in ways that physics, philosophy, mathematics, chemistry - all very highly useful and informative in their own right - can't” (Foster 65). In saying this, he is challenging the reader to see the truth of how the book can relate to oneself, but not through a traditional lense like science or philosophy. Just as the author challenges the reader, O’Brien forced Winston to look past his “simple knowledge” and see the “truth.” Of course, O’Brien and Orwell had very different purposes as to why one should look past tradition, it is true that both used a similar technique to arrive at a specific goal. Each of the three masks made show the true inner working of the characters in 1984. Any viewer who has read the book can understand the method behind the making of the mask. 1984 is a book that challenges the reader to look beyond what can easily be seen and into area one never thought to explore.
Julia instructs Winston how to return to London. The two arranged meetings where and when they would meet again. Julia reveals that she is not interested in the revolt. Although, she is a personal rebel. Winston reveals information to Julia about his wife Katherine which he decided weather to not killer her or not. Winston returned to Mr. Charrington’s offer: he had rented the room above his shop in order to spend some private time with Julia. Winston reveals his fear of rats.
1984, a dystopian novel, was written by George Orwell. Winston Smith, the protagonist, lives in a society where people have restrictions both mentally and physically. The story takes place in Oceania in the year 1984. Citizens of Oceania do not lead personal lives because the people are constantly being observed by telescreens. Thinking individually or thinking against the Party, which is the government of Oceania, is considered thoughtcrime. People are vaporized for doing such things.
1984 was written in 1948 and published in 1949 by Eric Arthur Blair under the pen name ‘George Orwell’. It is set in the year 1984 in Airstrip One, which is a province in the country of Oceania. The world is in a constant state of war between Oceania, and the other two countries, Eurasia and Eastasia. Oceania is controlled by English Socialism, or INGSOC in Oceania’s language, Newspeak. The powerful Inner Party controls the country using omnipresent surveillance, and manipulation. Every part of life is regimented and controlled, but the only crime is ‘thoughtcrime’: independent thinking and individualism. Big Brother is the figurehead of the Inner Party, and throughout the book, it is heavily implied that he may not really exist. The people
Orwell utilizes Julia’s character in order to capture the attitude of the oppressed as well. Winston wonders, “Any kind of organized revolt against the Party, which was bound to be a failure, struck her as stupid. The clever thing was to break the rules and stay alive all the same” (Orwell 131). Julia has no interest in overtly fighting the Party because she believes that the rebellion would never work out in her favor. Winston goes on to think:
She presents herself as a passionate Party follower, but underneath the surface she embodies the spirit of a bird; her desires are to be free and enjoy life. Winston is the complete opposite; he is consciously determined to differentiate fact and fiction. This is shown when Winston learns about Julia’s sexual history. His heart leapt out of his heart. Scores of times she had done; he wished it had been hundreds-thousands.
The novel 1984 is one that has sparked much controversy over the last several decades. It harbors many key ideas that lie at the root of all skepticism towards the book. With the ideas of metaphysics, change, and control in mind, George Orwell wrote 1984 to provide an interesting story but also to express his ideas of where he believed the world was heading. His ideas were considered widely ahead of their time, and he was really able to drive home how bleak and colorless our society really is. Orwell wrote this piece as a futuristic, dystopian book which contained underlying tones of despair and deceit.
Julia, another member of the Outer Party is no exception. Like Winston, she abhors the policies of her government but mostly those related to laws related to sex. The backbone of her individuality lay within her sexuality. Julia stated that she lost her virginity at an early age and engaged in sexual activity with numerous men over time. Her sexuality is also a point for her weakness due to her desire to be with Winston romantically and sexually. Due to this, it puts her independence and character at stake. This is demonstrated when she agrees to meet O’Brien under with Winston under his influence. It emphasizes how attached she is to Winston and unwittingly put her independence and character at stake. However, the burden of her responsibilities as a citizen comes back to haunt her. This is demonstrated when she is captured by the Thought Police along with Winston. Both Julia and Winston realize that they shall die and this demonstrates the consequences of ignoring their responsibilities as members of the Outer Party. It also highlights how Julia attempts not commit to her duties as a member of the Outer Party due to her engaging in sex. Her independence and character is broken and turns into a delusory sense of elevated self-worth. This is evident in the change of her body shape and scar near her scalp. This indicates that like
She shows much more interest in Winston that she is supposed to. Both Julia and Winston are together but it is not equivalent to what the party expects. The Party expects the citizens to have relationships without any emotions toward one another, they are only prohibited to produce children. They are supposed to check in with the party so that it can be approved that there was no feeling toward each other. “All marriage between Party members had to be approved by a committee appointed for the purpose and though the principle was never clearly stated...the impression of being physically attracted to each other.” (Orwell 57) Which is one of the acts that shows that Julia is rebelling from what mostly affects
In Conclusion, 1984 is a novel that represents a called government. The government is taken over by “The Party”. The Party seeks to gain complete obedience from the people of Oceania. The main goal of the Party is to eliminate independent thought. The book is surrounded by psychological manipulation. Everything that happens throughout the book is government related and tends to manipulate some people of Oceania. Since their government is totalitarian they seek absolute power towards their people. This shows warning of what might happen id our government becomes too powerful, the party is trying to avoid any sort of rebellion from the people.
Starting as a journalist that does what she is told Julia breaks escapes the boundaries of her marriage: by no longer doing as Bertrand tells her to do, and no longer falls victim to his appearance by having sex after they fight. By doing this she feels free to to overcome society's rules, as many people are telling her to stop after she has written her article of the Vel d’Hiv, and starts to look for
middle of paper ... ... Due to the travesty of 9/11 society today lives in post 9/11 fear where citizens want protective polices in place but don't want those actions used against them. What government has done is manipulate this fear, while 1984 helps those who welcomed intrusive surveillance question this as another form of government manipulation to bolster government power over its citizens. Ultimately, common ideas found in the novel 1984, totalitarianism, surveillance, and lack of privacy are also ubiquitous in modern society and government.
1984 is about a totalitarian form of government that has taken over the country of Oceania. In this country, Big Brother controls all. He is the leader of The Party, which is the only form of leadership present in Oceania. A mystery that presents itself throughout the book, is whether or not Big Brother, the person, does or ever actually existed. Everything The Party does, ...
From the beginning of this story, it is shown how important Julia, or the girl with dark hair, is going to be in the life of Winston Smith. Although his feelings towards her are less than friendly, he explains only one reason for really disliking her. It is stated, “He hated her because she was young and pretty and sexless, because he wanted to go to bed with her and
George Orwell’s intent in the novel 1984 is to warn society about the results of a controlling and manipulative government by employing mood, conflict, and imagery.
The novel 1984 by George Orwell presents the readers an image of a totalitarian society that explores a world of control, power, and corruption. The main idea of government control presents itself in the novel by protecting and listening to the people of Oceania. However, Orwell suggests giving too much power to the government is a mistake because eventually the decisions they make will not be about the people anymore but rather themselves. In 1984, the power and corruption the party has is overwhelming for the people. There are no ways around the beliefs of the Party, the party attempts to control and eventually destroy any mental or physical resistance against their beliefs. The agenda for the party is to obtain mind control over its people and force them to adore their leader. The methods the Party uses to achieve its goal are: the use of constant propaganda and surveillance, the rewriting of history, and Room 101.