Rebecca Solnit, a modern day author, essayist, and activist once wrote that “The revolution is waiting, but it doesn’t look like what people expected”. Revolution has been both glorified and criticized in human society, but no matter the cause, it is a fundamental change in the status quo. When revolution boils down, it comes to passion, but also the willingness of the few to take great risks for the many. George Orwell’s 1984 returns again and again to a struggle with the concept of rebellion, especially against an oppressive government force like The Party. Does one take the chance of moving forward, or stay stagnant in their current situation? As readers follow Winston in this internal conflict, it’s clear to see that in order for a …show more content…
Described as “young”, “free-spirited”, and “practical”, Julia differs from Winston in many ways. She is open about her sexuality, and sleeps with several party members before she meets Winston. Although these acts are frowned upon in the eyes of The Party, Julia doesn’t intend them that way, and tells Winston that it is only to satisfy her own desires. Julia only “..questioned the teachings of the party when they in some way touched upon her life”(153). She was too young to remember a life that contradicted The Party’s teachings, and because she believed all Party propaganda to be lies, Julia had no interest in what those teachings were anyway. Julia simply does not care about what the Party is saying to the public. She doesn’t know whether or not it’s true or false, and can’t even remember what is said half the time. For example, Winston asks to recall 4 years ago, when Oceania was fighting with Eastasia, not Eurasia, despite Party insistence that it had always been the other way around. At first, Julia tells Winston that she never paid much attention to Party propaganda, because she didn’t care who was fighting the war. It is only after several minutes of arguing with Winston that Julia can actually remember the difference. Since Julia is so far removed from a cause to rebel, she has no desire to. Ironically Julia works for the Ministry of Truth, one of four essential branches of government
Julia is an agent of insurgence who seeks to oppose the Party with sexual promiscuity. Especially in comparison to Katherine, Winston’s ex-wife, Julia is a character that can be associated with darkness. “She [Julia] had her first love affair when she was sixteen, with a Party member of sixty.. Life as she saw it was quite simple. You wanted a good time; ‘they’, meaning the Party, wanted to stop you having it; you broke the rules as best as you could“ (Orwell 131). Her actions of rebellion such as stealing food from the Inner Party and having sex with Party men are what make Julia appear to connect to darkness.
“ In this room, I’m going to be a woman, not a party comrade.”This shows that Julia could not care less what the party says and she is going to do as she pleases.
Internal pleasures and emotions such as parenthood, love and sex are dangerous for the Party because “the lack of these essentials in people’s lives result in hysteria which can be transformed into war-fever and leader-worship.”(page 139) Julia creates a world of her own which can’t be altered by the Party while enjoying the simple pleasures of life. She doesn’t love the Party and sacrifice her life for the Party like she should; she develops an indifferent attitude instead. Unlike her partner Winston, she doesn’t question how the Party exists or why the party keeps all the power, she also shows no interest in the Brotherhood or engaging in anarchy acts against the party. She only finds pleasure in small acts of rebellion against the system like sneaking food or having sex and she tries to dodge the Thought Police with her enthusiastic disguise. She is an easier case to cure compared to Winston because she is somewhat integrated to the lifestyle of an average Party member except for her unorthodox leisures and has learned to survive in this system with her cunning personality and is more inclined to apply doublethink to her life unlike Winston. She is more of a survivalist, so she would be prone to give up easier compared to Winston while being cured in Room
Julia’s belief of the secret brotherhood leads them into trusting O’Brien, a high ranking member
In the novel 1984, Orwell produced a social critique on totalitarianism and a future dystopia that made the world pause and think about our past, present and future. When reading this novel we all must take the time to think of the possibility that Orwell's world could come to pass. Orwell presents the concepts of power, marginalization, and resistance through physical, psychological, sexual and political control of the people of Oceania. The reader experiences the emotional ride through the eyes of Winston Smith, who was born into the oppressive life under the rule of Ingsoc. Readers are encouraged through Winston to adopt a negative opinion on the idea of communist rule and the inherent dangers of totalitarianism. The psychological
Having a passionate relationship is no longer a foreign concept to Winston, he now loathes it. When having a conversation with Julia he thinks, “. With Julia, everything came back to her own sexuality." As soon as this was touched upon in any way she was capable of great acuteness.”. Winston does, in fact, enjoy the sex, but after seeing Julia for months at this point, he realizes their differences. Julia is focused on having a sexual relationship with people, but not committing anything that would affect the integrity of the party’s rule. When Winston thinks, “ With Julia, everything came back to her own sexuality”, it is showing the signs of a disconnect. While the love for Julia has not changed in this passage, his quest for anti-Big brother actions is not fully satisfied. The physical relations between Julia and Winston only scratches the surface on what Winston desires.
The Proletarian woman is a symbol of fertility which makes Winston ponders over how his lover, Julia will never bare children and so defying the Party which Winston loves the fact that Julia has no capacity to complete her ‘duty’ as she is ‘corrupt to the bone’ and has the desire to tear the party to pieces. We wonder about her real personality whether she is so ‘corrupt’ to change her whole nature to manipulate men. She could be the link that captures the depths of Winston’s mind to rebel against the party. Unknown to Orwell, Julia
The effort the two lovers must put in to see each other is unthinkable, as they must avoid telescreens and microphones almost everywhere they turn. When Mr. Charrington allows them to use his room without a telescreen, they take full advantage of it. Seeing as Winston is still married to his wife and sexual acts are illegal, Julia and Winston defy the Party in more ways than one. Winston has changed from full obedience to the Party to defying it due to his outsized amount of hatred for Big Brother. Julia and Winston engage in negative talk about the Party, which puts them subject to arrest.
Julia is first shown as a sexless figure since she is a member of the Anti-Sex League. When Winston first sees Julia, he does not know her name. He only knows that she works in the Fiction Department. Winston “disliked nearly all women, and especially the young and pretty ones. It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers-out of unorthodoxy” (10). This demonstrates that at the beginning of the novel, he does not like Julia. He thinks that she is dangerous, and wants to get him in trouble. He thinks that she is a member of the thought police and that she will turn him in. This proves the assumptions of men and how Winston just assumes that Julia is dangerous. According to Meia, a writer for Medium, “Winston started out hating Julia simply because he wanted to have sex with her. In knowing, or assuming, that that would never happen, Winston finds himself cheated out of something that he feels he ought to have” (Meia). Winston does not like Julia because he feels like she will get him in trouble, but he has an attraction toward her. With her Anti-sex League sash, he thinks that she will follow the rules of the Party. He feels like if he would have sex with the young and beautiful Julia without getting caught, then that would be the ultimate rebel and they will defeat Big Brother. Winston thinks that all women in Oceania are all complete followers of the Party and will not disobey the laws. However, Julia's appearance deceives Winston, and he finds out that she is unorthodox and has the same intention as he
Julia and Winston met through passing through each other, on Winston’s way to the bathroom. Julia gave Winston a note, which has “I love you” (108). written on it. They both go to the Victory Square, and leave for the forest together. The significance about this location is that it reminded Winston of his dream of having an affair with a dark-haired woman. They are both alike because of their rebellious actions. “She had named a place where they could meet after work, four evenings hence” (140). Both individuals participated in anti-party activities. Additionally, they agreed to dislike the government. However, Winston yearned to change their society, while Julia wanted to break the rules herself. The main character was more outward-thinking and empathetic towards his world. Julia believed her life was okay as long as she did not get caught and subsequently killed.
Living in a world that continues to make advancements technologically and politically, a book written more than 50 years ago still warns the world of what could happen if government becomes too forceful. Because of George Orwell's strong hatred for totalitarianism and its life dictating qualities, readers can get a taste of the perfect "dystopia". Though the people of today have been warned and are afraid of an all controlling government, they continue to allow the concept of 1984 to become more and more real. If people continue to just watch their governments make decisions and not ask questions, they will fall victim to its power. If a man not of this time understands the terror of totalitarianism, everyone should
to upset or even faze Julia. Like Winston, she hates the Party and sees through many of its
Julia is the epitome of everything that Winston loathes; pretty young women, for it makes him think of his own wife and emphasizes his jealousy. However we eventually find out that she shares Winston’s ideals about the hatred of Big Brother, and she is described as a “sexual rebel”, and had sex with various Party members, but saves herself from being caught by the Thought Police by wearing the red sash of the Anti-Sex League. Julia deceives almost everyone in this dystopian society, by posing as an innocent young woman, but secretly rebelling and hating the Party. Julia’s deceiving nature is indicated through her “ripping off the scarlet sash of the Junior Anti-Sex League, and flinging it onto a nearby bough.” The choice of diction used by Orwell emphasizes both Julia’s reckless nature and her dislike for the party; “flinging” the sash indicates to the audience that she does not actually believe in the Junior Anti-Sex League; that is was indeed a cover to protect herself from being caught, and the word “scarlet” to describe the color of the sash is perhaps even a warning or a foreshadowing that something bad will happen in the future with Winston and Julia regarding the validity of Julia’s membership in this chastity pledge. Through her actions, Julia has been deceiving the Party for a long time, as well as deceiving Big Brother for she has not been caught for 12 years, until her and Winston’s affair becomes known to the Thought Police.
The main character in George Orwell’s 1948 novel, 1984, Winston Smith can be seen as many things. To some, he may be a hero, but to others he is a coward and a fool. Throughout the novel, Winston’s characteristics are explored, and readers are shown the reasoning behind Winston’s twisted mind. It is evident that although Winston thinks he had control over his own mind and body, this is an imagined factor. The world of 1984 is one of a totalitarian society, where no one can be trusted, and no one is safe, Winston being the primary example of one who trusted thoughtlessly.
1.) Before Julia and Winston became intimate with each other, they met when Julia and another acquaintance entered a room inside of the Fiction Department. At first, Winston was afraid of Julia as he believed that she “gave him the impression of being dangerous than most” (10). After Winston and Julia became acquainted with each one another, they first ran into each other when Julia gave Winston a note that stated “I love you.” When Winston and Julia formally meet up at the countryside, they began to engage in more intimate activities. The significance of the countryside was that it directly refers to the “Golden Dream” Winston was thinking about, which ultimately fulfils his motives. Julia and Winston were similar through their mutual hatred towards the ideas inherited by the Party. The differences between the two were that Julia wanted to continue to embark on their relationship, while Winston thought that he was to cause potential trouble by loving her.