In "Book Two," Winston Smith is torn between his personal guilt over commitment to his job and his traditional trust/belief in the One State, and his overwhelming curiosity which is fueled by other relationships and a yearning for something more/better. In your opinion, why is Winston having a difficult time buying in to what Big Brother and the State are selling? Explain and support. Are his small acts of defiance (questioning) a form of protest? Why/Why not? Compare/contrast Winston's small rebellion to a more current act of rebellion within the United States (think Tea Party Movement, Occupy Wall Street, Anti-War Protests, etc.) in all facets - what they are fighting for, who they are rebelling against, the way their protests seen by the government, the way their protests are seen by the masses. Ultimately, the purpose of this blog is to examine how Orwellian we have become.
I believe Winston is having a difficult time “buying in to what “Big Brother” and the State are selling” because he knows that what they are selling isn’t the real deal. (Especially, since “Big Brother” does not exist. Instead, “he” is just a creation of the Party for control.) Winston knows that there is more to life (that life can be better) than “Big Brother” is saying it is. The marriage council will not marry two people if they have any form of physical attraction. The girl with the dark hair, Julia, hands Winston a note saying “I love you.” The note profusely confused him to the point that “he was too stunned even to throw the incriminating thing into the memory hole.” Instead, he reads the note over and over again. Winston could not focus throughout the rest of the day; the note was pressing on his mind too strongly. He does not dismiss the note, even after several days have passed. He thinks about Julia all the time. He notices that she is not in the lunch room. “His whole mind and body seemed to be afflicted with an unbearable sensitivity, a sort of transparency, which made every movement, every sound, every contact, every word that he had to speak or listen to, an agony.” He is definitely protesting the Party and “Big Brother when he has sex with Julia. “Sexual intercourse was to be looked on as a slightly disgusting minor operation, (Book One)” and that is not how it was looked on by Julia and Winston. These are two examples of how Smith is having a difficult time buying what “Big Brother” is selling. Winston knows that in the old days a couple in love would be able to see, and love each other whenever, and however, they want. Basically, he is having difficulty not being naturally physically attracted to someone.
Yes, Winston’s small acts of defiance are forms of protest. Him becoming physically attracted to Julia is a form of natural protest against “Big Brother”. Naturally people will be attracted to other people unless they are truly dedicated to something. In 1984, people truly dedicated to “Big Brother” may not be physically attracted to anyone. Winston is rebelling from this regulation of no physical intimacy set by “Big Brother”. Reading Goldstein’s book is clearly a rebellious act. Goldstein is the Party’s main enemy.
Winston’s rebellions are to “Big Brother’s” regulations, as war is to the Anti- war protests. Winston’s “rebellions” are natural; war and fighting is natural. War and fighting has almost always existed. Wars and fighting have occurred over invasions in ancient civilizations, or over who owns what land. Fighting, just like being physically attracted to someone, is natural. Winston and the Anti- war protesters are on opposite sides. Winston is protesting for natural occurrences, while the Anti- War protestors are fighting for unnatural beliefs. Both groups are, however, rebelling against the government. The majority of the rest of the population, in both situations, disagrees with what the protesters are protesting (whether right or wrong).
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