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3.5/5
Non-Fiction
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Read as summer reading for AP Lit
Rating: 3/5
Pages: 308
Started: 18 August 2022
Finished: 25 August 2022
Summary:
By purchasing an old journal in which to write his thoughts, Winston Smith is committing thoughtcrime and is already condemned to death. Despite the overwhelming fear of being taken into the Ministry of Love to be tortured and killed for deviating from the willfully ignorant mindset of the Party, Winston cannot help but slip into further rebellion.
Thoughts:
Reading this book was a very weird experience. Up until the last hundred or so pages, I was so unattached to the characters and story that I was bored. Likely the lack of practice over summer contributed to my struggle to hunt for deeper meaning, but man, the first two-thirds of the book were rough.
I am not a fan of Orwell's style. His world-building is clever, certainly--I especially enjoyed the way he introduced Newspeak--but his writing feels more like an essay than a work of fiction, which I don't like. I prefer writing to read almost like verse, and this book was about as far from that as is possible. I also strongly disliked the characters. There was a point in the middle where Winston had shared a story about being an awful selfish brat as a child, which was followed up by Julia not caring about rebellion and falling asleep in the middle of a conversation, and it frustrated me so much. I don't need morally good characters; most of my favorites are decidedly evil at some points. But they need to have something going for them, and I struggled to feel any sympathy for Winston or Julia because they were so blandly unlikeable. That may have been the point--they were human, with many faults--but it still wasn't fun to read. I also almost quit the book when Winston was reading lengthy excerpts from The Brotherhood's book. It was like reading a textbook, but none of the information was real.
But the end of the book was interesting enough to take my rating from two stars to three. The exposition of humanity and power was fascinating, and the way the (unlikeable but decidedly there) essence of Winston was slowly worn away reminded me of Nora Sakavik's The King's Men in reverse.
While I doubt I'd recommend this book to anyone--the language and pacing were too frustrating--I don't regret reading it. Its takes on socialism and conspiracy and willful ignorance were both interesting and frighteningly timely, and with the way that the world seems perpetually on the edge of disaster, this book will likely be relevant for a long time to come.
Words:
Democratic Socialism (political stance) belief that capitalism is inherently incompatible with the values of freedom, equality, and solidarity
Dissident (adj) in opposition to official policy
Sanguine (adj) blood-red; optimistic or positive, especially in a bad situation
Truncheons (n) short, thick sticks carried as weapons by British police officers
Nebulous (adj) unclear, vague, or ill-defined
Specious (adj) superficially plausible, but actually wrong
Repudiate (v) deny the truth or validity of
Proletariate (n) workers or working class-people, regarded collectively (usually with reference to Marxism)
Pedantic (adj) of or like a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning
Cadging (v) ask for or obtain (something to which one is not strictly entitled
Sinecures (n) positions requiring little or no work but giving the holder status or financial benefit
Anodyne (adj) not likely to provoke dissent or offense
Actuated (v) cause (someone or something) to act in a particular way
Officiousness (n) the state of being assertive of authority in an annoyingly domineering way, especially with regards to petty or trivial matters
Fatuous (adj) silly and pointless
Febrile (adj) having or showing symptoms of a fever
Flagrant (adj) (of something considered wrong or immoral) conspicuously or obviously offensive
Persiflage (n) light and slightly contemptuous mockery or banter
Avaricious (adj) having or showing an extreme greed for wealth or material gain
Socialism (n) a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned and regulated by the community as a whole
Communism (n) a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is payed according to their abilities and needs
Desultorily (adv) lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm
Solipsism (n) the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist
Disseminate (v) spread (something, especially information) widely
Venereal (adj) relating to sexual desire or sexual intercourse
Vitriol (n) cruel and bitter criticism; sulfuric acid
AP Lit Review:
Ella Kirshbaum
Mrs. Housley
AP English Literature and Composition 5 September 2022
Title: Nineteen Eighty-Four Author: George Orwell
Era/Century: 20th Century Genre: Dystopian Setting(s):
Summer Reading Analysis
● Winston’s Apartment (blank, un-homey, with a constant sense of surveillance).
● The Vintage Store and the apartment over it (cozy, like it shouldn’t exist under the Party’s
domain).
● The Ministry of Truth (very clinical and surveilled as well).
● The Ministry of Love (the parts of it that Winston sees are full of torture implements,
very threatening).
● The Chestnut Tree Cafe (a place for rebels, avoided by people under suspicion but
frequented by those already broken by the Ministry of Love).
● The place in the woods outside of London (springy and hopeful, far away from the
surveilled London). Nationality: English
Key characters (note parallels, contrasts, foils):
Winston Smith - 39, thin and frail wearing blue overalls with blonde hair, in relatively bad physical health, and a relatively bad personality to match. His only remarkable traits are negative ones, and the rest of his personality is so bland, to demonstrate just how regular of a person he is. His overwhelming dullness makes him a relatively “projectable” character, which was likely Orwell’s goal: 1984 is a book about frightening ideas, and people being able to picture themselves in Winston’s place helps the ideas to come across even more strongly.
Julia - Described as a “girl” by Winston (which is majorly creepy, since they’re in a relationship). She is young, bold-looking but pretty with freckles, a good actress (enough to make Winston believe she wholeheartedly supports the Party) and is rebellious, but only from a personal standpoint. She laughs at how ridiculous the Party propaganda but doesn’t care in the slightest what horrible things they’re doing to others. Though she has no foil, she is sort of an opposite to Winston: she is young and pretty and clever and not swayed by the Party, but her true morals are purely selfish.
O’Brien - Burly, thick-necked, seems unusually civilized and easy to talk to. He is very high-up in the part, and seems to be good at his job. But by the end of the book, it is revealed that he was caught and his spirit broken.
The Proprietor of the Antique Store - sixty, frail but friendly, with white hair and a soft voice.
Key Conflicts:
● Winston’s desire to have his own thoughts versus the conformity of society
● The objective truth versus the Party’s version of the truth
● Hope against the dismal control of the Party – shown in Winston, and the Singing Woman
● Winston versus O’Brien during the torture
● Winston and Julia against the Party when they were hiding their relationship
● The Proles versus the Party (in terms of morals)
Distinctive structural elements:
● Important short phrases are written in a bold font: “Big Brother,” “War is Peace,” etc.
● All the characters in the book are quite bland. While I find this frustrating, it makes it easier for readers to pay attention to the ideas presented through their actions and
thoughts.
● The writing is also bland, and very hopeless. Its brevity and utter lack of beauty echo the
harshness of dystopian London in the year 1984, adding to the overall mood.
● Orwell uses lots of irony and oxymorons, especially in the Party’s propaganda: the party
says that “War is Peace” and that “Slavery is Freedom,” and many of their lies are so
twisted they are ironically funny.
● Orwell also sets Winston up as a hero–Winston begins the book slowly breaking free
from the Party’s control and finding himself taking a revolutionary standpoint–but Winston’s eventual complete conformity to the Party’s agenda clinches the books complete dystopian eeriness.
6-8 Standout scenes—associate with literary elements such as symbols, images, metaphor, foils, parallels, etc.
1. The first Two Minutes Hate (12-18).
The story of Goldstein vs. Big Brother that’s presented is very interesting. Though
neither are characters so much as symbols, they are presented as foils. The evil renegade vs. Big Brother creates a simple narrative that people can latch onto, cheering for their hero and booing the villain.
Goldstein is described as having a Jewish face. This layer of antisemitism creates another trait for which to hate the “rebel.” On the other hand, the name of Big Brother connotes kindness and protection.
c. Similarly to the anti-Goldstein message, the government's opposition of either Eastasia or Eurasia gives the people a concrete enemy to hate. Governments have much more leeway during wartime, since they can say everything is done in the name of defeating their enemy. The Party uses this philosophy, as well as the philosophy that people need a target for their emotions, and that of an evil other culture works perfectly to divert dissatisfaction away from the Party itself.
Goldstein’s weapon by which he recruits other rebels is called the book. The evilness of this unnamed books essentially presents knowledge as evil.
Goldstein’s face and voice are momentarily changed to those of a sheep. “Sheep” are both non-human (making it easier to dehumanize Goldstein) and are considered followers.
Chaos and noise and the violence of an enemy soldier change into calmness and silence in Big Brother’s face, presenting him as a relief, as the answer to all problems and negative emotions.
When Julia and Winston meet in the countryside
The moment Winston arrives, he notices Bluebells. Their youthful hope is such a
contrast to the fearful industry of London. However, according to flower lore,
picking bluebells invites bad luck.
Julia tears off her Junior Anti-Sex League sash, vehemtly casting off her
demureness in exchange for sexual intensity.
They share chocolate, which is both sweet and rich, and rare.
A thrush lands nearby, which symbolizes freedom. Its song speaks for Winston,
proudly announcing its opinion to the world when Winston can’t
Watching the singing woman, Winston finds a kind of peace or understanding right
before being captured
Song in such a dismal place is both hopeful and quietly rebellious. The woman’s
singing, just like that of the thrush, brings hope and freedom to a tamped-down
world.
The woman is not conventionally beautiful, but Winston is finally able to see the
beauty in her humanity.
Winston feels “mystical reverence” toward her, as if she were the matriarch of his
own family.
O’Brien destroys any hope of revolution that Winston has left (276)
O’Brien is the revolutionary Winston thought might be able to truly free him from the Party. Because of this, his inhumanely evil opinions are even harder to take because they are mingled with disappointment rather than expectation.
O’Brien threatens that the Party is going to override biology in several different ways. It has already torn apart the biological love and connection of the family by creating distrust between all people, and it is working on making sex legitimately pleasureless. It is also working on eradicating creativity. These are two very basic
biological functions of human beings that are being taken away by the totalitarian
government, which shows the true degree of their control over their subjects.
c. O’Brien tells Winston that there are thousands of others like him who have been
taken care of in the Ministry of Love. This erases the importance of Winston’s rebelliousness. The grandiosity of this information gives the reader a sense of true hopelessness.
Winston feeling lost once he is finally let out of the Ministry of Love (301)
Winston no longer has any interest in Julia, whom he was willing to be tortured
for before.
Winston meets Julia on a “vile, biting day in March.” Spring, as it was when
Winston and Julia first met, is supposed to symbolize new beginnings and hope. Their surroundings are ragged shrubs, which are a huge contrast to the trees that offered protection to the couple during their first meeting. But the dismal weather and setting negates that hope, rendering it dreary and full of despair.
Rather than craving a continued relationship with Julia, Winston wants to return to a warm place where he can get alcohol. After a traumatizing and demoralizing experience, returning to happy things is no longer possible. This is how the Party goes about breaking rebels.
When Winston finally fully conforms to the Party (308).
The spew of patriotism shows how thoroughly Winston has been broken. When
before logic overrode devotion to his country, he is now fully able to ignore truth. Dully remarking that Oceania’s enemy changed ten minutes prior, Winston is still capable of celebrating a victory in battle.
It is ironic that Winston now believes that he loves Big Brother, since earlier in the book he pledged that the Party could change facts but it would never be able to alter his emotions.
6-8 Quotable quotes (keep these brief and memorable)
“[...] an attack so exaggerated and perverse that a child should have been able to see through it, and yet just plausible enough to fill one with an alarmed feeling that other people, less level-headed than oneself, might have been taken in by it” (13-14).
“To do what everyone else was doing, was an instinctive reaction” (17).
“Always in your stomach and in your skin there was a sort of protest, a feeling that you
had been cheated of something that you had a right to” (61).
“And in thinking this he remembered, without apparent relevance, how a few weeks ago
he had seen a severed hand lying on the pavement and had kicked it into the gutter as
though it had been a cabbage stalk” (169).
“They could not alter your feelings; for that matter you could not alter them yourself,
even if you wanted to” (171).
Motifs
(repeated ideas/concepts):
“In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance) 194).
“What can you do, thought Winston, against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?” ( 271).
“But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother” (308).
● Truth and Propaganda
● Control
● Freedom
● Conformity and very limited sense of self
● Rebelling
● Totalitarianism
● Ignorance
● Lack of care for individual human life
Themes—each is expressed in a full sentence as a message
● If given the chance, people are frighteningly willing to cast off their compassion.
● Leaders who encourage ignorance and bigotry create mobs, who in turn give even more
power to the leader
● At heart, most people just want to fit in, and are willing to believe anything in order to do
so, including ignoring the most basic of logic. It’s much harder to be moral than it is to
follow the crowd.
● By dehumanizing an enemy, those in power can liberate the public from considering their
suffering. Similarly, by dehumanizing people as part of a conformist mob, they are easier
to manipulate.
● The lower class can be kept in a system by being too focused on survival to have the time
or energy to rebel. The upper class, who by nature has more time and resources, requires other methods to be managed.
Mrs. Housley
AP English Literature and Composition 5 September 2022
Title: Nineteen Eighty-Four Author: George Orwell
Era/Century: 20th Century Genre: Dystopian Setting(s):
Summer Reading Analysis
● Winston’s Apartment (blank, un-homey, with a constant sense of surveillance).
● The Vintage Store and the apartment over it (cozy, like it shouldn’t exist under the Party’s
domain).
● The Ministry of Truth (very clinical and surveilled as well).
● The Ministry of Love (the parts of it that Winston sees are full of torture implements,
very threatening).
● The Chestnut Tree Cafe (a place for rebels, avoided by people under suspicion but
frequented by those already broken by the Ministry of Love).
● The place in the woods outside of London (springy and hopeful, far away from the
surveilled London). Nationality: English
Key characters (note parallels, contrasts, foils):
Winston Smith - 39, thin and frail wearing blue overalls with blonde hair, in relatively bad physical health, and a relatively bad personality to match. His only remarkable traits are negative ones, and the rest of his personality is so bland, to demonstrate just how regular of a person he is. His overwhelming dullness makes him a relatively “projectable” character, which was likely Orwell’s goal: 1984 is a book about frightening ideas, and people being able to picture themselves in Winston’s place helps the ideas to come across even more strongly.
Julia - Described as a “girl” by Winston (which is majorly creepy, since they’re in a relationship). She is young, bold-looking but pretty with freckles, a good actress (enough to make Winston believe she wholeheartedly supports the Party) and is rebellious, but only from a personal standpoint. She laughs at how ridiculous the Party propaganda but doesn’t care in the slightest what horrible things they’re doing to others. Though she has no foil, she is sort of an opposite to Winston: she is young and pretty and clever and not swayed by the Party, but her true morals are purely selfish.
O’Brien - Burly, thick-necked, seems unusually civilized and easy to talk to. He is very high-up in the part, and seems to be good at his job. But by the end of the book, it is revealed that he was caught and his spirit broken.
The Proprietor of the Antique Store - sixty, frail but friendly, with white hair and a soft voice.
Key Conflicts:
● Winston’s desire to have his own thoughts versus the conformity of society
● The objective truth versus the Party’s version of the truth
● Hope against the dismal control of the Party – shown in Winston, and the Singing Woman
● Winston versus O’Brien during the torture
● Winston and Julia against the Party when they were hiding their relationship
● The Proles versus the Party (in terms of morals)
Distinctive structural elements:
● Important short phrases are written in a bold font: “Big Brother,” “War is Peace,” etc.
● All the characters in the book are quite bland. While I find this frustrating, it makes it easier for readers to pay attention to the ideas presented through their actions and
thoughts.
● The writing is also bland, and very hopeless. Its brevity and utter lack of beauty echo the
harshness of dystopian London in the year 1984, adding to the overall mood.
● Orwell uses lots of irony and oxymorons, especially in the Party’s propaganda: the party
says that “War is Peace” and that “Slavery is Freedom,” and many of their lies are so
twisted they are ironically funny.
● Orwell also sets Winston up as a hero–Winston begins the book slowly breaking free
from the Party’s control and finding himself taking a revolutionary standpoint–but Winston’s eventual complete conformity to the Party’s agenda clinches the books complete dystopian eeriness.
6-8 Standout scenes—associate with literary elements such as symbols, images, metaphor, foils, parallels, etc.
1. The first Two Minutes Hate (12-18).
The story of Goldstein vs. Big Brother that’s presented is very interesting. Though
neither are characters so much as symbols, they are presented as foils. The evil renegade vs. Big Brother creates a simple narrative that people can latch onto, cheering for their hero and booing the villain.
Goldstein is described as having a Jewish face. This layer of antisemitism creates another trait for which to hate the “rebel.” On the other hand, the name of Big Brother connotes kindness and protection.
c. Similarly to the anti-Goldstein message, the government's opposition of either Eastasia or Eurasia gives the people a concrete enemy to hate. Governments have much more leeway during wartime, since they can say everything is done in the name of defeating their enemy. The Party uses this philosophy, as well as the philosophy that people need a target for their emotions, and that of an evil other culture works perfectly to divert dissatisfaction away from the Party itself.
Goldstein’s weapon by which he recruits other rebels is called the book. The evilness of this unnamed books essentially presents knowledge as evil.
Goldstein’s face and voice are momentarily changed to those of a sheep. “Sheep” are both non-human (making it easier to dehumanize Goldstein) and are considered followers.
Chaos and noise and the violence of an enemy soldier change into calmness and silence in Big Brother’s face, presenting him as a relief, as the answer to all problems and negative emotions.
When Julia and Winston meet in the countryside
The moment Winston arrives, he notices Bluebells. Their youthful hope is such a
contrast to the fearful industry of London. However, according to flower lore,
picking bluebells invites bad luck.
Julia tears off her Junior Anti-Sex League sash, vehemtly casting off her
demureness in exchange for sexual intensity.
They share chocolate, which is both sweet and rich, and rare.
A thrush lands nearby, which symbolizes freedom. Its song speaks for Winston,
proudly announcing its opinion to the world when Winston can’t
Watching the singing woman, Winston finds a kind of peace or understanding right
before being captured
Song in such a dismal place is both hopeful and quietly rebellious. The woman’s
singing, just like that of the thrush, brings hope and freedom to a tamped-down
world.
The woman is not conventionally beautiful, but Winston is finally able to see the
beauty in her humanity.
Winston feels “mystical reverence” toward her, as if she were the matriarch of his
own family.
O’Brien destroys any hope of revolution that Winston has left (276)
O’Brien is the revolutionary Winston thought might be able to truly free him from the Party. Because of this, his inhumanely evil opinions are even harder to take because they are mingled with disappointment rather than expectation.
O’Brien threatens that the Party is going to override biology in several different ways. It has already torn apart the biological love and connection of the family by creating distrust between all people, and it is working on making sex legitimately pleasureless. It is also working on eradicating creativity. These are two very basic
biological functions of human beings that are being taken away by the totalitarian
government, which shows the true degree of their control over their subjects.
c. O’Brien tells Winston that there are thousands of others like him who have been
taken care of in the Ministry of Love. This erases the importance of Winston’s rebelliousness. The grandiosity of this information gives the reader a sense of true hopelessness.
Winston feeling lost once he is finally let out of the Ministry of Love (301)
Winston no longer has any interest in Julia, whom he was willing to be tortured
for before.
Winston meets Julia on a “vile, biting day in March.” Spring, as it was when
Winston and Julia first met, is supposed to symbolize new beginnings and hope. Their surroundings are ragged shrubs, which are a huge contrast to the trees that offered protection to the couple during their first meeting. But the dismal weather and setting negates that hope, rendering it dreary and full of despair.
Rather than craving a continued relationship with Julia, Winston wants to return to a warm place where he can get alcohol. After a traumatizing and demoralizing experience, returning to happy things is no longer possible. This is how the Party goes about breaking rebels.
When Winston finally fully conforms to the Party (308).
The spew of patriotism shows how thoroughly Winston has been broken. When
before logic overrode devotion to his country, he is now fully able to ignore truth. Dully remarking that Oceania’s enemy changed ten minutes prior, Winston is still capable of celebrating a victory in battle.
It is ironic that Winston now believes that he loves Big Brother, since earlier in the book he pledged that the Party could change facts but it would never be able to alter his emotions.
6-8 Quotable quotes (keep these brief and memorable)
“[...] an attack so exaggerated and perverse that a child should have been able to see through it, and yet just plausible enough to fill one with an alarmed feeling that other people, less level-headed than oneself, might have been taken in by it” (13-14).
“To do what everyone else was doing, was an instinctive reaction” (17).
“Always in your stomach and in your skin there was a sort of protest, a feeling that you
had been cheated of something that you had a right to” (61).
“And in thinking this he remembered, without apparent relevance, how a few weeks ago
he had seen a severed hand lying on the pavement and had kicked it into the gutter as
though it had been a cabbage stalk” (169).
“They could not alter your feelings; for that matter you could not alter them yourself,
even if you wanted to” (171).
Motifs
(repeated ideas/concepts):
“In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance) 194).
“What can you do, thought Winston, against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?” ( 271).
“But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother” (308).
● Truth and Propaganda
● Control
● Freedom
● Conformity and very limited sense of self
● Rebelling
● Totalitarianism
● Ignorance
● Lack of care for individual human life
Themes—each is expressed in a full sentence as a message
● If given the chance, people are frighteningly willing to cast off their compassion.
● Leaders who encourage ignorance and bigotry create mobs, who in turn give even more
power to the leader
● At heart, most people just want to fit in, and are willing to believe anything in order to do
so, including ignoring the most basic of logic. It’s much harder to be moral than it is to
follow the crowd.
● By dehumanizing an enemy, those in power can liberate the public from considering their
suffering. Similarly, by dehumanizing people as part of a conformist mob, they are easier
to manipulate.
● The lower class can be kept in a system by being too focused on survival to have the time
or energy to rebel. The upper class, who by nature has more time and resources, requires other methods to be managed.