"'The youth of Texas are brought up to be polite and to show respect for their elders.'
'I notice people of that state also gouge their horses with great brutal spurs.'" (76)
This bit of dialogue between LaBoef and Maddie shows just how little Maddie will take from anyone, whether it's an old man with an eye patch or a young Texas ranger with spurs on his boots. She not only rejects any insult they try to make on her, but she deflects it with an intelligent statement, especially for a girl her age. Portis wrote her character to be so strong and leading on purpose. True Grit was written in 1968 - just before the liberation of the 70s - and when women were really beginning to emerge as forces to be reckoned with in the workplace.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
True Grit 9
"I read her about the Wharton trial in the New Era and the Elevator. I also read a little book someone had left on the table called Bess Calloway's Disappointment." (70)
The New era and the Elevator are two newspapers or magazines that Portis created just for True Grit. In this quote, Maddie is reading to Grandma Turner of the Wharton trial - the trial that Rooster is in and where Maddie finds him for the first time - while she stays with Mrs. Floyd and is sick in bed. This ties in with the fictional journalists that Portis created just to support the main story. He could have found real papers in that time period, but did not. Bess Calloway's Disappointment, the other fictional book Portis wrote in, is also nowhere to be found when searched for. Portis fictionalized these papers for the same reason as he fictionalized the female writers - to create a sense of faux reality that is important to make the reader focus on the symbolism of the plot.
The New era and the Elevator are two newspapers or magazines that Portis created just for True Grit. In this quote, Maddie is reading to Grandma Turner of the Wharton trial - the trial that Rooster is in and where Maddie finds him for the first time - while she stays with Mrs. Floyd and is sick in bed. This ties in with the fictional journalists that Portis created just to support the main story. He could have found real papers in that time period, but did not. Bess Calloway's Disappointment, the other fictional book Portis wrote in, is also nowhere to be found when searched for. Portis fictionalized these papers for the same reason as he fictionalized the female writers - to create a sense of faux reality that is important to make the reader focus on the symbolism of the plot.
True Grit 8
"I was sick the next day. I got up and went to breakfast but I could not eat much and my eyes and nose were running so I went back to bed. I felt very low. Mrs. Floyd wrapped a rag around my neck that was soaked in turpentine and smeared with lard."
Portis mentioned this old-time remedy in True Grit to set the authenticity of the time period. Things like Vicks Vapo-Rub didn't exist in the early 1900s - the older remedies set the basis of those types of things. Rags soaked in turpentine and lard were used to relieve chest congestion. The lard does nothing besides prevent the turpentine from blistering the skin. Some of the events Portis wrote into the plot of True Grit are exaggerated and unbelievable but it's the smaller attention to detail, like the home remedies, that make it relateable to the reader.
Works Cited:
http://stixbrown.hubpages.com/hub/Old-Timey-Home-Remedies
Portis mentioned this old-time remedy in True Grit to set the authenticity of the time period. Things like Vicks Vapo-Rub didn't exist in the early 1900s - the older remedies set the basis of those types of things. Rags soaked in turpentine and lard were used to relieve chest congestion. The lard does nothing besides prevent the turpentine from blistering the skin. Some of the events Portis wrote into the plot of True Grit are exaggerated and unbelievable but it's the smaller attention to detail, like the home remedies, that make it relateable to the reader.
Works Cited:
http://stixbrown.hubpages.com/hub/Old-Timey-Home-Remedies
True Grit 7
"They think because I have a little money I will be happy to fill up their Sunday columns just to see my name in print like Lucille Biggers Langford and Florence Mabry Whiteside." (43)
Lucille Biggers Langford and Florence Mabry Whiteside, referenced in the book as real people who had written for papers and magazines, are apparently fictional writers that Portis created for True Grit. A reader would be surprised to find that, when their names are put into a search engine, a majority of the results generated are for True Grit. This brings up the question of why Portis didn't just research and use real female journalists from that time period. There must have been some that he could have drawn from and written in to make it more authentic - however, he opted to create his own people that are only mentioned once in the book. Portis' reasoning for this was perhaps leaving a sense of unreality to the novel. Even though the history in True Grit is real and the setting is authentic, using real people would possibly make it too non-fictional and distract from the civil rights symbolism in the plot.
Lucille Biggers Langford and Florence Mabry Whiteside, referenced in the book as real people who had written for papers and magazines, are apparently fictional writers that Portis created for True Grit. A reader would be surprised to find that, when their names are put into a search engine, a majority of the results generated are for True Grit. This brings up the question of why Portis didn't just research and use real female journalists from that time period. There must have been some that he could have drawn from and written in to make it more authentic - however, he opted to create his own people that are only mentioned once in the book. Portis' reasoning for this was perhaps leaving a sense of unreality to the novel. Even though the history in True Grit is real and the setting is authentic, using real people would possibly make it too non-fictional and distract from the civil rights symbolism in the plot.
True Grit 6
"He said, 'The killer has flown to the Territory and is now on the scout there.'" (33)
This line is from the scene in which Mattie is first confronting the salesman about her father's horses. It's all small talk of what Tom Chaney did, knocking out the store's watchman and obviously killing Mattie's father. Portis brings up the "Territory", meaning the Indian Territory, as where Chaney flees to. The distance that Chaney travels and the distance that Rooster, LaBoef, and Mattie chase him is larger than a reader would imagine. The Indian Territory is currently Oklahoma, and Mattie begins in Alabama. At the time that the novel was written, it was referred to as Oklahoma. In the time period in which the novel is set, however, it would still be called the Indian Territory. The distance traveled just to find Tom Chaney and the determination not to turn around and quit is almost entirely Mattie's doing - Rooster gave up on the search multiple times, but was brought back to focus with Mattie's determination.
Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Territory
This line is from the scene in which Mattie is first confronting the salesman about her father's horses. It's all small talk of what Tom Chaney did, knocking out the store's watchman and obviously killing Mattie's father. Portis brings up the "Territory", meaning the Indian Territory, as where Chaney flees to. The distance that Chaney travels and the distance that Rooster, LaBoef, and Mattie chase him is larger than a reader would imagine. The Indian Territory is currently Oklahoma, and Mattie begins in Alabama. At the time that the novel was written, it was referred to as Oklahoma. In the time period in which the novel is set, however, it would still be called the Indian Territory. The distance traveled just to find Tom Chaney and the determination not to turn around and quit is almost entirely Mattie's doing - Rooster gave up on the search multiple times, but was brought back to focus with Mattie's determination.
Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Territory
True Grit 5
"He might have taken the time to saddle the horse or hitched up three spans of mules to a Concord stagecoach and smoked a pipe as it seems no one in the city was after him. He had mistaken the drummers for men. 'The wicked flee when none pursueth.'" (17)
The quote "The wicked flee when none pursueth", originally from Proverbs 28:1, is used to describe Tom Chaney at the beginning of the book. The full quote as quoted from the King James Bible, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.", goes as far to describe Maddie's ferocity when deciding to pursue Chaney. Chaney fled quickly after he killed Maddie's father despite the fact that nobody chased after him, and Maddie, being only 14 and raised on a farm, pursued him without a second thought.
Works Cited:
http://bible.cc/proverbs/28-1.htm
The quote "The wicked flee when none pursueth", originally from Proverbs 28:1, is used to describe Tom Chaney at the beginning of the book. The full quote as quoted from the King James Bible, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.", goes as far to describe Maddie's ferocity when deciding to pursue Chaney. Chaney fled quickly after he killed Maddie's father despite the fact that nobody chased after him, and Maddie, being only 14 and raised on a farm, pursued him without a second thought.
Works Cited:
http://bible.cc/proverbs/28-1.htm
True Grit 4
"Blackie fell to the ground and died, his brave heart burst and mine broken. There never lived a nobler pony." (216)
Portis characterizes Little Blackie as having white socks - a trait that, in a horse, can be good or bad, depending on who you ask. In the 1969 version of the film, Little Blackie is played by a Pinto with white socks and a blaze, whereas in the 2010 version he is played by an entirely brown-black stunt pony. Stockings on a horse can lead to superstitions in some horse owners, following the rhyme:
"One white foot, buy him.
Two white feet, try him.
Three white feet, be on the sly.
Four white feet, pass him by."
Portis characterizes Little Blackie as having white socks - a trait that, in a horse, can be good or bad, depending on who you ask. In the 1969 version of the film, Little Blackie is played by a Pinto with white socks and a blaze, whereas in the 2010 version he is played by an entirely brown-black stunt pony. Stockings on a horse can lead to superstitions in some horse owners, following the rhyme:
"One white foot, buy him.
Two white feet, try him.
Three white feet, be on the sly.
Four white feet, pass him by."
So the more stockings a horse has, the worse luck he is, which is something Portis may have decided to incorporate into Little Blackie's character to show his temperament. Mattie chose Little Blackie because of his personality, because she had hope that he could be a good horse. He proved to be a perfect companion throughout her journey.
Works Cited:
True Grit 3
"'A snake would not bother with you,' said Rooster. 'You are too little and bony.'" (120)
This line is heavy foreshadowing for what happens to Maddie at the end of the novel. Not only is it obvious foreshadowing of Maddie falling into the pit and getting bitten by a snake, but it also anticipates Rooster's emotional change in the duration of the novel. This quote is from the first night of their journey to find Tom Chaney, when Rooster didn't even intend to have Maddie with him. When Rooster rescues Maddie from the pit of snakes and carries her all the way to help, sometimes on his own back, his grit has clearly been worn down.
This line is heavy foreshadowing for what happens to Maddie at the end of the novel. Not only is it obvious foreshadowing of Maddie falling into the pit and getting bitten by a snake, but it also anticipates Rooster's emotional change in the duration of the novel. This quote is from the first night of their journey to find Tom Chaney, when Rooster didn't even intend to have Maddie with him. When Rooster rescues Maddie from the pit of snakes and carries her all the way to help, sometimes on his own back, his grit has clearly been worn down.
True Grit 2
"That was when I went out to the staked plains of Texas and shot buffalo with Vernon Shaftoe and a Flathead Indian called Olly." (144)
Rooster's origins are not the most honest things, and even what Rooster still does is not very moral. Portis chose to write Rooster as a rough, harsh man to make the emotional transformation that he makes throughout the book more prominent. The rougher Rooster was at the beginning, the more of an effect Maddie had on him. Thus representing the title of the book - True Grit, which is why Maddie chose Rooster to accompany her in the first place.
Rooster's origins are not the most honest things, and even what Rooster still does is not very moral. Portis chose to write Rooster as a rough, harsh man to make the emotional transformation that he makes throughout the book more prominent. The rougher Rooster was at the beginning, the more of an effect Maddie had on him. Thus representing the title of the book - True Grit, which is why Maddie chose Rooster to accompany her in the first place.
True Grit 1
"He said it was Ranger policy not to sleep in the same place as where they had cooked their supper. Rooster said nothing and threw more limbs on the fire." (120)
Throughout True Grit, Portis sets LaBoef's dialogue as a walking manual for the Rangers. This raises conflict between him and Rooster, as Rooster clearly does not share the same morals or policies. LaBoef and Rooster's motives are even different - Rooster aims to kill Tom Chaney in honor of Maddie's father, and LaBoef intends to capture him and turn him in for a reward. Portis writes LaBoef's personality this way to contrast against Rooster's, as he has few morals and does not stick to any rules. Tom Chaney may have not been found if it weren't for both of them working in a disconnected togetherness.
Throughout True Grit, Portis sets LaBoef's dialogue as a walking manual for the Rangers. This raises conflict between him and Rooster, as Rooster clearly does not share the same morals or policies. LaBoef and Rooster's motives are even different - Rooster aims to kill Tom Chaney in honor of Maddie's father, and LaBoef intends to capture him and turn him in for a reward. Portis writes LaBoef's personality this way to contrast against Rooster's, as he has few morals and does not stick to any rules. Tom Chaney may have not been found if it weren't for both of them working in a disconnected togetherness.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Frankenstein 10
"But Paradise Lost excited different and far deeper emotions. I read it, as I had read the other volumes which had fallen into my hands, as a true history." (118)
Frankenstein’s monster’s entrance to life was the complete opposite of that of Adam’s in Paradise Lost; Adam came into life as a perfect being, loved by God and prosperous in all respects. The monster, however, was brought into life an experiment, and had never known love from anyone he had met, including his creator. Shelley incorporates Paradise Lost into Frankenstein in many character parallels, as the creation is comparable to both Adam and Satan in different respects; he monster being the first of his kind like Adam and being abandoned like Satan.
Works Cited:
Frankenstein 9
"I will soon explain to what these feelings tended, but allow me now to return to the cottagers, whose story excited in me such various feelings of indignation, delight, and wonder, but which all terminated in additional love and reverence for my protectors (for so I loved, in an innocent, half-painful self-deceit, to call them)." (109)
This dialogue from Frankenstein’s creation parallels Frankenstein’s feelings of ownership that he had over Elizabeth when his parents first adopted her. The monster doesn’t feel ownership over the De Laceys, so to speak, but more of a need to care for them and protect them from any harm. He would fetch them firewood and stop stealing their food, all for their own well being. Frankenstein himself had a similar need, and would blame himself entirely if anything ever happened to Eizabeth. Shelley writes this parallel to form yet another tie between the monster and his creator.
This dialogue from Frankenstein’s creation parallels Frankenstein’s feelings of ownership that he had over Elizabeth when his parents first adopted her. The monster doesn’t feel ownership over the De Laceys, so to speak, but more of a need to care for them and protect them from any harm. He would fetch them firewood and stop stealing their food, all for their own well being. Frankenstein himself had a similar need, and would blame himself entirely if anything ever happened to Eizabeth. Shelley writes this parallel to form yet another tie between the monster and his creator.
Frankenstein 8
"In The Sorrows of Werter, besides the interest of its simple and affecting story, so many opinions are canvassed and so many lights thrown upon what had hitherto been to me obscure subjects that I found in it a never-ending source of speculation and astonishment." (117)
Shelley incorporates The Sorrows of Werter by Johan Wolfgang von Goethe to relate the pain that the main character, Werther, goes through in his life to the pain that Frankenstein’s creation goes through. Both of their pains are due to human cruelty, and The Sorrows of Werter effectively parallels the creation’s questioning of his own purpose in life. Werther commits suicide in the end of the novel, which sparks a defiant unwillingness to live in the monster.
Works Cited:
Frankenstein 7
"Their colours and their forms, were then to him an appetite; a feeling, and a love, that had no need of a remoter charm, by thought supplied, or any interest unborrowd from the eye." (145)
This poem titled Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth is incorporated by Shelley to explain the comfort that Frankenstein’s creation feels from being in the wilderness, out among nature. Since he cannot draw the fascination and love he needs from other human beings, he finds all of that with the serenity and aloneness of being in the woods. Since the creation relates being among other people to pain and vulnerability, he would naturally find comfort in things that he had absolutely no control over, and had no control over him.
Works Cited:
Frankenstein 6
"The book from which Felix instructed Safie was Volney's Ruins of Empires." (107)
Shelley uses this particular piece of literature to bring religion into the text. Although Frankenstein does not have a lot of religious subtext, religion is a part of human instinct, as one wants to believe in something so they can entrust themselves to some form of higher power, whatever that may be. The De Laceys act as a higher power to the creation, and prove as the beginning of a religious feeling for him.
Works Cited:
Frankenstein 5
"Soon a gentle light stole over the heavens and gave me a sensation of pleasure. I started up and beheld a radiant form rise from the trees." (91)
Shelley recognizes humankind’s fascination with the moon and the sky and ties that fascination in with the monster’s desire to be and feel human. From the first night that he noticed it, the creation feels an immediate need for love and caring from someone, and seeks social contact. However, whenever he confronts a human with the hope for affection, he’s always attacked verbally and physically. He cannot be human, because he isn't given the chance to feel human emotions. If Frankenstein was there to provide him with what he needed, the monster could have matured very differently.
Shelley recognizes humankind’s fascination with the moon and the sky and ties that fascination in with the monster’s desire to be and feel human. From the first night that he noticed it, the creation feels an immediate need for love and caring from someone, and seeks social contact. However, whenever he confronts a human with the hope for affection, he’s always attacked verbally and physically. He cannot be human, because he isn't given the chance to feel human emotions. If Frankenstein was there to provide him with what he needed, the monster could have matured very differently.
Frankenstein 4
"We feel, conceive, or reason; laugh or weep, embrace fond woe, or cast our cares away." (85)
Mary Shelley incorporates these lines from her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem Mutability to tie in Frankenstein’s creation’s struggle to be and feel human with all of the wonderful emotions that balance out the hatred and anger. His desire to feel, or even to have the compassion to weep, is stopped by his ever growing anger. He is never given the opportunity to feel compassion. Shelley uses this poem of human emotions and actions to strike the reader with the idea that these emotions that humans take advantage of are completely non existent in the monster.
Works Cited:
Frankenstein 3
"I, who had ever been surrounded by amiable companions, continually engaged in endeavoring to bestow mutual pleasure. I was now alone." (31)
This quote from Victor is the opposite of how his creation’s maturing was going so far. Victor had spent the beginning of his life with considerable amounts of love from his parents and everyone around him and had grown up with many friends and people who cared about him. The monster, however, started his life with a terrified face running away from him, and awful looks and threats from humans wherever he went. Throughout the text, Shelley shows contradictory life events and emotions between Frankenstein and his creation that somehow still tie each of the beings together with a similar bond.
This quote from Victor is the opposite of how his creation’s maturing was going so far. Victor had spent the beginning of his life with considerable amounts of love from his parents and everyone around him and had grown up with many friends and people who cared about him. The monster, however, started his life with a terrified face running away from him, and awful looks and threats from humans wherever he went. Throughout the text, Shelley shows contradictory life events and emotions between Frankenstein and his creation that somehow still tie each of the beings together with a similar bond.
Frankenstein 2
"I was their plaything and their idol, and something better their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by Heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me. With this deep consciousness of what they owed towards the being to which they had given life, added to the active spirit of the tenderness that animated both, it may be imagined that while during every hour of my infant life I received a lesson of patience, of charity, and of self-control, I was so guided by a silken cord that all seemed but one train of enjoyment to me." (19)
Victor Frankenstein’s childhood was lived with his parents devoting their every moment to caring for and loving him. Shelley perhaps used a seemingly perfect childhood to form a budding desire to create in Victor. This budding desire grew into an almost crazed need to create something that he could care for as much as his parents cared for him. When he looked upon his creation for the first time, however, he realized that it was not the perfection he had aimed for, and neglected it. The fact that he could not care for his monstrous creation as his parents had cared for him formed a beginning hatred for himself, and this feeling grew as his creation’s hatred of humankind grew.
Victor Frankenstein’s childhood was lived with his parents devoting their every moment to caring for and loving him. Shelley perhaps used a seemingly perfect childhood to form a budding desire to create in Victor. This budding desire grew into an almost crazed need to create something that he could care for as much as his parents cared for him. When he looked upon his creation for the first time, however, he realized that it was not the perfection he had aimed for, and neglected it. The fact that he could not care for his monstrous creation as his parents had cared for him formed a beginning hatred for himself, and this feeling grew as his creation’s hatred of humankind grew.
Frankenstein 1
"I said in one of my letters, my dear Margaret, that I should find no friend on the wide ocean; yet I have found a man who, before his spirit had been broken by misery, I should have been happy to have possessed as the brother of my heart." (13)
When Frankenstein’s creation was first brought to life, his newborn-like curiosity made him want to discover humans. However, he did not expect to befriend anyone, as he didn’t realize that he would come across anyone. Shelley uses Walton’s statement to both parallel and contradict that of the creations, as he simultaneously desired but did not expect to befriend anyone.
When Frankenstein’s creation was first brought to life, his newborn-like curiosity made him want to discover humans. However, he did not expect to befriend anyone, as he didn’t realize that he would come across anyone. Shelley uses Walton’s statement to both parallel and contradict that of the creations, as he simultaneously desired but did not expect to befriend anyone.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Handmaid's Tale 16
"He doesn't mind this, I thought. He doesn't mind it at all. Maybe he even likes it. We are not each other's, anymore. Instead, I am his." (182)
Atwood's alternate reality seems harsh and utterly unbelievable, but the thing that is the most unbelievable is the fact that aspects of this society are actually occurring in the world to this day. In places like Afghanistan and Iraq are still threatened just by going outside, and many women are illiterate. This makes it almost impossible to get a job, and to actually live a normal self-sufficient life. This also means that women cannot send their daughters to school for fear of rape or abduction. Domestic abuse is so common in those areas, reinforcing the idea that women are treated as property and can have no possessions.
Works Cited:
http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/326354
Image:
http://www.glogster.com/media/2/11/33/9/11330998.jpg
Works Cited:
http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/326354
Image:
http://www.glogster.com/media/2/11/33/9/11330998.jpg
The Handmaid's Tale 15
"'Here,' the Commander says. He slips around my wrist a tag, purple, on an elastic band, like the tags for airport luggage. 'If anyone asks you, say you're an evening rental,' he says." (233)
In this sexual safe-zone of sorts, the Commander tells Offred to pretend she's an "evening rental" - meaning a prostitute. Atwood pulls out all the stops on this bar and hotel, describing it to be everything that Offred never sees in daily life. The shock that hits the reader at this environmental change is reinforced with the realization that prostitutes still exist in an environment that doesn't even seem to be illegal. Prostitution is illegal in today's society where women have the right to do practically whatever they want, but there can be a whole club that isn't even underground or under the radar without even having legal issues?
Image:
http://www.gambling911.com/files/publisher/
Image:
http://www.gambling911.com/files/publisher/
The Handmaid's Tale 14
"Then they burn you up with the garbage, like an Unwoman." (216)
Atwood feels it necessary to include the term "unwoman" in this sentence, because it shows just how brutally women punish other women just for refusing to become an object. Despite the fact that it is the laws that essentially makes the women have to be so emotionless and anti-sex, it's the other women that are in support of all of these movements that make it so much worse. They're the ones that enforce the removal of all womanly qualities and unsexualizing. Throughout the book, Atwood makes a point of having very little law enforcement - it's all other women. Women in general have a tendency to feel the need to fix anything that doesn't please them, which makes sense that Atwood would create a society in which women blame men on the extremist society, when it is really the women that are making it that much worse.
Works Cited:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/unwoman
Atwood feels it necessary to include the term "unwoman" in this sentence, because it shows just how brutally women punish other women just for refusing to become an object. Despite the fact that it is the laws that essentially makes the women have to be so emotionless and anti-sex, it's the other women that are in support of all of these movements that make it so much worse. They're the ones that enforce the removal of all womanly qualities and unsexualizing. Throughout the book, Atwood makes a point of having very little law enforcement - it's all other women. Women in general have a tendency to feel the need to fix anything that doesn't please them, which makes sense that Atwood would create a society in which women blame men on the extremist society, when it is really the women that are making it that much worse.
Works Cited:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/unwoman
The Handmaid's Tale 13
"I look around me again. The men are not homogeneous, as I first thought." (236)
Offred went into the bar with the Commander expecting all of the men to be white and homogeneous. When she went in, however, she realized that there were many different races, all dressed differently, all mingling. Atwood must have done this to show the reader that despite the fact that it was highly illegal at that time for Offred to be there, sexuality was still prominent more or less in underground societies, and that it wasn't a wrong thing to do. The Commander was taking a huge risk by bringing Offred there, but he was willing to do it because he was aware that you can't just extinguish sexuality in human beings, and that it's completely normal.
Works Cited:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/homogeneous
Image:
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?strucID=699869&imageID=816991
Works Cited:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/homogeneous
Image:
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?strucID=699869&imageID=816991
The Handmaid's Tale 12
"Her fault, her fault, her fault, we chant in unison. Who led them on? Aunt Helena beams, pleased with us. She did. She did. She did. Why did God allow such a terrible thing to happen? Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson." (72)
This scene in the book was an interestingly relevant one, as victim blaming in rape cases are at an incredibly controversial point right now. People have started putting on things called "Slut Walks", where women and men parade down streets, mainly dressed in very skimpy clothing, protesting the point that just because a woman is dressed a certain way doesn't mean that she deserved to be raped. It began when a police officer was lecturing students on safety, and told them that the way to prevent being raped was to "avoid dressing like sluts" (Stampler, "Slutwalks Sweep the Nation"). However, in this alternate reality that Atwood creates, women have no rights and are essentially objects, and anything bad that happens to them is entirely their own fault. Atwood uses this extreme to emphasize the unfairness of how women are treating other women. Since Janine was raped, she most likely deserved it.
Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victim_blaming
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/20/slutwalk-united-states-city_n_851725.html
Image:
http://jmsupercuteinkorea.blogspot.com/2011/07/slut-walk-protest-held-in-seoul.html
Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victim_blaming
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/20/slutwalk-united-states-city_n_851725.html
Image:
http://jmsupercuteinkorea.blogspot.com/2011/07/slut-walk-protest-held-in-seoul.html
The Handmaid's Tale 11
"I used to tease him about being pedantic." (11)
This says a lot about who Luke was, and what his personality was like. Atwood never went into specifics about what Luke was like, but with the use of the word pedantic, readers know that he was intelligent and wasn't afraid to flaunt it. He also didn't seem to intentionally be pedantic, however, because if Offred used to tease him about hit, he obviously didn't enjoy the accusations. Throughout the text we get subtle hints like this from Atwood, but never anything specific. A reader can pick up that that is Atwood's general writing style, as there really are very few specifics about anything in the whole text.
Works Cited:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pedantic
This says a lot about who Luke was, and what his personality was like. Atwood never went into specifics about what Luke was like, but with the use of the word pedantic, readers know that he was intelligent and wasn't afraid to flaunt it. He also didn't seem to intentionally be pedantic, however, because if Offred used to tease him about hit, he obviously didn't enjoy the accusations. Throughout the text we get subtle hints like this from Atwood, but never anything specific. A reader can pick up that that is Atwood's general writing style, as there really are very few specifics about anything in the whole text.
Works Cited:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pedantic
The Handmaid's Tale 10
"'She hanged herself,' she says. 'After the Salvaging. She saw the van coming for her. It was better.'" (285)
The shock that hits the reader when Ofglen is replaced with a "new" Ofglen is sudden and unexpected. The reader also comes to dislike new Ofglen, as she's much more cautious than Offred is. The reader also begins to feel a sense of panic during some of new Ofglen and Offred's dialogue, as she's being sterile and even scolds Offred at one point. Atwood leads readers to believe that she's gone too far, and has been caught being foolish. This brief line, however, at the end of the chapter, changes everything about the scene. Not only is it a hint to the reader that a similar situation may be headed for Offred, but it also proves just how threatening something like a distinctive van can be.
The shock that hits the reader when Ofglen is replaced with a "new" Ofglen is sudden and unexpected. The reader also comes to dislike new Ofglen, as she's much more cautious than Offred is. The reader also begins to feel a sense of panic during some of new Ofglen and Offred's dialogue, as she's being sterile and even scolds Offred at one point. Atwood leads readers to believe that she's gone too far, and has been caught being foolish. This brief line, however, at the end of the chapter, changes everything about the scene. Not only is it a hint to the reader that a similar situation may be headed for Offred, but it also proves just how threatening something like a distinctive van can be.
Monday, September 5, 2011
The Handmaid's Tale 9
"We've given them more than we've taken away, said the commander. Think of the trouble they had before. Don't you remember the singles' bars, the indignity of high school blind dates? The meat market. Don't you remember the terrible gap between the ones who could get a man easily and the ones who couldn't? Some of them were desperate, they starved themselves thin or pumped their breasts full of silicone, had their noses cut off. Think of the human misery." (219)
Just because they've "removed" the pains of growing up and dating, they immediately have the right to treat women as possessions rather than equal human beings. Atwood must have either been a feminist and was completely mocking every strange male viewpoint on women, or she was shocked by the blatant sexuality that had come to be in teenagers. Either way would make sense, as she could have written this to open people's eyes that they were being unfair towards these women, or she could have written it to show how completely irresponsible the youth was being.
Just because they've "removed" the pains of growing up and dating, they immediately have the right to treat women as possessions rather than equal human beings. Atwood must have either been a feminist and was completely mocking every strange male viewpoint on women, or she was shocked by the blatant sexuality that had come to be in teenagers. Either way would make sense, as she could have written this to open people's eyes that they were being unfair towards these women, or she could have written it to show how completely irresponsible the youth was being.
The Handmaid's Tale 8
"Women can't hold property anymore, she said. It's a new law. Turned on the TV today?" (178)
Atwood creates this war against women's rights that serves as the basis for the happenings in this text. Women aren't allowed to have money anymore, or to buy things. Everything they had went to their husband or closest male next-of-kin. Women can't even have control of their own bodies enough to procreate on their own without some sort of scheduled routine. Once people start making laws like the one Moira tells Offred about, life for all women just starts on a steady downhill. Atwood's point in making this ultimately contrasting society could either be a result of her displeasure with the increasing sexuality of society, or could be an exaggerated expose of the remaining misogyny.
Atwood creates this war against women's rights that serves as the basis for the happenings in this text. Women aren't allowed to have money anymore, or to buy things. Everything they had went to their husband or closest male next-of-kin. Women can't even have control of their own bodies enough to procreate on their own without some sort of scheduled routine. Once people start making laws like the one Moira tells Offred about, life for all women just starts on a steady downhill. Atwood's point in making this ultimately contrasting society could either be a result of her displeasure with the increasing sexuality of society, or could be an exaggerated expose of the remaining misogyny.
The Handmaid's Tale 7
"But nothing happened. Moira didn't reappear. She hasn't yet." (133)
Atwood tells the reader of Offred and Moira's friendship before this part in the book, but the reader is also still unaware of what happened to Moira, and where she went. This part stuck out as foreshadowing, due to the second part of the sentence - "She hasn't yet." - as there wouldn't have been a real reason to say something like that if Moira wasn't a part of the plot later on in the book. When she does come in later on in the text, it's not a shock, and during some of the dialogue between her and Offred, the reader finds out what happened to her.
Atwood tells the reader of Offred and Moira's friendship before this part in the book, but the reader is also still unaware of what happened to Moira, and where she went. This part stuck out as foreshadowing, due to the second part of the sentence - "She hasn't yet." - as there wouldn't have been a real reason to say something like that if Moira wasn't a part of the plot later on in the book. When she does come in later on in the text, it's not a shock, and during some of the dialogue between her and Offred, the reader finds out what happened to her.
The Handmaid's Tale 6
"Though at that time men and women tried each other on, casually, like suits, rejecting whatever did not fit." (51)
Atwood makes this sentence - a common practice in the past and today - sound so bizarre and wrong. It must seem like a horrible thought to all of the women, too, as they're so used to not even talking to others. As it said somewhere in the text, they are the transitional generation, so it is the hardest for them, as they know how free life was before all of this. Not only can they not engage with others sexually, but they can't even have conversations or make eye contact with anyone else. Atwood creates a sort of free imprisonment for all of the women.
Atwood makes this sentence - a common practice in the past and today - sound so bizarre and wrong. It must seem like a horrible thought to all of the women, too, as they're so used to not even talking to others. As it said somewhere in the text, they are the transitional generation, so it is the hardest for them, as they know how free life was before all of this. Not only can they not engage with others sexually, but they can't even have conversations or make eye contact with anyone else. Atwood creates a sort of free imprisonment for all of the women.
The Handmaid's Tale 5
"I threw the magazine into the flames. It riffled open in the wind of its burning; big flakes of paper came loose, sailed into the air, still on fire, parts of women's bodies, turning to black ash, in the air, before my eyes." (39)
During Offred's childhood, her mother pushes her into the sort of desexualization of society. The way Atwood writes it, it almost seems like the sexual revolution of the 1960s, but a complete opposite. That was the beginning of changes, when the idea of sexuality was still prominent in younger people, but the older generations were supporting the idea of women not having any rights at all. Once women like Offred began having to wear the uniforms of red clothing and the white eye guards, things had completely changed in a way that is almost impossible to reverse.
During Offred's childhood, her mother pushes her into the sort of desexualization of society. The way Atwood writes it, it almost seems like the sexual revolution of the 1960s, but a complete opposite. That was the beginning of changes, when the idea of sexuality was still prominent in younger people, but the older generations were supporting the idea of women not having any rights at all. Once women like Offred began having to wear the uniforms of red clothing and the white eye guards, things had completely changed in a way that is almost impossible to reverse.
The Handmaid's Tale 4
"Even men used to say, I'd like to get laid. Though sometimes they said, I'd like to lay her. All this is pure speculation. I don't really know what men used to say. I only had their words for it." (37)
Throughout the book, Atwood writes in subtle and not-so-subtle references to how sexual the world used to be before things changed and women had no rights to contrast from current society in the text. It would have been around the 1970s-80s when this took place, so not far from the sexual revolution of the 1960s. The women who now have to wear head to toe coverings would have grown up in such a sexual environment that they wouldn't have known anything different, which would make living in such a sterile and hostile environment that much more difficult and painful.
Throughout the book, Atwood writes in subtle and not-so-subtle references to how sexual the world used to be before things changed and women had no rights to contrast from current society in the text. It would have been around the 1970s-80s when this took place, so not far from the sexual revolution of the 1960s. The women who now have to wear head to toe coverings would have grown up in such a sexual environment that they wouldn't have known anything different, which would make living in such a sterile and hostile environment that much more difficult and painful.
The Handmaid's Tale 3
"What I feel towards them is blankness. What I feel is that I must not feel. What I feel is partly relief, because none of these men is Luke. Luke wasn't a doctor. Isn't." (33)
In the changing of tense from wasn't to isn't in this sentence, a reader learns a lot about Luke and who he was in Offred's life. Offred seems to still believe that Luke is alive, somewhere, but she also has the reality embedded in her mind that he might - probably is - dead. In her dreamlike thoughts she always thinks of Luke, but as soon as reality sets back in, she goes back to realizing that she's probably never going to see him again, dead or alive. Orwell seems to keep the whole idea of Luke in the dark throughout the text, and even at the conclusion, the reader still doesn't know a lot about him, who he was in relation to Offred, or where he ends up.
In the changing of tense from wasn't to isn't in this sentence, a reader learns a lot about Luke and who he was in Offred's life. Offred seems to still believe that Luke is alive, somewhere, but she also has the reality embedded in her mind that he might - probably is - dead. In her dreamlike thoughts she always thinks of Luke, but as soon as reality sets back in, she goes back to realizing that she's probably never going to see him again, dead or alive. Orwell seems to keep the whole idea of Luke in the dark throughout the text, and even at the conclusion, the reader still doesn't know a lot about him, who he was in relation to Offred, or where he ends up.
The Handmaid's Tale 2
"I hunger to commit the act of touch." (11)
Atwood uses this short line to foreshadow what is to come in Offred's life. She so desires just to touch someone, but then later, when she has the opportunity for contact with the Commander and Nick, she doesn't enjoy it as much as she thinks she will. With the Commander it's more of a friendly relationship in her mind, whereas he begins to think of her as a prostitute, essentially. With Nick, though, she wishes it was more. He sees it as a duty, and Offred desires romance and real intimacy. She hasn't been with anyone since Luke, and at this point, the reader doesn't even know who Luke is.
Atwood uses this short line to foreshadow what is to come in Offred's life. She so desires just to touch someone, but then later, when she has the opportunity for contact with the Commander and Nick, she doesn't enjoy it as much as she thinks she will. With the Commander it's more of a friendly relationship in her mind, whereas he begins to think of her as a prostitute, essentially. With Nick, though, she wishes it was more. He sees it as a duty, and Offred desires romance and real intimacy. She hasn't been with anyone since Luke, and at this point, the reader doesn't even know who Luke is.
The Handmaid's Tale 1
"It isn't running away they're afraid of. We wouldn't get far. It's those other escapes, the ones you can open in yourself, given a cutting edge." (8)
Atwood early on signifies just how horrible it is to be a woman in this alternate reality. This quote emphasizes the fact that it's easier and less painful to commit suicide than to keep living the way that the girls in the text have to. Atwood even describes what they do just to prevent suicide - shatterproof glass, removing anything that could be used as a noose, and any other sharp objects for obvious reasons. They need to stay alive, for the sole reason of procreation. Any escape from that would be unfair to the men in the society.
Atwood early on signifies just how horrible it is to be a woman in this alternate reality. This quote emphasizes the fact that it's easier and less painful to commit suicide than to keep living the way that the girls in the text have to. Atwood even describes what they do just to prevent suicide - shatterproof glass, removing anything that could be used as a noose, and any other sharp objects for obvious reasons. They need to stay alive, for the sole reason of procreation. Any escape from that would be unfair to the men in the society.
1984 16
The study that O'Brien is talking about in this sentence is a branch of philosophy. It deals with thinking in an extremely vague way, and answers are not always clear and defined. It focuses mainly on existence, the definition of possibility and object, among other things. O'Brien is saying this to Winston to make him consider the fact that maybe he hasn't thought about as much as he thinks he has, in an attempt to break his spirit. Winston hadn't thought about how memories don't exist in places farther than the human mind. If the Party controls the records and the mind, then the Party controls all history.
Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics
Image:
http://liberallifestyles.com/?p=4133
1984 15
Goldstein's book opens with this quote, and says it to show that essentially since the beginning of societal mankind, there has always been different classes and levels of people. These levels have always created conflict, differences, and told people what they could and could not do. The Neolithic age that is referencing was the turn of history when mankind stopped being solely about survival, and started becoming about society. Animals were being domesticated, crop cultivation was being developed, and nomadism was beginning to end. With less need for immediate survival, humans could settle down and begin creating villages, and classes - the high, middle, and lower classes that are mentioned in the quote.
Works Cited:
http://www.worldmuseumofman.org/neolithic.php
Image:
http://staff.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/~cwalton/walton/SOLPics/lascaux.jpg
1984 14
A lot of the actions committed by Big Brother and the Party are visibly similar to the Nazis and Hitler in World War II. Orwell even admits to this via bits of dialogue throughout the text. The difference between the two are clarified in this quote, and in the next few lines- "Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship." (263) - shows that the mindset is completely different. The Party has the master race idea completely figured out. Their idea of a master race, however, is more of a mindless, emotionless, conforming human being, and less of a physically perfect person. The Party's methods are far more thought out.
Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_race
Image:
http://i.cdn.turner.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i46/MasterRace1944_TR_188x141_070620061031.jpg
1984 13
When Winston is given the book, he's thinking that it will be more of a manual or a guide to how he should act as a follower of Goldstein. Instead, Orwell uses the content in that book to reveal some historical elements that hadn't been previously revealed. For example, he goes into detail about the danger that is the atomic bomb, and how the inventors of it still don't know anything about the long term risks for the people affected by them. The inventors of the atomic bomb don't realize that the long term health risks far outweigh the short-term effects of the blast until far later. This is an interesting conclusion to come to on Orwell's part, as the atomic bomb had just been used for the first time in 1945, and 1984 was written in 1949. The cancerous and other long term risks were not discovered until later.
Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon
Image:
http://calitreview.com/images/atomic_bomb_cameramen_grable.jpg
Sunday, September 4, 2011
1984 12
This and an accompanying rhyme - "Here comes a candle to light you to bed. Here comes a chopper to chop off your head." - are used throughout the book, but most importantly at the moment when Julia and Winston are caught in their secret room above the shop. The voice from the hidden mic behind the picture shouts out the helicopter part of the rhyme, and a helicopter swoops in to arrest the two lovers. The rhyme is significant because of its connections with the actual happenings in the plot.
Works Cited
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oranges_and_Lemons
Image:
http://spitalfieldslife.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/oranges-and-lemons4.jpg
Saturday, September 3, 2011
1984 11
"Winston shrank back upon the bed. Whatever he said, the swift answer crushed him like a bludgeon. And ye he knew, he knew, that he was in the right. The belief that nothing exists outside your own mind - surely there must be some way of demonstrating that it was false. Had it not been exposed long ago as a fallacy?" (266)
This is the first sign that what O'Brien is dictating to Winston is actually making an impression on him. The idea that nothing exists in memory and that history isn't real is a hard idea for Winston to grasp, and he even tries to remember the word for such actions, but he can't. It's a sign that his memories are slipping, and that he doesn't believe in what he originally believed in anymore. Orwell cleverly writes Winston's gradual slip into submission. From here on in the rest of the book, things just get worse and less believable for Winston, and in the end, he believes everything O'Brien has told him.
This is the first sign that what O'Brien is dictating to Winston is actually making an impression on him. The idea that nothing exists in memory and that history isn't real is a hard idea for Winston to grasp, and he even tries to remember the word for such actions, but he can't. It's a sign that his memories are slipping, and that he doesn't believe in what he originally believed in anymore. Orwell cleverly writes Winston's gradual slip into submission. From here on in the rest of the book, things just get worse and less believable for Winston, and in the end, he believes everything O'Brien has told him.
1984 10
"'The rat,' said O'Brien, still addressing his invisible audience, "although rodent, is carnivorous. You are aware of that. You will have heard of the things that happen in the poor quarters of this town. In some streets a woman dare not leave her baby alone in the house, even for five minutes. The rats are certain to attack it. Within quite a small time they will strip it to the bones. They also attack sick or dying people. They show astonishing intelligence in knowing when a human being is helpless.'" (285)
Orwell uses the rat - Winston's biggest fear - as a symbol for fear and weakness multiple times in the book. Perhaps the most symbolic use of the rat was when Winston and Julia were in their "secret" room, and a rat appeared in the corner. At the time of reading that, a reader will simply dismiss it as a fear of Winston's. Everyone has a fear, right? But upon finishing the book, a reader will look back upon that moment of weakness and think that the use of the rat at that moment shows the first sign of dishevelment in Winston and Julia's relationship. The fact that the rat appears in that room, too, is foreshadowing for the horrible demise of their relationship.
Orwell uses the rat - Winston's biggest fear - as a symbol for fear and weakness multiple times in the book. Perhaps the most symbolic use of the rat was when Winston and Julia were in their "secret" room, and a rat appeared in the corner. At the time of reading that, a reader will simply dismiss it as a fear of Winston's. Everyone has a fear, right? But upon finishing the book, a reader will look back upon that moment of weakness and think that the use of the rat at that moment shows the first sign of dishevelment in Winston and Julia's relationship. The fact that the rat appears in that room, too, is foreshadowing for the horrible demise of their relationship.
1984 9
"'You are a flaw in the pattern, Winston. You are a stain that must be wiped out. Did I not tell you just now that we are different from the persecutors of the past?'" (255)
So many of the events at the Ministry of Love can be easily interpreted as really similar to Hitler's ideas of a perfect society. Orwell uses this moment to show the differences between the Party and Hitler and the Nazis. O'Brien even admits that they're quite unlike persecutors of the past, and that rather than killing every "flaw in the pattern", they essentially brainwash it to make them sane and normal. The idea of the brainwashing wouldn't seem as new as it does to the reader if Orwell hadn't made the clear difference between the actions of the Party and similar actions done in the past.
So many of the events at the Ministry of Love can be easily interpreted as really similar to Hitler's ideas of a perfect society. Orwell uses this moment to show the differences between the Party and Hitler and the Nazis. O'Brien even admits that they're quite unlike persecutors of the past, and that rather than killing every "flaw in the pattern", they essentially brainwash it to make them sane and normal. The idea of the brainwashing wouldn't seem as new as it does to the reader if Orwell hadn't made the clear difference between the actions of the Party and similar actions done in the past.
1984 8
"Shall I tell you why we have brought you here? To cure you! To make you sane! Will you understand, Winston, that no one whom we bring to this place ever leaves our hands uncured? We are not interested in those stupid crimes that you have committed. The Party is not interested in the over act: the thought is all we care about. We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them." (253)
Up until this point, the reader had more of a violent image of the Ministry of Love and everything that goes on there. Orwell, however, uses this short piece of dialogue from O'Brien to show that it's really mostly psychological harm. They just contradict everything that the "patient" says and believes in, so that they no longer have any memory or reality to grasp, and they're forced to completely succumb to whatever O'Brien says. From the outside perspective, citizens are made to believe that people who commit crimes are immediately killed, but in reality they are taken to the Ministry of Love and psychologically tortured until they become "sane".
Up until this point, the reader had more of a violent image of the Ministry of Love and everything that goes on there. Orwell, however, uses this short piece of dialogue from O'Brien to show that it's really mostly psychological harm. They just contradict everything that the "patient" says and believes in, so that they no longer have any memory or reality to grasp, and they're forced to completely succumb to whatever O'Brien says. From the outside perspective, citizens are made to believe that people who commit crimes are immediately killed, but in reality they are taken to the Ministry of Love and psychologically tortured until they become "sane".
1984 7
"'How can I help it? he blubbered. 'How can I help seeing what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four.' 'Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.'" (251)
These two short sentences show many things about how the Party works, and how Winston doesn't understand how people can make people act in such a brainwashed way. It also served as a turning point for Winston, as this was the first time he was really told how he needs to think. Orwell will often give his biggest hints and most important plot twists in dialogue, which he does in this quote. He uses these lines from O'Brien and Winston to show the reader that nothing to do with the Party relies on traditional logic. Every revelation after this moment for the rest of the book is all somehow tied back to the 2+2=5 comment. O'Brien is trying to "cure" Winston of his free thoughts, and at this moment, the reader is still convinced that it will not break his spirit and that he will never betray Julia. In the end, however, it is ultimately this moment that provides the first inkling of betrayal to Julia in Winston's mind.
These two short sentences show many things about how the Party works, and how Winston doesn't understand how people can make people act in such a brainwashed way. It also served as a turning point for Winston, as this was the first time he was really told how he needs to think. Orwell will often give his biggest hints and most important plot twists in dialogue, which he does in this quote. He uses these lines from O'Brien and Winston to show the reader that nothing to do with the Party relies on traditional logic. Every revelation after this moment for the rest of the book is all somehow tied back to the 2+2=5 comment. O'Brien is trying to "cure" Winston of his free thoughts, and at this moment, the reader is still convinced that it will not break his spirit and that he will never betray Julia. In the end, however, it is ultimately this moment that provides the first inkling of betrayal to Julia in Winston's mind.
1984 6
"'We are the dead,' he said." (135)
Orwell made this moment of dialogue between Winston and Julia stand out by making it so brief and concise, because it was really one of the first moments in which the reader notices a difference of opinion in the two lovers. Julia, being quite a bit younger than Winston, was clearly much more afraid of death than he was. Orwell uses this to lead the reader to think that Julia may betray Winston if they were to be cHe'd also clearly been thinking of his willingness to sacrifice himself for Goldstein. In the sentence before this, orwell writes, "that from the moment of declaring war on the Party it was better to think of yourself as a corpse." This prompts the reader to believe that Julia may not have been as much in favor of rebelling against the Party as she may have led on, and that she did what she did just because she loved Winston.
Orwell made this moment of dialogue between Winston and Julia stand out by making it so brief and concise, because it was really one of the first moments in which the reader notices a difference of opinion in the two lovers. Julia, being quite a bit younger than Winston, was clearly much more afraid of death than he was. Orwell uses this to lead the reader to think that Julia may betray Winston if they were to be cHe'd also clearly been thinking of his willingness to sacrifice himself for Goldstein. In the sentence before this, orwell writes, "that from the moment of declaring war on the Party it was better to think of yourself as a corpse." This prompts the reader to believe that Julia may not have been as much in favor of rebelling against the Party as she may have led on, and that she did what she did just because she loved Winston.
1984 5
"The soft, rainwatery glass was not like any glass that he had ever seen. The thing was doubly attractive because of its apparent uselessness, though he could guess that it must once have been intended as a paperweight." (95)
Orwell used the paperweight as a sort of symbol to represent Winston and Julia's love. Winston found it when he went into the shop and ended up discovering the room where he and Julia could (supposedly) be alone without Big Brother's supervision. Winston keeps it in his pocket or nearby for the rest of the time that he and Julia are together. When they are caught in the room above the shop due to the hidden mic, the paperweight is shattered, and that is the last time that Julia and Winston see each other with the feeling of love.
Orwell used the paperweight as a sort of symbol to represent Winston and Julia's love. Winston found it when he went into the shop and ended up discovering the room where he and Julia could (supposedly) be alone without Big Brother's supervision. Winston keeps it in his pocket or nearby for the rest of the time that he and Julia are together. When they are caught in the room above the shop due to the hidden mic, the paperweight is shattered, and that is the last time that Julia and Winston see each other with the feeling of love.
1984 4
"What overwhelmed him in that instant was admiration for the gesture with which she had thrown her clothes aside. With its grace and carelessness it seemed to annihilate a whole culture, a whole system of thought, as though Big Brother and the Party and the Thought Police could all be swept into nothingness by a single splendid movement of the arm." (31)
Orwell cleverly uses Winston's dream of Julia as a sort of motive for Winston to actually do something to rebel against Big Brother. Julia had been on his mind since he first saw her, but was too cautious to actually do anything about it. However, after this dream, Winston was convinced enough that he needed to act out, no matter what the cost was to himself. Orwell also uses this moment to foreshadow what was to come, when Julia and Winston meet in the woods for the first time. He even references back to this moment when Julia commits a similar action. This was a character turning point for Winston.
Orwell cleverly uses Winston's dream of Julia as a sort of motive for Winston to actually do something to rebel against Big Brother. Julia had been on his mind since he first saw her, but was too cautious to actually do anything about it. However, after this dream, Winston was convinced enough that he needed to act out, no matter what the cost was to himself. Orwell also uses this moment to foreshadow what was to come, when Julia and Winston meet in the woods for the first time. He even references back to this moment when Julia commits a similar action. This was a character turning point for Winston.
1984 3
"He must, he thought, have been ten or eleven years old when his mother had disappeared." (29)
Winston's awful childhood and the disappearance of his mother must have contributed to his unwillingness to succumb to the laws and rules of Big Brother. Generally someone's childhood and their relationship with their parents forms or at least heavily influences their character later on in life. Perhaps Orwell included this in Winston's history to justify his stubbornness. Since Winston's mother's disappearance was ultimately credited to Big Brother, it would have instilled a subconscious hatred for everything associated with that, at a very young age. Winston has feelings about his childhood, even though he doesn't claim to remember it.
Winston's awful childhood and the disappearance of his mother must have contributed to his unwillingness to succumb to the laws and rules of Big Brother. Generally someone's childhood and their relationship with their parents forms or at least heavily influences their character later on in life. Perhaps Orwell included this in Winston's history to justify his stubbornness. Since Winston's mother's disappearance was ultimately credited to Big Brother, it would have instilled a subconscious hatred for everything associated with that, at a very young age. Winston has feelings about his childhood, even though he doesn't claim to remember it.
1984 2
"It was a place impossible to enter except on official business, and then only by penetrating through a maze of barbed-wire entanglements, steel doors, and hidden machine-gun nests." (5)
At some points in 1984, Orwell clearly foreshadows bigger parts of the book. Orwell wants to make the Ministry of Love seem like the scariest place in all of Oceania, and he also is just beginning to describe Oceania as a whole. He wants to show it as the worst nightmare of essentially everyone. This is tied in later on in the book when Julia and Winston are caught and both taken to Miniluv, and Winston's experiences in room 101. The irony of the name of the ministry is also an interesting aspect, as that is the place where Winston and Julia's love ultimately died.
At some points in 1984, Orwell clearly foreshadows bigger parts of the book. Orwell wants to make the Ministry of Love seem like the scariest place in all of Oceania, and he also is just beginning to describe Oceania as a whole. He wants to show it as the worst nightmare of essentially everyone. This is tied in later on in the book when Julia and Winston are caught and both taken to Miniluv, and Winston's experiences in room 101. The irony of the name of the ministry is also an interesting aspect, as that is the place where Winston and Julia's love ultimately died.
Monday, August 22, 2011
1984 1
"And the bombed sites where the plaster dust swirled in the air and the willow herb straggled over the heaps of rubble; and the places where the bombs had cleared a larger path and there had sprung up sordid colonies of wooden dwellings like chicken houses?" (3)
Even though this is within the first few pages and is part of establishing the setting, it stuck out. There hadn't been any previous mention of the horrible war that'd been going on. Before these lines, a reader gets the sense that Oceania is a very clean, sterile place, particularly after talking about the various Ministries. Orwell emphasizes the bombed sites to take away from the feeling of physical sterility, but at the same time reinforcing the emotional sterility that everyone seems to possess. The sentences following these also set Winston apart from the otherwise emotionless followers of Big Brother. Winston is trying to remember what everything looked like during his childhood - before the bombings - at no avail.
Even though this is within the first few pages and is part of establishing the setting, it stuck out. There hadn't been any previous mention of the horrible war that'd been going on. Before these lines, a reader gets the sense that Oceania is a very clean, sterile place, particularly after talking about the various Ministries. Orwell emphasizes the bombed sites to take away from the feeling of physical sterility, but at the same time reinforcing the emotional sterility that everyone seems to possess. The sentences following these also set Winston apart from the otherwise emotionless followers of Big Brother. Winston is trying to remember what everything looked like during his childhood - before the bombings - at no avail.
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