1984 Book 2 Chapter 3 Sean Richardson P4

1984 Book 2, Chapter 3 Sean Richardson P/4

Character Analysis Julia - At first, we believe Julia hates Winston and may even be part of the Thought Police, but starting in Book 2, she completely changes. She is directly stated as being alert and businesslike, with a practical cunning that Winston couldn’t match. She is said to enjoy her job in the Fiction Department, feel at home with machines, despise books, and live in a hostel with at least 30 other women. Also, she is said to have been born with excellent character, but society has changed her and when not near a telescreen, she is a corrupt individual. She even claims herself to be so.

Character Analysis Katharine - The only way we get to know Katharine in this chapter is through Winston’s retelling of his memories. She was an orderly woman and abided strictly by Party laws. She believed that sex should only be considered to have children (as a duty of the Party, no less). After thinking too much about her, Winston decides he hated her, and on a community hike they went on, he actually wanted to think about pushing her off a cliff.

Vocabulary Enunciate (v. ) - To utter or pronounce in an articulate manner. Orwell describes Julia's instructions as though she is enunciating a general principle, clearcut and straight to the point. Adept (adj. ) - Skilled; proficient; expert. Julia is shown to be adept at speaking without moving her lips, showing how secretive she truly is.

Vocabulary Hypocrite (n. ) - A person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, or principles that he or she does not actually possess; a person whose actions belie stated beliefs. People in the Party usually try to give the image that they are working for the good of the people, but in reality are only working to better themselves. Hysteria (n. ) - An uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter, or weeping. Sex privation is said to cause hysteria, as it could be transformed into war fever or leader worship.

Newspeak Goodthinkful – Naturally orthodox, incapable of thinking a bad thought. Winston describes his ex-wife Katharine as a goodthinkful person, dutifully listening to the Party and never straying from its laws.

Literary Elements • “Never go home the same way as you went out, ” she said, as though enunciating an important general principle. – This simile, stated by Julia, is used to describe the statement as a general fact to show that by now, in all of his thoughtcrime, Winston should know what to do when avoiding the Party.

Literary Elements • Suddenly he became aware of Julia's face a few centimeters from his own, deathly white, as white as chalk. – Another simile, the plaster on Julia's face from the rocket bomb turns it completely white, like a person's face after death. This shows the constant danger Oceania is in, even in deserted areas.

Literary Elements • He wondered vaguely how many others like her might be in the younger generation – people who had grown up in the world of the Revolution, knowing nothing else, accepting the Party as something unalterable, like the sky, not rebelling against its authority but simply evading it as a rabbit dodges a dog. – This passage contains two similes, one right after the other. The first compares the Party to the sky, as, from the viewpoint of the people, is unalterable and has total control over its domain. The second compares the younger generation evading the government to a rabbit evading being hunted: they are afraid of what the consequences would be if they try to rebel. The government is made out to be a powerful and feared system without many enemies.

Literary Elements • She described to him, almost as though she had seen or felt it, the stiffening of Katharine's body as soon as he touched her, the way she seemed to be pushing him from her with all her strength, even when her arms were clasped tightly round him. – This passage uses imagery to create a vivid picture of the kind of person Katharine was like: a timid, law-abiding, goodthinkful woman who only thought of her duty to the Party.

Discussion Question 1 • How did Julia become the kind of woman that we found out she really is? – She was raised very well and given many opportunities, and when she grew up and started committing thoughtcrime, she knew what she had to do to avoid being caught for as long as she can.

Discussion Question 2 • How did Winston change the way he was from the time he was married to Katharine to now? – Katharine changed the way Winston felt about law-abiding, loyal Party members. He started to hate them because the law got in the way of his emotions, including pleasure and happiness. He wanted to have a world where he could express himself as he pleased. Then, he met Julia. Now he has that world in secret, and he is happy.

Discussion Question 3 Describe Julia’s character as it relates to Winston. How is she different from him? How is she similar to him? How does Julia’s age make her attitude toward the Party very different from Winston’s? Winston's childhood took place largely before the Party came to power around 1960. Julia, on the other hand, is a child of the Party era. Many elements that seem frightening and evil to Winston fail to upset or even faze Julia. Like Winston, she hates the Party and sees through many of its techniques. She even has a better grasp of the Party’s methods than Winston does, planning their affair and often explaining aspects of the Party to him. However, the Party’s control of history doesn't interest or trouble her as it does Winston, because she doesn't remember a time when the Party was not in control. In defiance of the Party, Julia enjoys sex and rebels against them in small ways. But growing up under the Party regime has made her apathetic to the difference between truth and falsehood. She has no patience for Winston’s desire for an abstract rejection of Party doctrine. Rather, she falls asleep when Winston reads to her from Emmanuel Goldstein’s book, epitomizing her simple, self-centered, pleasure-seeking approach to life.

Discussion Question 4 • Why didn't Winston need to know Julia's surname or address? – Because of constant Party surveillance, there would be no possible way to meet indoors or exchange written communication without raising suspicion and being punished.

Discussion Question 5 • What does Julia do at Minitrue and why was she picked to work in Pornosec? – Julia mainly works in the Fiction Department on running and maintaining the novel-writing machines, which she has become skilled at. She has been around this department so long that she could describe the composition of a novel, but she doesn't care for books. She once was in Pornosec because of her childhood reputation and loyalty, and because of this was believed to be pure.

Chapter Summary • After the night of making love, Julia and Winston wake up and set the path to return without being noticed. Julia has obviously had experience, as she is completely businesslike and carries out the plans without haste. They only had one more meeting that entire month in a church belfry. Other than that, they only could happen to pass on the street. While at the belfry, the area is hit with a rocket bomb. We finally learn about Julia's life story and background and that she is one of very few who were picked to work in Pornosec. On top of all this, she has had numerous affairs with Party members of all ages, which attracts Winston to her because she is a corrupt, secretive person. Then Winston goes into more detail about his marriage with Katharine and describes her how he remembers her. He dips into a story from the early months of their marriage, when he and Katharine lagged behind on a community hike to look at a strangely colored flower. At this moment, he had thoughts of pushing her over the cliff they were looking down over. After the memory, they once again plan out the directions to and from their next meeting before parting ways.

Chapter Analysis • Almost all of the chapter is written in the style of flashbacks, both for Julia and Winston, mainly for Orwell to give us an analysis of both characters' pasts. The themes of both sides vary greatly. Julia's flashbacks convey her past life as a dutiful person, while Winston's bring up his past marriage to Katharine, who Julia, by chance, used to be like. This all takes place in the ruined belfry where the two carried on their tryst, creating doublethink. They know they love each other, but at the same time, they know and believe in their past.