"'You're only a rebel from the waist downwards,' he told her. She thought this brilliantly witty and flung her arms around him in delight." (156)
Being a rebel from the waist downward is obviously Orwell's way of alluding to the fact that Julia's way of rebelling is by committing sexual acts. Much like the chastity rings parents give their daughters these days, the sash that she wears for the anti-sex league protects her waist, and appears to restrain her. Thoughtcrime is the biggest crime in Oceania, yet Julia is not as extreme with her thoughts as Winston is. As before, Winston believes that society is already forgetting the old ways, and Julia is quite a bit younger than he. This connects to the theme that the younger generation is buying into the ways of the Party much easier, but there is still hope, as Julia proves.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
1984 Nine
"Then why are you sorry that you didn't do it?"
"Only because I prefer a positive to a negative. In this game that we're playing, we can't win. Some kinds of failure are better than other kinds, that's all." (135)
Julia could not comprehend that in the law of nature, the individual is always defeated. Orwell wrote that if Winston pushed his wife off of cliff, he would have, in a sense, defeated himself. The last line suggests that if failure is eminent, there is still a better way to chose. During the second world war, which had ended several years before the publication of 1984, Hitler didn't win the game he was playing. And in the end, because he knew that his death was upon him, he did not want anyone to have the sweet satisfaction of killing him other than himself. Throughout the book, Winston mentions killing himself, or he and Julia together once discovered. This is much the same deal. Death is failure, yes, but suicide may be a better route for them all.
"Only because I prefer a positive to a negative. In this game that we're playing, we can't win. Some kinds of failure are better than other kinds, that's all." (135)
Julia could not comprehend that in the law of nature, the individual is always defeated. Orwell wrote that if Winston pushed his wife off of cliff, he would have, in a sense, defeated himself. The last line suggests that if failure is eminent, there is still a better way to chose. During the second world war, which had ended several years before the publication of 1984, Hitler didn't win the game he was playing. And in the end, because he knew that his death was upon him, he did not want anyone to have the sweet satisfaction of killing him other than himself. Throughout the book, Winston mentions killing himself, or he and Julia together once discovered. This is much the same deal. Death is failure, yes, but suicide may be a better route for them all.
1984 Eight
"Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows." (81)
Orwell wrote that all else follows. That indeed, truisms are true, stones are hard and water is wet; that there is such a thing as gravity. But freedom is slavery, because the Party controls all that is real, all that is ordinary and accepted. If a person says they are levitating, who is to say they aren't if they convince someone else that they are? Who is to say that anything is physically impossible if the Party says otherwise? If four is divisible by two, than anything is possible. But without, this is only a foreshadowing of the punishment later on in the book.
Orwell wrote that all else follows. That indeed, truisms are true, stones are hard and water is wet; that there is such a thing as gravity. But freedom is slavery, because the Party controls all that is real, all that is ordinary and accepted. If a person says they are levitating, who is to say they aren't if they convince someone else that they are? Who is to say that anything is physically impossible if the Party says otherwise? If four is divisible by two, than anything is possible. But without, this is only a foreshadowing of the punishment later on in the book.
1984 Seven
"Under the spreading chestnut tree, I sold you and you sold me: There lie they, and here lie we, under the spreading chestnut tree." (77)
In Orwell's book, The Chestnut Tree Cafe is where the three rebels would hang out back in the day. A bar is a place to relax and kick back, which is completely different to the rest of the society of Oceania. Under the willow tree and in the grass, Julia took Winston ad Winston took Julia, which in the current government sold each other both to the ThoughtPolice in the end. It is ironic that their love is forbidden, such as when Eve took a bite out of the apple in the Garden of Eden. With the knowledge that something bad would happen if they continued, both Eve and the two lovers knowingly committed the crimes anyways. This leads the reader to assume that Winston and Julia will have consequences to pay, like Adam and Eve did.
Biblical Story
In Orwell's book, The Chestnut Tree Cafe is where the three rebels would hang out back in the day. A bar is a place to relax and kick back, which is completely different to the rest of the society of Oceania. Under the willow tree and in the grass, Julia took Winston ad Winston took Julia, which in the current government sold each other both to the ThoughtPolice in the end. It is ironic that their love is forbidden, such as when Eve took a bite out of the apple in the Garden of Eden. With the knowledge that something bad would happen if they continued, both Eve and the two lovers knowingly committed the crimes anyways. This leads the reader to assume that Winston and Julia will have consequences to pay, like Adam and Eve did.
Biblical Story
1984 Six
"'Who controls the past,' ran the party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'" (34)
Although, as Orwell stated in 1984, the people who control the past control the future, there is a gap between that and "who controls the present controls the past." The old-timers way back when (in the past) controlled the future that had yet to come. Once the said future was present, was reality, other systems were in control, and the ways of the future were no longer established by the people of the past. Then, those new people who were controlling at the present time could do whatever else they wanted to any other time period in the past. They had complete control of only the past, in fact, because they could shift events and forget others. People of a later generation would not remember what the truth really had been about the past, and we arrive at the fact that you can only truly control what has come before you, what has already and definitely happened. This slogan suggests, perhaps, that although Winston has these ideas of rebelling, he is by no means the one controlling the present, and although he wants to discover more about the past, never will.
Although, as Orwell stated in 1984, the people who control the past control the future, there is a gap between that and "who controls the present controls the past." The old-timers way back when (in the past) controlled the future that had yet to come. Once the said future was present, was reality, other systems were in control, and the ways of the future were no longer established by the people of the past. Then, those new people who were controlling at the present time could do whatever else they wanted to any other time period in the past. They had complete control of only the past, in fact, because they could shift events and forget others. People of a later generation would not remember what the truth really had been about the past, and we arrive at the fact that you can only truly control what has come before you, what has already and definitely happened. This slogan suggests, perhaps, that although Winston has these ideas of rebelling, he is by no means the one controlling the present, and although he wants to discover more about the past, never will.
1984 Five
"Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime IS death." (28)
There is nothing worse in the life of Oceania that Orwell created than betrayal of thought, much like many believe in the world today that nothing is worse than death. However, as people commonly say and believe that there really are things worse than death, there are not many things worse in Oceania than being a criminal of thoughts, because that is all the system of government runs on. Winston does not believe in the government system, but pieces together that if there is thoughtcrime, it is eminent that there is death. Not only death, but elimination from existence of ever being alive. And that, Winston believes, is greater than death, which seems to be a major theme in the story, that everyone is trying to avoid death and the ThoughtPolice.
There is nothing worse in the life of Oceania that Orwell created than betrayal of thought, much like many believe in the world today that nothing is worse than death. However, as people commonly say and believe that there really are things worse than death, there are not many things worse in Oceania than being a criminal of thoughts, because that is all the system of government runs on. Winston does not believe in the government system, but pieces together that if there is thoughtcrime, it is eminent that there is death. Not only death, but elimination from existence of ever being alive. And that, Winston believes, is greater than death, which seems to be a major theme in the story, that everyone is trying to avoid death and the ThoughtPolice.
1984 Four
"Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, working or eating , in doors or out of doors, in bath or in bed- no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters inside your skull." (27)
God. That is who "Big Brother" seems to resemble in Orwell's novel, but in a much less spiritual way. He watches you at all times, and has ways of prying your thoughts out of your head, because of being somewhat limited to entry. People would make confessions in the old days about sins that they had committed and then were relieved. However, in Oceania, if people are discovered by Junior Spies or the ThoughtPolice of being atheistic or utterly against the "religion," then they are condemned. Some people that do not believe in the system pretend that they do, because of the judgment, whether it be God or the ThoughPolice.
God. That is who "Big Brother" seems to resemble in Orwell's novel, but in a much less spiritual way. He watches you at all times, and has ways of prying your thoughts out of your head, because of being somewhat limited to entry. People would make confessions in the old days about sins that they had committed and then were relieved. However, in Oceania, if people are discovered by Junior Spies or the ThoughtPolice of being atheistic or utterly against the "religion," then they are condemned. Some people that do not believe in the system pretend that they do, because of the judgment, whether it be God or the ThoughPolice.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
1984 Three
"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU"
For any Lord Of The Rings fan out there, how does this quote in Orwell's 1984 not make you think of the Eye of Sauron? It is forever keeping watch throughout Middle-Earth for the Ring, and has extreme power over Frodo while he is in possession of, and wearing the Ring. Big Brother, with help of the Junior Spies, ThinkPolice and telescreens, watches every move of the citizens of Oceania, waiting to catch them off guard and catch them for committing thoughtcrime. This slogan also brings to memory an old, patriotic guy pointing ferociously into the unknown in front of him... "Uncle Sam Wants You!"
Tolkien, J.R.R., The Lord Of The Rings, 1954-55, London.
For any Lord Of The Rings fan out there, how does this quote in Orwell's 1984 not make you think of the Eye of Sauron? It is forever keeping watch throughout Middle-Earth for the Ring, and has extreme power over Frodo while he is in possession of, and wearing the Ring. Big Brother, with help of the Junior Spies, ThinkPolice and telescreens, watches every move of the citizens of Oceania, waiting to catch them off guard and catch them for committing thoughtcrime. This slogan also brings to memory an old, patriotic guy pointing ferociously into the unknown in front of him... "Uncle Sam Wants You!"
Tolkien, J.R.R., The Lord Of The Rings, 1954-55, London.
1984 Two
"'Goldstein!' bellowed the boy as the door closed on him. But what most struck Winston was the look of helpless fright on the woman's grayish face." (24)
Even though they are related, Winston's neighbor, Mrs. Parson, is frightened out of her mind by her children. Orwell writes that with every generation farther away from the time before Oceania and the Party were conceived, it has in it people with stronger loyalty to their beliefs. And why shouldn't they? If no one is teaching the ways of the ancient world, then the way life is at the moment is ordinary, much like the idea that Aunt Lydia conveys in the Handmaid's Tale. Winston is afraid of the world continuing on and leaving the old one behind, and it is his belief that society should not change so much.
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986.
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986.
1984 One
"War is peace, Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is strength."
This quote appears throughout the novel by George Orwell, most importantly at the beginning, which automatically sets the tone for the reader. It has been said and demonstrated many times before, that war is peace. War is peace because when one side rallies up against another, all differences on that one side are momentarily forgotten. But then, as history has proven, alliances within a country or nation can shift drastically against each other, as the U.S. demonstrated in the Civil War (1861-65). As long as anyone living could remember, Oceania had always been at war, with either Eurasia or Eastasia. Thus Orwell suggests that peace had always been maintained within Oceania.
This quote appears throughout the novel by George Orwell, most importantly at the beginning, which automatically sets the tone for the reader. It has been said and demonstrated many times before, that war is peace. War is peace because when one side rallies up against another, all differences on that one side are momentarily forgotten. But then, as history has proven, alliances within a country or nation can shift drastically against each other, as the U.S. demonstrated in the Civil War (1861-65). As long as anyone living could remember, Oceania had always been at war, with either Eurasia or Eastasia. Thus Orwell suggests that peace had always been maintained within Oceania.
The Handmaid's Tale Twelve
"Nolite te bastardes carborundorum" (52)
This quote, carved into Offred's room in the Commander's house, is Latin for "Don't let the bastards grind you down." Although the world in which Atwood has created has changed in an almost impossibly short amount of time, in less than a decade, one thing has stayed the same. Latin is a dead language; it is forever unchanging. Brought along for the ride, it is a piece that remains out of the old world; the way things used to be. And with the language comes the motto, used in both lifestyles to get people through their hard times. Although people have more freedom to before Gilead, they did not have as much freedom from, which brought forth many issues. For example, celebrities, such as Serena Joy, didn't have freedom from the press, from gossip and rumors. The phrase made Offred think about the previous Offred who'd hung herself, who'd let the bastards grind her down.
This quote, carved into Offred's room in the Commander's house, is Latin for "Don't let the bastards grind you down." Although the world in which Atwood has created has changed in an almost impossibly short amount of time, in less than a decade, one thing has stayed the same. Latin is a dead language; it is forever unchanging. Brought along for the ride, it is a piece that remains out of the old world; the way things used to be. And with the language comes the motto, used in both lifestyles to get people through their hard times. Although people have more freedom to before Gilead, they did not have as much freedom from, which brought forth many issues. For example, celebrities, such as Serena Joy, didn't have freedom from the press, from gossip and rumors. The phrase made Offred think about the previous Offred who'd hung herself, who'd let the bastards grind her down.
The Handmaid's Tale Eleven
"There is more than one kind of freedom... freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don't underrate it." (23)
In the days of anarchy, people were given the freedom to do things; America was a free country. Similar to the slogan in 1984, that "Freedom is Slavery", the Gilean government that Atwood created believes that by limiting everything in a human's life, they are giving the people freedom from things. Such as, for a Handmaid, freedom from the colonies. Without being too brought to the surface of attention, it is interesting to note that the system also gives women freedom from caring about looks, knowing how to read or even have a job or get an education. Although seemingly a loss compared to the way things once were, Aunt Lydia sees the value in it and reassures all of the Handmaids.
Orwell, George, 1984, Secker & Warburg, London.
In the days of anarchy, people were given the freedom to do things; America was a free country. Similar to the slogan in 1984, that "Freedom is Slavery", the Gilean government that Atwood created believes that by limiting everything in a human's life, they are giving the people freedom from things. Such as, for a Handmaid, freedom from the colonies. Without being too brought to the surface of attention, it is interesting to note that the system also gives women freedom from caring about looks, knowing how to read or even have a job or get an education. Although seemingly a loss compared to the way things once were, Aunt Lydia sees the value in it and reassures all of the Handmaids.
Orwell, George, 1984, Secker & Warburg, London.
The Handmaid's Tale Ten
"I look at the one red smile. The red of the smile is the same as the red of the tulips in Serena Joy's garden, towards the base of the flowers where they are beginning to heal. The red is the same but there is no connection." (33)
The smile is that of an unknown man with a white sack over his head that has recently been hung. The connection is made that the color is that of the flowers that Serena Joy tirelessly tends to in her garden. "The base of the flowers where they are beginning to heal" is a part of the tulips that have been mentioned at another point in the book by Atwood, thus the Handmaid's menstrual cycle has been once completed. As for "Serena Joy's garden," a garden is often times a slang term for a woman's reproductive organs, which hers wear a sad grin for lack of activity. In fact, the difference between her garden and the Handmaid's is that she has no way to connect with the Commander, or to present him with a child. Nonetheless, Offred sees her on many occasions throughout the book, tending to her garden, and especially to her tulips.
The smile is that of an unknown man with a white sack over his head that has recently been hung. The connection is made that the color is that of the flowers that Serena Joy tirelessly tends to in her garden. "The base of the flowers where they are beginning to heal" is a part of the tulips that have been mentioned at another point in the book by Atwood, thus the Handmaid's menstrual cycle has been once completed. As for "Serena Joy's garden," a garden is often times a slang term for a woman's reproductive organs, which hers wear a sad grin for lack of activity. In fact, the difference between her garden and the Handmaid's is that she has no way to connect with the Commander, or to present him with a child. Nonetheless, Offred sees her on many occasions throughout the book, tending to her garden, and especially to her tulips.
The Handmaid's Tale Nine
"Spring has now been undergone. The tulips have had their moment and are done, shedding their pedals one by one, like teeth." (153)
Spring is the time of year for awakenings; of birth and new life. Spring is also considered the prime years of someone's life to bear children. In Atwood's book, Offred realizes that her prime time is coming to an end, in both her menstrual cycle and her life, and that summer is beginning. The petals of her womb are shedding, and the tulips, meaning her child-bearing organs, have expired. The usage of "teeth" is used cleverly, in the sense that as people get older they are more prone to losing them, and, as stated in the New Oxford American Dictionary, they can be a genuine force or effectiveness of a body. Whether it is Offred, the Commander, or the both of them, one of those options is certain- one of them has lost their reproductive teeth.
New Oxford American Dictionary
The Handmaid's Tale Eight
"The tulips along the border are redder than ever, opening, no longer wine cups but chalices; thrusting themselves up, to what end?" (45)
The progression of the female menstrual cycle continues to take place in this quote by Atwood, by example of the tulips. "The tulips along the border are redder than ever" is a parallel to the lining in a woman's uterus before menstruation occurs. It is here that the body opens, readying itself for an evacuation. Described first as wine cups and later chalices, the uterus is filled with fermented liquid (such as wine is, and a wine glass would hold). It is interesting that tulips are chosen as the flower to represent the relationship that Offred holds with herself, and the one she shares with the Commander, because tulips, along with many other kinds of flowers, are given as a sign of love from one person to another. It is strange that there is no connection between that and the Handmaid and the Commander's relationship; there is no love, only a shared desire for a child.
Monday, September 5, 2011
The Handmaid's Tale Seven
The smell is of our own flesh, an organic smell, sweat and a tinge of iron, from the blood on the sheet, and another smell, more animal, that's coming, it must be, from Janine: a smell of dens, of inhabited caves, the smell of the plaid blanket on the bed when the cat gave birth on it, once, before she was spayed. Smell of Matrix (123).
Matrix is an interesting word choice for Atwood to use in this particular context. As the New Oxford American Dictionary states, the term "matrix" can be "an environment or material in which something develops; a surrounding medium or structure" which would no doubt be the womb. It is interesting that alternating definitions include "a mass of fine-grained rock in which gems, crystals, or fossils are embedded," as well as (in Biology) "the substance between cells or in which structures are embedded." The first of these two allude to the fact that the womb is carrying precious elements, while the second takes a more scientific approach to the situation. Regardless, the term "matrix" used above could indefinitely refer to any of these definitions. In their current situation, Handmaids would easily believe the baby in their womb was a rare gem.
Stevenson, Angus. New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, August 2010
Matrix is an interesting word choice for Atwood to use in this particular context. As the New Oxford American Dictionary states, the term "matrix" can be "an environment or material in which something develops; a surrounding medium or structure" which would no doubt be the womb. It is interesting that alternating definitions include "a mass of fine-grained rock in which gems, crystals, or fossils are embedded," as well as (in Biology) "the substance between cells or in which structures are embedded." The first of these two allude to the fact that the womb is carrying precious elements, while the second takes a more scientific approach to the situation. Regardless, the term "matrix" used above could indefinitely refer to any of these definitions. In their current situation, Handmaids would easily believe the baby in their womb was a rare gem.
Stevenson, Angus. New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, August 2010
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