"'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.
So close -- so what is the bigger point Orwell is trying to make? To leave us thinking about?
ReplyDelete"'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)
ReplyDeleteEven 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. Orwell leaves the reader wondering if that is indeed what is happening in society today, and how it is affecting us as a whole. Even though 1984 is a bit of a stretch on reality, the two are connected easily by this idea.
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986.