"Only the Thought Police mattered. Behind Winston's back the voice from the telescreen was still babbling away about pig iron and the over-fulfillment of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained withing the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being wathced at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Though Police plugged in on any individual wire. IT was eve conceivable they watched everybody all the time."p.2-3
Telescreens to me, seem conceivable especially in this day and age. If we can have cameras designed to look like inauspicious household articles and wiretapping, then telescreens are nothing. That is kind of scary. The fact of the matter is, a lot of what was predicted in this novel is now true or at least plausible. There is a potential for many of the methods of government control portrayed in this novel. Furthermore, I feel that the being watched every second of one's life, though useful as a scare tactic by the government, could have the potential to lead to a revolt. These screens do contribute a great part to the disagreement many seem to hold with the government's reign. All in all, I believe the telescreen is one of the means by which the government best holds their position of power. They are always present, a constant reminder of the "watching" that the citizens experience. The ability for a government to do this is thus unsettling in many ways.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Two Minutes Hate - 1984
"The Hate rose to its climax. The voice of Goldstein had become an actual sheep's bleat, and for an instant the face changed into that of a sheep. Then the sheep-face melted into the figure of a Eurasian soldier who seemed to be advancing, huge and terrible, his submachine gun roaring and seeming to spring out of the surface of the screen, so that some of the people in the front row actually flinched backwards in their seats. But in the same moment, drawing a deep sigh of relief from everybody, the hostile figure melted into the face of Big Brother, black-haired, black-moustachio'd, full of power and mysterious calm, and so vast that he almost filled up the screen." p. 15-6
The sequence of events within the Two Minutes Hate are to a degree baffling. How at this time period, could one think of such an occurrence? I wonder myself if there is no relation to some events in World War II. It sounds a bit like brain washing, as well as doctoring of video footage. The strangest thing to me is that time is taken several times out of the day, almost like prayer, to participate in this Two Minutes Hate. I feel that the violence depicted is in part a hostility incurred by the government that is then directed away from themselves toward some scape-goat enemy. I find it odd that so many people could lose themselves in the anger of the crowd. In some ways, this reminds me of the stoning in The Lottery. The crowd joins in because it is tradition and if one person is participating, the others are more likely to.
In addition, here is a commercial that is a reference to Big Brother that I didn't understand till reading this novel.
The sequence of events within the Two Minutes Hate are to a degree baffling. How at this time period, could one think of such an occurrence? I wonder myself if there is no relation to some events in World War II. It sounds a bit like brain washing, as well as doctoring of video footage. The strangest thing to me is that time is taken several times out of the day, almost like prayer, to participate in this Two Minutes Hate. I feel that the violence depicted is in part a hostility incurred by the government that is then directed away from themselves toward some scape-goat enemy. I find it odd that so many people could lose themselves in the anger of the crowd. In some ways, this reminds me of the stoning in The Lottery. The crowd joins in because it is tradition and if one person is participating, the others are more likely to.
In addition, here is a commercial that is a reference to Big Brother that I didn't understand till reading this novel.
Internal Conflict - 1984
"DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER....theyll shoot me i dont care theyll shoot me in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother they always shoot you in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother"
p. 18-9
This is one thought process that Winston writes out on paper that is continuously going through his mind. Despite his disgust and disagreement with the current government, he also fears acting against it. This is apparent from the thoughts we are given through the 1st person narrative. In going against the government, vaporization may be imminent, but continued support still will likely end in his death. If the main character of the novel has these thoughts, it can thus be inferred that this is a common thought for many characters in the novel. Thus this internal conflict is important because it gives even more detail into how the government is affecting people's daily lives and thoughts. It is most interesting because it shows the control that Winston struggles to have over himself during these conflicting times. This internal conflict is key to understanding the government's immense control and truthfully, power, both physically and mentally over the people.
p. 18-9
This is one thought process that Winston writes out on paper that is continuously going through his mind. Despite his disgust and disagreement with the current government, he also fears acting against it. This is apparent from the thoughts we are given through the 1st person narrative. In going against the government, vaporization may be imminent, but continued support still will likely end in his death. If the main character of the novel has these thoughts, it can thus be inferred that this is a common thought for many characters in the novel. Thus this internal conflict is important because it gives even more detail into how the government is affecting people's daily lives and thoughts. It is most interesting because it shows the control that Winston struggles to have over himself during these conflicting times. This internal conflict is key to understanding the government's immense control and truthfully, power, both physically and mentally over the people.
Mood - 1984
"A kilometer away the Ministry of Truth, his place of work, towered vast and white above the grimy landscape... Were there always these vistas of rotting nineteenth- century houses, their sides shored up with balks of timber, their windows patched with cardboard and their roofs with corrugated iron, their crazy garden walls sagging in all directions? 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?" p. 3
Descriptions such as this litter the novel of 1984. These can of course be contributed to setting, but that also set the mood for the novel itself. In this futuristic view of London, despair is evident in the ramshackle living of the people. The four Ministry buildings rise above all else. This can set a mood of overpowering by the government, which stands high above the city. The people have been crushed and oppressed, which is visible in the housing descriptions provided. This sets a mood of helplessness, as even minimal repairs are crude and inadequate. These settings help for the reader to move forward in the novel with an understanding of the characters' own feelings and conditions, which further drive the story.
Descriptions such as this litter the novel of 1984. These can of course be contributed to setting, but that also set the mood for the novel itself. In this futuristic view of London, despair is evident in the ramshackle living of the people. The four Ministry buildings rise above all else. This can set a mood of overpowering by the government, which stands high above the city. The people have been crushed and oppressed, which is visible in the housing descriptions provided. This sets a mood of helplessness, as even minimal repairs are crude and inadequate. These settings help for the reader to move forward in the novel with an understanding of the characters' own feelings and conditions, which further drive the story.
Dialect - 1984
"times 17.3.84 bb speech malreported africa rectify
times 18.12.83 forecasts 3 yp 4th quarter 83 misprints verify current issue
times 14.2.84 miniplenty malquoted chocolate rectify
times 3.12.83 reporting bb dayorder doubleplusungood refs unpersons rewrite fullwise upsub antefiling." p. 38
This is just one example of the many times that the dialect of "Newspeak" is used throughout the novel 1984. In this case, the dialect switches from what we know as modern English to that of Newspeak. The main character himself usually uses modern English with only a few impositions of Newspeak outside his work. This exemplifies his resistance to the control the government holds over their lives. Newspeak symbolizes the ultimate take over, a point at which even language will have been demolished. In this novel, dialect is important because it shows who has accepted the government and its demands into their lives to a greater or a lesser degree. This also is used to show just how great the government's/ Big Brother's power in the country has grown. If speech is being controlled, then it is assumable that there is nearly no free will if any available to the common man at this point.
times 18.12.83 forecasts 3 yp 4th quarter 83 misprints verify current issue
times 14.2.84 miniplenty malquoted chocolate rectify
times 3.12.83 reporting bb dayorder doubleplusungood refs unpersons rewrite fullwise upsub antefiling." p. 38
This is just one example of the many times that the dialect of "Newspeak" is used throughout the novel 1984. In this case, the dialect switches from what we know as modern English to that of Newspeak. The main character himself usually uses modern English with only a few impositions of Newspeak outside his work. This exemplifies his resistance to the control the government holds over their lives. Newspeak symbolizes the ultimate take over, a point at which even language will have been demolished. In this novel, dialect is important because it shows who has accepted the government and its demands into their lives to a greater or a lesser degree. This also is used to show just how great the government's/ Big Brother's power in the country has grown. If speech is being controlled, then it is assumable that there is nearly no free will if any available to the common man at this point.
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