1984

So Winston starts this section off with him once again being followed, but this time it is by O'Brien. O'Brien comes up to him and starts rambling on and on about a new dictionary and how Winston put a word in the Times that wasn't supposed to be there because in the new dictionary it is outlawed, but what Winston told him was that they have not recieved the new dictionary yet. This process is done right in front of a telescreen which makes O'Brien seem very suspicious. Why do this infront of a telescreen, unless he is trying to get caught...right. O'Brien is not who he seems to be. I think that O'Brien is maybe working for the wrong side, he is probably part of the Party, and possibly working to get Winston caught.

The other part of the book was talking a lot about Winston's mother. When Winston's father died Winston's mother 'lost her spirit'. She changed and was now raising Winston and his sick sister on her own. Winston was in some words a bratty child. He would scream and fight and throw temper tantrums in order to try and get food from his mother, and when she folded and gave him some it only made his want more. Even though he knew he was starving the only family he had left he still kept on doing it. I wonder if Winston's mother thought that if she didn't give him the food he would turn her in for something like thoughtcrime. She may have lost her will to feel compasionate towards him and only fear what was to come if he wasn't a satisfied child.

Winston woke up and found out that he really didn't kill his mother like he thought, this is what he got from a dream he had. Julia asks him what is wrong and he confides in her but she just blew it off. I wonder if it was just because she was half asleep, because he did just wake her up to tell her or if it was because her feelings for him aren't as emotional as they are physical because no matter how much they try their abilities towards feelings and everything are somewhat lost.

Later on in this section Winston takes Julia to O'Briens home to get the "dictionary" and Winston confides in O'Brien but we find out he is not who we thought he was.

1984

This weeks reading was pretty intense. There were many risks taken and many new findings. First we start off with Winston and Julia heading off to a secret place. Danger/courage is what they are going through right now, not knowing whether or not they'll get caught but taking that risk anyhow. At first Winston is a bit scared to get too close to her. I wonder, is he still afraid of whether or not she's a spy or if he's afraid he'll get caught or he's afraid of what might end up happening between them? But whatever the reason he is pulling away from her at first he ends up not caring at all because he pushes away all of his worries in order to get back the one thing he's been thinking of most of the book, to be close to someone, not just emotionally, but physically too. One thing that bothers me about those two is that at times they are way too honest. First he tells her he hated her at first and thought of killing her and so on and then she tells him she's slept with tons of guys and liked it because she wanted sex...um ok. I would get creeped out about that but they apparently don't seem to mind. Also in this chapter things between the two strenghthen but what is strange is that Winston compares Julia to a political matter. He talks about being with her wasn't so much for physical/emotional but was because he was in a way rebelling and making some political statement.

Later on in the book we learn a lot more about Julia, especially about how she completely despises the Party. She actually plays a big role in the party, being part of the Anti-Sex League and wearing the red sash. But really all of this is in order that she doesn't get caught or even suspisioned for who she really is. Julia is much younger than Winston is it surprised me that if she grew up with the only knowledge of the Party, why is she so against them???

1984

The chapter starts off with Winston missing, for the second time in three weeks, going to his comunity center. When he is thinking about this his ulcer starts to hurt and I think the reason for that is because he is stressing about what could happen whether he could get in trouble or whatever but he is getting agitated and that is why his ulcer is starting to hurt and itch. "If there is hope it lies in the proles." I think that this saying is important in the story because it makes me think that the proles are the only ones left with the memory of how used to be, they are not under as much control from the government and this makes them so important because they are the only ones left to bring them back to the way the world was before the revolutionary war. Winston believes that they are the only hope left and that is why he follows an old man into a pub and bothers him hoping he will tell him about his past. Once Winston realizes the old man has no recollection of the past Winston knows that the government has made much more damage even to those who have lived before Big Brother. This just gives him a feeling that there is no hope left and when that is in your head, what's the point of living?

While Winston was walking home the girl, Julia, was once again following and for a moment he thought of taking her in the alley and killing her. He already thought she was some sort of spy but now that he was holding something that could get him in trouble he is even more nervous. But he decides not to and goes home.

Julia has completely changed from who we thought she was in this chapter. She went from being a spy to actually just following her heart. In this chapter Julia makes a brave move. When she was walking by Winston she fell and Winston, surprisingly, helped her up and she gave him a note that said "I love you!" Winston of course is thinking the worst but he gets the courage to go and talk to her and they plan to meet. When they do meet everything doesn't go as planned but in the process they get to hold hands.

1984

In this section of the reading we learn more about what it is that Winston does. Winston gets messages and then needs to go back through the articles in the "Times" and rewrites history in the way that Big Brother wants him to write it. Winston says that his work is his "greatest pleasure"...what is that all about. Winston first says he hates his work because he doesn't agree with it and then he says it is his pleasure. It's quite confusing, but in a way I think that maybe it makes sense. Maybe he is trying to do what everyone else is doing by following Big Brother but when he is going against it maybe that is his way of staying sane with the way the world is supposed to be. He needs to be able to get away from what he is told and do what he thinks is right.

Syme, a writer of the Newspeak dictionary, is introduced to us. He eats lunch with Winston and in a way is his friend. Syme tells Winston of how the dictionary is getting smaller, and smaller. Big Brother is trying to limit the amount of words people are able to speak of so that they will no longer be able to have bad thoughts. I wonder, is everyone expected to read the dictionary in order to know of the certain words they are and are not able to speak or even think of?

At the end of the section Winston speaks of his wife. The first time that we hear of Winston having a wife, and he says that she was under their control. They were unable to have a child so she left. How is it possible to even think in that way. In a way this book kind of reminds me of the movie "The Truman Show" where Jim Carrey lives in a world and in a way, even though he doesn't know, is being controled. His wife doesn't actually love him, everyone is nice to him because they are on TV, and his world is not even an actual world. In a way the book just reminds me of this movie and how you never know who is out there watching...