1984 Blog 1

The book starts out telling about a man named Winston, who enters his home in Victory Mansions. He lives in a place called Airstrip One, which apparently used to be England. He believes that it is 1984 but isn't exactly sure: "To begin with, he did not know with any certainty that this was 1984." (Page 9). The narrator also describes a guy known as Big Brother, who seems to be in charge of everything. As Winston enters his house a device called a telescreen gives a news report. Telescreens watch the activity of the citizens: "You had to live-did live, from habit that became instinct-in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized." (Page 5). He begins to write in his diary about movies, which reminded him of an incident that happened that morning. He describes the Two Minute Hate, a session where a video about a traitor named Emmanuel Goldstein is played to make the citizens angry and hate him: "A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one's will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic." (Page 17). And throughout the book so far one slogan is repeated over and over: "WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH." It seems like the people live by this slogan and can't escape it: "Even from the coin the eyes pursued you. On coins, on stamps, on the covers of books, on banners, on posters, and on the wrapping of a cigarette packet--everywhere. Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you." (Page 30). Winston continues to write in his diary, which is considered a bad thing: "This was not illegal (nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws), but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a forced-labor camp." (Page 9). He realizes that he keeps writing the same thing over and over: "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER." Winston is horrified that he has written this, because the Thought Police could come after him. Someone knocks on his door and it turns out to be Mrs. Parsons, who needs help repairing her sink. He goes to her flat and her children start to harass him about his thoughts. When he returns home he freaks out and hides his diary. Winston has a dream about his mother and sister and feels somewhat responsible for their deaths: "He could not remember what happened, but he knew in his dream that in some way the lives of his mother and his sister had been sacrificed to his own." (Pages 33-34). He wakes up and it is time for Physical Jerks, a fitness program on the telescreen. Winston goes to work where he destroys old documents and updates new records. He meets with Syme for lunch and they talk about Newspeak. As they talk, Winston thinks that Syme will be vaporized: "One of these days, thought Winston with sudden deep conviction, Syme will be vaporized. He is too intelligent. He sees too clearly and speaks too plainly." (Page 59). Winston writes in his diary that he had an affair with a prostitute and how much sex is frowned upon in his world: "The unforgivable crime was promiscuity between Party members." (Page 72). Winston writes in his diary that a rebellion lies within the proles and that's the only way. He talks about how awful his world is: "The ideal set up by the Party was something huge, terrible, and glittering--a world of steel and concrete, of monstrous machines and terrifying weapons--a nation of warriors and fanatics, marching forward in perfect unity, all thinking the same thoughts and shouting the same slogans, perpetually working, fighting, triumphing, persecuting--three hundred million people all with the same face." (Page 82).
So far in the story it basically describes Winston's world and what he deals with everyday. It's pretty dark and depressing and makes the reader think about what it would be like if their life was like this. I think it's pretty interesting so far and can't wait to read what happens to Winston next.