I follow along with my sibling’s senior English class as they go through iconic high school literature…
This is a weekend double chapter post. I did some additional reading with my sibling and we had an interesting conversation about the two chapters — — chapter 4 will come tomorrow.
Chapter 3
The Dream
Winston’s dream about his family and the sinking ship tells a lot about his childhood. He claimed his parents were among those who were “removed” by the party. This is vaguely reminiscent of the White Terror period in Taiwan. Political dissenter were vanished overnight and martial law was instated for almost 40 years. Could this happen in America? It’s hard to say. But the abuse of power and use of armed forces could lead to some very unwanted results.
When we start to see the government overstep boundaries and ignore peaceful solutions to conflicts then we must be increasingly weary of what the government is trying to accomplish. The past few months we have seen the government conduct some questionable acts against the people. What I felt could have been peacefully resolved has gone far far into territories where I feel might be going against the public interest.
Atomic bombing and Bunkers under the Tube
Winston hints that an atomic bomb has been dropped near London. This is an interesting what if scenario that Orwell imagines. If not for the the end of the second World War, what would the continued conflicts between the nations have been like? What if the Cold War had ignited and the communist regime had taken hold of the western world? The idea that an alternative history where the 1980s is re-imagined as a totalitarian regime might not be that far off. The world is still in flux and we may still see Orwell’s prophecy come to pass. Though, I highly doubt it would be in this lifetime.
The Physical Jerks
I have to admit. I laughed a bit at this scene. Wilson jumps out of bed to his TV yelling at him to exercise. Meanwhile in 2020, people have Zoom exercise sessions, where people pay coaches to yell at them to workout through the screen. Ironic? Perhaps…
Doublethink
This is a topic for a whole other post. The idea that we can simultaneously think and not think. Be conscious and not conscious of certain “facts”.. I feel like we have started to reach a generation where this is indeed a thing. We believe and disbelieve the media. The news of the disasters are at once feared and ignored, and we choose only to believe the truths that are convenient at that given time. The pandemic is the best example as many people only believed what they thought was most convenient.
Read along with me and my siblings as we go deeper and deeper into the literary analysis of 1984 and follow my commentary on the relevance of the novel in today’s almost dystopian society. If you’re a sucker for physical copies like me, click the affiliate link below to help support these post.
