1984 Journal 2

1984 Journal 2

Pg. 52

            My passage is about Winston Smith beginning to question the way of life the party is subjecting him to. He is looking around the cafeteria and criticizing all of the poor conditions the government is forcing him to live with. He starts to realize all of the governments short comings and begins to feel cheated by the government. He wonders if life had been different.

            This passage is significant to the novel because Winston is beginning to resent the government. He is starting to think for himself and is becoming independent from the government: significant. The critical thinking he displays demonstrates shows that he is separating himself from the party. He is no longer blindly accepting the government’s propaganda. He is not completely against the government yet but some cracks of disloyalty are forming in his mind about the party. Winston’s repetition of the government’s bad conditions further emphasizes how he is not satisfied with the life the government is giving him. He is seeing the government’s cafeteria and the poor living conditions people are being subjected to: significant. Winston describes his unsatisfactory surroundings in a dejected light. This characterization of Winston lets the reader know what is going on in Winston’s mind. This passage also describes how people need different experiences to make decisions and to be independent: significant. The word choice of “ancestral memory” describes how the government has eradicated the past because the only way to know if life was different required a memory from long ago. This shows the ruthlessness of the government’s attempt to try and control how people think.