Book Three: Chapters 4-6

"'Sometimes,' she said, 'they threaten you with something-something you can't stand up to, can't even think about. And then you say, "Don't do it to me, do it to somebody else, do it to so-and-so.' And perhaps you might pretend, afterwards, that it was only a trick and that you just said it to make them stop and didn't really mean it. But that isn't true. At the time when it happens you do mean it. You think there's no other way of saving yourself that way. You want it to happen to the other person. You don't give a damn what they suffer. All you care about is yourself.'" (pg 240)

After being released, Winston ran into Julia. He explains how Julia has gotten thicker from the hips. A woman being more thick in this area usually is thought of making her more desirable, but the thought of having sex with her now seemed horrifying, he couldn't even think of the word sex as he addresses it as "that". Then they admitted to each other how they had betrayed one another. At this point in their lives, they are completely owned by the Party; they are not themselves anymore. They feel no love; they feel no desires. They have turned like every other citizen and that's exactly what the Party wanted.

This reminds me of the Salem Witch Trials because once someone was deemed to be a "witch" they would get tortured and possibly killed if they did not admit to their act and revert back to the Christian faith. The only way to not be hanged was to admit that you were one and in the process those accused would betray others by saying these other people were witches too. The Salem Witch trials relate to the Party because the higher figures instill fear in their citizens by saying there was witches and witchcraft going on. They were killing people without the right to do so, similarly how the Party kills or "vanishes" people without proper reason.
This specifically relates to Julia and Winston because they betrayed each other to not have to be tortured anymore, just how many "witches" betrayed each other to not be killed.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 29, 2017 at 1:24 PM

    I like your comparison of 1984 to the Salem Witch Trials because I can see the parallels of how so many people were killed without having a fair trial and in 1984 the Party tortures people until they finally obtain the response that they want and if they never get it, then the person will die. I also like how you pointed out that "witches" would betray each other and in 1984, both Winston and Julia betrayed each other and in the end they did not feel the same way about each other.

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  2. UnknownNovember 29, 2017 at 8:38 PM

    Your comparison to Salem Witch Trials is interesting! I haven't thought of that yet. It's unfortunate how badly tortured Julia and Winston had to be to tell on each other. It makes me sad seeing the Party win because I was rooting for them.

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  3. PMontanoMiddleCollegeNovember 29, 2017 at 10:58 PM

    This was amazing! I loved how you were able to tie in the Salem Witch Trials to the quote. I have to say you that was very great, and true. You can see so many parallels to both instances, in the Salem Witch Trials the higher-ups excetued those who were accused of witchdraft and the towns people would not even question it, they were so afraid because of what they had been told about witches from the higher-ups that they just went with it. We can see this exact thing happening in 1984 with how the higher party members and Big Brother treats those who go against the Party and the rest just go with it. Your comparison makes it so much easier to understand this concept. It was great!!

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  4. Lysette RaneseDecember 7, 2017 at 8:13 PM

    Hi Lynda! I think that the way you explain your quote really provides more insight on how Winston views Julia and their past relationship. The quote itself, is so strong and the fact that you explained it well is very nice. I also liked how you related it to the Salem Witch Trials.

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  5. UnknownDecember 9, 2017 at 12:22 AM

    I enjoyed your opinions. I find it interesting and helpful that you connected your analysis to the Salem witch trials.I also enjoyed how you connected everything to the whole of the story.

    ReplyDelete
  6. jzamoramiddlecollegeDecember 9, 2017 at 10:51 AM

    Like the previous comments, I like how you related it to the Salem witch trials. I can see why you thought this, and totally agree with you. What would you do if you were put in the position of one of them? Would you have someone else be killed for you to be alive?

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  7. UnknownDecember 9, 2017 at 7:11 PM

    I like the fact that you related to the Salem witch trials, nice analysis! It is unfortunate that the party defeated Winston

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  8. UnknownDecember 10, 2017 at 6:08 PM

    I like how you talked about the Salem Witch Trials. It's crazy how Julia and Winston are so different now because of the Party.

    ReplyDelete

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