Nick Porter 1984 Literary Luminary Question
In the first paragraph of page 273 of the book 1984 it says,
“He was
aware of his ugliness, his gracelessness, a bundle of bones in filthy
underclothes sitting weeping in the harsh white light.” In terms of the book as
a whole, what could Winston and the light be symbolic of?
White is often symbolic of cleanliness. The harsh white light symbolizes the effect the Party has had on Winston. The government of Oceania is very forceful with its people. “No one who has once gone astray is ever spared” (Orwell 256). If you make the smallest act of rebellion, they will do anything in their power to make sure it doesn’t happen again. “There was always the danger of concealed microphones by which your voice might be picked up and recognized.” (Orwell 117) The Party stops at nothing to ensure everything is exactly the way it should be; the society is pure. This is what the white light symbolizes. Winston represents how much the Party affects the People of Oceania. It’s broken him down, beaten his will, and left him with nothing but his physical body. Winston represents the break in the light. He fights against the Party and rebels against them. “He had committed…the essential crime that contained all others in itself. Thoughtcrime, they called it” (Orwell 19). Multiple times Winston has gone against the Party, and it shows in his mentality. It’s broken him down, but he’s breaking the Party as well. Thoughtcrime is such a major crime because you can kill a person; you can’t kill a thought. Once a thought is out, whether you kill its creator or not, it’s still out there. And that’s what Winston did; he made his hopes of rebellion known. He went against the Party. He went against the white light.
ReplyDeleteJulia, that is a very deep thought. When I made the question, I was thinking that the white light was symbolic of how the Party wanted the people to see them. You said that light symbolizes the effect the party has on Winston. The Party wanted everyone to be pure, which is what the white light symbolizes. I thought of the harshness of the light as it is described in the book. The Party wanted people to know that if they had any rebellious thoughts or acts they would show them no mercy. Taking into account the whiteness and harshness, it probably symbolized both of these aspects. I think we can all agree, though, that it symbolizes the Party. I thought that Winston was symbolic of society, because he was unable to do anything to help himself. I think we can both agree that his horrible condition in this quote is symbolic of how the Party has broken peoples’ spirits. It shows that anyone who tries to stand up will be thrown back down. The Party has an absolute totalitarian control over the people. The white light symbolizes how the people cannot do anything to help themselves. Once people are broken, they don’t have the spirit to stand up to the government. One major theme of the entire book can be conveyed through just this one quote. It shows that if you give a person or group absolute control, they will demean the people and create a totalitarian rule that is so strong that nobody can stand up to it.
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