1984 Pages 157 - 179

There wasn't many pages to read this week, but those few were packed with new information and a few surprises. The first chapter opens with O'brien giving Winston the address to his apartment, right in front of the telescreen. Winston took note of this, but didnt' seem too concerned. I think O'brien did it right in front of the telescreen because if they tried to do it secretely then it would seem suspicious. It's like they played a sort of "reverse psychology" on the Party.

At the end of page 159 Winston said that " He had the sensation of stepping into the dampness of a grave, and it was not much better because he had always known that the grave was there and waiting for him." This line really stuck out because not only was it a beautifully written metaphor, but it foreshadowed that Winston, ultimately, would step into his own grave because of his rebellious actions against the Party.

Winston dreams about his mother and his sister, but it's not really a dream, its a memory that really happened. Perhaps the more he rebells and allows himself to commit thoughtcrime the more he will be able to remember. I think he struggles to remember the past because he is scared to, but if he just relaxes and lets himself, I think he will be amazed at all he really does remember. In the one memory he does recall, we get the idea that Winston did sort of kill his mother and sister by starving them to sickness, and eventually death.
When Winston tells Julia about this dream, he really wants to talk about it with her, but she simply blows it off. This made me feel sad for Winston, and it also clarified the fact that Julia and Winstons relationship is merely about sex and the hatred of the Party. Julia doesn't understand Winston, she doesn't even see when he is hurting emotionally and needs help.

On page 165 Winston had his biggest "ah ha" moment of the entire novel when he realized that the real difference between the Party members, like himself, and the proles is that "the proles had stayed human". I couldn't agree with him more!! Everyone thinks of the proles as the poor and under-class, but in reality they are the ones that figured it out. Like Winston said, it was just a few weeks ago that he had kicked the severed hand into the gutter like it was a cabbage stalk, thus reenforcing the fact that Winston does not possess human qualities. This made me wonder, though, why can't Winston go and live the lifestyle of a prole? What stops a prole from becoming a Party member, or a Party member from becoming a prole??

In Chapter VIII Winston and Julia visit O'brien and we discover that O'brien is an inner party member. Perhaps we already knew that, and I just forgot, but that made me a little leary about the fact that he was part, or perhaps headed the brotherhood AND belonged to the inner party. I also found it a bit peculiar that he could turn off the telelscreen. I find it hard to believe that Big Brother had enough trust in his employees to allow them to turn off the telescreen. After all, the inner party members should have nothing to hide from Big Brother, so why would they be allowed to turn it off?? Also, the fact that they each had to have a breath mint before they left. Who cares if they left smelling like wine, like drinking wine was a crime and having a secret meeting plotting against the Party wasn't??

O'brien eventually asks Winston all sorts of questions about what he would be willing to do and I found it astonishing that he could answer "yes" to all of these things. Would he really throw acid in some little girls face, or kill mass amounts of people with out even knowing why?? This does not seem like the Winston I know. Also, didn't we also establish that Goldstein was just a ploy of the government?? I don't believe in all O'brien is telling Winston, but I think Winston and Julia do because they want so badly to believe that there is a brotherhood and they can over throw the party. In the end, my prediction is that they are not joining a brotherhood against the party, but are instead, unknowingly, working for the party. It makes sence, otherwise, why would O'brien keep telling them that they would have to do all these cruel and horrific things to other people and even themselves without a single reason why!? They just need more people to do their dirty government work, they just need more people to do the vaporizing.

Finally, the story came a bit full circle when O'brien stated that they would speak again "In a place where there is no darkness". This is the same line that Winston had heard in his dream.