Monday, December 2, 2013

1984 Evolving Impressions of Julia

                In the chapters 2.4-2.6 in 1984 Julia’s personality has become clearer. At the beginning of the novel before Winston and Julia started the affair, I believed her to be more political. Winston thought she was working for the Thought Police as a spy, but I always had the idea that she and Winston would team up to work against Big Brother. After Julia gave Winston the note saying “I love you”, Winston has gotten to know her personality. Although she hates Big Brother and the party, she is happy enough living under their government as long as she can break certain rules. Julia is extremely interested in the sexual relationship she shares with Winston. She rebels against the party rules and has affairs with many men, but those are the only rules she rebels against.
                As Winston points out she does not care that the Party falsifies enormous amounts of information and that basically everything she knows in her life is a lie. When Winston explains to her his work in the records department where he basically erases past facts, “she did not feel the abyss opening beneath her feel at the thought of lies becoming truths” (154). She is perfectly content living with Big Brother as long as she can have affairs. She does not want to risk her life being a political rebel. She says, “I’m not interested in the next generation, dear. I’m only interested in us” (156). She refuses to rebel politically, but is completely willing to do it sexually.
                Also, she does not understand the government. She does not care what nonsense she is yelling during Two Minutes Hate or other rallies because she believes the whole government is a joke. She hates Big Brother, but she does not understand the entirety of its lies. She does not believe its ideas, but she has no valid reason against them except the fact that she thinks it is dumb and dislikes doing the rituals. Yet even though she hates the rituals, she does not want to rebel because it is not worth risking her life. Julia hates Big Brother yet knows little of their deceptions. She is perfectly content going through the motions of it politically as long as she can have sexual relationships. Thus, we learn that Julia may not be so helpful in Winston’s quest against Big Brother because she ignorantly believes the party’s facts even though she despises the rituals and the party. I also learned that although she breaks the rules, she is ignorant in believing the ideas of Big Brothers like many other party members. 

3 comments:

  1. I think this touches on a lot of key elements of Julia's character; however, I think the reason why she does not care much about the party and its political direction is because she is realistic enough to know there is nothing she, herself, can do about it. Her and Winston are two people against an entire government. The proles are practically useless and would not revolt with Julia and Winston. Even if O'Brien was on their side, thats still just three people against Big Brother. She does not rebel in the ways that she does out of joy or carelessness, but she rebels sexually because this is the only way an individual CAN rebel in a society of this sort. I see Julia as a character stuck between a rock and a hard place, with Winston right there by her side. The only difference between the two of them is that she has accepted it, and he has not.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I find you claim that Julia "hates Big Brother, but she does not understand the entirety of its lies," to be an interesting idea. Julia appears careless in her attitude towards the Party but still has a great deal of hate for Big Brother and anybody under him. Julia's form of rebellion is sexual freedom and freedom in thought but this does not entirely manifest in political actions, like Winston has considered doing.

    ReplyDelete