Book 2 Chapters 1-2: Corrupted to the Bones

"His heart leapt. Scores of times she had done it; he wished it had been hundreds-thousands. Anything that hinted corruption always filled him with a wild hope. Who knew? Perhaps the Party was rotten under the surface, its cult of strenuousness and self-denial simply a sham concealing iniquity. If he could have infected the whole lot of them with leprosy or syphilis, how gladly he would have done so! Anything to rot, to weaken, to undermine" (104)!

Julia's revelation of how she has had sex with members of the Party hundreds of times excites Winston because this is something that he needs to show that the Party is not as "picture perfect" as they claim to be. This detail is what makes the Party is hypocritical because they try to set the example that sex is reserved only for having new members of the Party; however, Julia reveals that this is not the case at all. The Party puts on this very pristine demeanor to show its citizens that this is the way they must comport themselves and they even degrade those who do not follow their example, yet behind closed doors, they are the opposite of everything they stand for. Julia's revelation sparks Winston to believe that a rebellion could happen because the Party members are hypocrites who do not have not right to impose strict rules on people if they will not follow them. Orwell's usage of "to rot, to weaken, to undermine" has a powerful effect on the reader because it exudes Winston's yearning to taken down the Party and it translates onto the reader. This situation reminds me of the movie,How to Train Your Dragon because the main character, Hiccup, trains his own dragon to convey to his village that they should not be at war with dragons. However, at the end of the movie, Hiccup murders a dragon, which completely goes against everything he was advocating for throughout the entire movie.

Comments

  1. avalencerinamiddlecollegeNovember 1, 2017 at 9:30 AM

    Hey Jackie! I love this quote that you chose since it was a quote that I was going to choose to reflect on. This quote of yours is related to mine about the chocolates due to the fact that Winston's and Julia's ideal plan is to go against the government in the form of a rebellion. This rebellion can be acted about through chocolates, as seen in my blog, and through sex, as seen through Winston throughout the book, and Winston and Julia in Chapter 2 of Book 2.

    In my opinion, I love how you related this part of the story to How to Train Your Dragon since it is related, as you described in your blog. Also, since Winston enjoyed Julia's form of rebellion I was sort of disturbed to the fact that Winston is willing for Julia to have sex with Party members in the hundreds to the thousands. It is quite disturbing to the ear, but in Oceania's case, the more they have intercourse, the more they rebel against the government. They have to do, what they have to do in their case.

    Overall, your blog was very good and detailed. In the future, I hope you add more pictures, and pictures of a larger size so it is easily visible. I hope to read your blog next week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 1, 2017 at 5:53 PM

    This is great choice of a quote. You did a great job explaining the quote and how the last sentence of the quote affects the reader. Also you were spot on with comparing this quote with How to Train a Dragon. Julia played an important role to rebel against the Party.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownNovember 1, 2017 at 7:25 PM

    I enjoyed how you took the quote and analyzed it thoroughly. I agree with the fact that the Party is just a bunch of hypocrites. It's bizarre how many of them go behind the Party and commit crimes instead of working to overthrow them. I found your comparison to How to Train Your Dragon very clever. I've watched this movie countless times, but I have never realized any of the points that you brought up. As a whole, your analysis was very thorough and pleasant to read. I'm looking forward to reading more of your blogs.

    ReplyDelete
  4. mmerinomiddlecollegeNovember 6, 2017 at 6:05 PM

    In a sense I believe that the Party members have better control over themselves due to the fact that they have sex for more than just to reproduce. The perfect image they portray to the proles is to keep them controlled and obedient, but most importantly to keep them ignorant. I like how you linked this to the movie as I have never seen it but was quickly able to make the connection with your thorough explanation.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownDecember 11, 2017 at 12:07 PM

    Syphilis is something crazy that is for sure. For Winston to wish upon someone a disease like syphilis just goes to show how much a rebel he truly is. Your analysis is great and uses an amazing relation to How to Train your Dragon.

    ReplyDelete

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