Book 2 Chapters 3-6: Winston is a Thought Murderer

"She had already turned to go, but she did rather fretfully come back or a moment. She even leaned out over the cliff face to see where he was pointing. He was standing a little behind her, and he put his hand on her waist to steady her. At this moment it suddenly occurred to him how completely alone they were. There was not even a bird awake. In a place like this the danger that there would be a hidden microphone was very small, and even if there was a microphone it would only pick up sounds. It was the hottest, sleepiest hour of the afternoon. The sun blazed down upon them, the sweat tickled his face. And the thought struck him.." (112).

From this passage about Winston wanting to kill his wife Katharine, and a previous passage about how Winston wanted to rape and kill Julia makes me believe that Winston is truly a terrible person. Even if the government does instill a hostile way of thinking towards women, Winston can control his thoughts and even has thoughts that are completely against the government's way of thinking. Yet, Winston seems as if he always has a terrible experience with every woman he encounters. From what Winston can recall, he thinks that he was the cause for the death of his mother and sister. This vague memory of his mother and sister and due to the Party's way of thinking, may be the reason of why Winston seems to have negative thoughts about women. Even if Winston and his wife, Katharine have their issues, Winston is the one that is having an affair with Julia and he is the one that has thoughts about murdering his wife. The fact that Julia has the audacity to ask Winston why he did not push his wife over the cliff appalled me, she is the one who is partaking in ruining a marriage even though yes Winston and Katharine's marriage is already ruined. I have a hard time understanding Julia because I cannot fathom how she wants to be with someone who openly told her that he wanted to rape her and kill her. I wonder if since the Party wants its citizens to almost despise women, maybe Julia is used to men talking to her this way and might even see it as a compliment. Julia even laughed at Winston's remark of him wanting to rape and kill her, this disappoints me. This society in Oceania makes women think that it is fine to be with someone like Winston, who wants to hurt you because they have issues with the fact that you are a woman. I do not understand how women like Julia and Katharine could feel safe or even love a man like Winston. If anything I would hope that Julia and Katharine will leave Winston because it is absolutely repulsive that they are with someone who in their thoughts wants to murder them.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 6, 2017 at 8:56 PM

    I actually disagree that the Party teaches its men to hate women, although I am sure in some cases that is the result. The Party's main goal is to keep people as emotionally distant from each other as possible, and while hate is definitely used to do this, it isn't necessarily towards women. For instance, parents are driven apart from their children because the children are raised to hate traitors of the Party, so the parents fear that they may be turned in at any moment by their own flesh and blood. Couples are married when they do not obviously show that they are attracted to each other because the Party wants to make sure they have no connection. All people are driven apart, but those who are meant to be hated are "traitors", and all examples of well-known traitors so far have actually been men, like Goldstein, the general Winston had noted became an unperson, and the three or so traitors that Winston saw in the cafe.

    As for Julia, I completely agree that she is nuts for thinking what Winston said was a compliment, but I in no way think that this is because she is used to this treatment. Like I said before, the Party doesn't actually insist on hatred of women, and violent behavior or speech may be considered unorthodox, even if violence has become so normal in Oceania, primarily because violent thoughts against traitors are all the government seems to want. I am pretty sure Julia takes it as a compliment because for one, Winston is being honest which is likely a refreshing take from the other Party members who always put on a facade, and two, as Winston says, she took it as a testament to her ability to play her character of Good Party Member well.

    I also don't think that Oceania makes women think that it is okay to be with people like Winston because they would never talk about someone so blatantly terrible seeming without taking action against him through the Thought Police. If anything, all they teach is that women must be with a husband to ensure they can provide children because it is "their duty to the Party." Winston also never explicitly says that he hates Julia and wants to hurt her because she is a woman, but more because she represents something the Party has denied him and a sheep mentality of being gullible enough to just feed into the Party's words. The two times he wants to hurt her is when he was already super hyped from Two Minutes Hate and happened to direct his anger towards Julia, and when he considered her a serious threat to his life.

    Lastly, I am also pretty sure that Katherine did not love Winston, they married because the Party figured it would work because they had no connection, and, she did technically leave him because she was not become pregnant after trying for a few years.

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  2. Abdu MalikovNovember 8, 2017 at 9:20 PM

    Ok. I'm actually a little behind on chapters but this blog makes me want to catch up really bad. Moreover, I see that you have completely different perceptions of this book. I found that you and I look at the story in 2 different lenses. This doesn't mean that you are wrong. I actually agree with what you provided in this content, you were very good at persuading. I just focus on other things in the story, things that more generic and simultaneously specific. I know this sounds weird, but unfortunately I can't very well describe to you what I mean, it's an ineffable topic. In essence, I enjoyed discovering other people's perception of the book.

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  3. UnknownNovember 10, 2017 at 9:16 AM

    That was a very elaborate and in depth commentary about Winston and Julia psyche'. These characters have some type of disorder or mental handicap that seems to keep them tethered to each other. While I am no licence professional, I can see that there is something not right about Winston and Julia. Another way of see this is something that was spurned up by Fernanda's comment. She said that the Party seem to keep emotional relationship a distant goal. The people in Oceania aren't able to become close to anyone, not even their own children. It seems to me that the Party is instilling a belief or norm will hurt everyone's possibilities of genuine human connection. The only reason Winston and Julia are having a affair is because they seem to have a genuine connection that the people of Oceania seem to lack. Personally, that is extremely inhumane because human are social creatures. We need people and relationships to be in any happiness or right state of mind. But what should I expect from the Party, since they seem very comfortable in masking and manipulating the truth and vaporizing any trace of someone.

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  4. UnknownDecember 10, 2017 at 6:30 PM

    With Winston's past, it shows that he has a bad history with women. He's had a really bad life and I think that's why he thinks the way he does.

    ReplyDelete

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