1984 BOOK 2, CHAPTERS 3-6 QUOTE/PASSAGE
Quote (page 150): "She hated the Party and said so in the crudest words, but she made no general criticism of it. Except where it touched upon her own life she had no interest in Party doctrine […]. Any kind of organized revolt against the Party, which was bound to be a failure, struck her as stupid. The clever thing was to break the rules and stay alive all the same. He wondered vaguely how many others like her there might be in the younger generation people who had grown up in the world of the Revolution, knowing nothing else, accepting the Party as something unalterable, like the sky, not rebelling against its authority but simply evading it, as a rabbit dodges a dog."
Response: To Winston, Julia wasn't completely against the party, even though she disliked the Party. Julia wasn't committed to "any kind of organized revolt against the Party, which was bound to be a failure" this made Winston uneasy. I found it interesting that the text used a metaphor to highlight the fact that the ideology of the Party is absolute and can not be changed," like the sky, not rebelling against its authority but simply evading it, as a rabbit dodges a dog". I wonder if this is going to be a burden in the future. I think the difference in the generation between the two characters will affect the plot in the future. In Julia's perspective, she is on both sides, in between. She doesn't mind living under the Party's rule but still participates in rebellious acts only if she feels to do so. Those acts can be falling in love and having sex. Winston is not very approving of her behavior since he believes that this only supports the acceptance that so many people have for the Party's authority.
Response: To Winston, Julia wasn't completely against the party, even though she disliked the Party. Julia wasn't committed to "any kind of organized revolt against the Party, which was bound to be a failure" this made Winston uneasy. I found it interesting that the text used a metaphor to highlight the fact that the ideology of the Party is absolute and can not be changed," like the sky, not rebelling against its authority but simply evading it, as a rabbit dodges a dog". I wonder if this is going to be a burden in the future. I think the difference in the generation between the two characters will affect the plot in the future. In Julia's perspective, she is on both sides, in between. She doesn't mind living under the Party's rule but still participates in rebellious acts only if she feels to do so. Those acts can be falling in love and having sex. Winston is not very approving of her behavior since he believes that this only supports the acceptance that so many people have for the Party's authority.
I think it is interesting that you said that Julia is on both sides. In my opinion, she is on the Party's side even if she rebels against them. Like Winston says, she is only a rebel from the waist down, and only rebels when she thinks it benefits her. It isn't that she is against what the Party does or says; she doesn't care at all that they are rewriting history. She is only bothered when she isn't openly allowed to do whatever she pleases. In a way, there isn't even direct opposition because she doesn't mind leaving the Part as is since she has her own loopholes to get around the rules. George Orwell himself believed that in times of war, here between the Party and the rebels, to remain complacent is to aid the other side.
ReplyDeleteDespite my opinion, I can see how technically, Julia being on the side of the Party isn't perfect either. However, rather than how you said in between, I think Julia is just on the outside. She disagrees with parts of the Party, but isn't actively against enough of its practices to truly be a rebel. Instead, she lives in a world all her own where she picks and chooses her rules while simply accepting her reality. The difference really is that complacent citizens of Oceania accept their reality and rules, while rebels reject the reality of the Party and design more appropriate rules.
This was a very detailed and well thought out analysis. I feel Julia's standing regarding the Party is very interesting and can be interpreted in numerous ways. Your interpretation of it was very interesting, it does seem as if Julia is on both sides in some ways.
ReplyDeleteI do like your idea of how Julia is probably on both sides. From your quote, this idea does make sense because Julia only seems to express her hatred towards the Party, however, Julia never seems to criticize the Party's ideals. Julia's ignorance and selfishness may also be the causes for her not wanting to rebel because she seems to only care about the things that may happen to her not to the general public of Oceania.
ReplyDeleteI like that you really put good thought into this quote. I like how you believe that Julia is part of both sides. You went great into debt and explained everything very well. Your images are well picked too. They match with what you are talking about in this blog.
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ReplyDeleteI liked the quote you used. I do agree with your take on it as well. It was evident in the text that Julia was quite conflicted in a way. Overall, it was a good blog!
ReplyDeleteI like how you talked about the metaphor that was used. This is a great quote because it shows how different Julia and Winston are from each other.
ReplyDeleteI like how you stated the differences between Winston and Julia.
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