1984 II

"O'Brien smiled again. 'She betrayed you, Winston... I have seldom seen anyone come over to us so promptly... All her rebelliousness, her deceit, her folly, her dirtymindedness- everything has been burned out. It was a perfect conversion, a textbook case.'
'You tortured her.'
O'Brien left this unanswered. 'Next question,' he said"

Even though Winston was holding on to himself as well as he could, Julia let go right away. She really wasn't a rebel, as Winston said earlier in the book. It was kind of sad, because I hoped that that wouldn't happen. If I were Winston, I would have felt betrayed and angry, but he wasn't either of the two. In fact, he seemed a little bitter toward O'Brien.

espionage: n. The act of spying; the use of spies by the government to discover the secrets of other nations
materialized: v. to become real; to assume a bodily form

1984 X

"It occurred to Winston that for the first time in his life he was looking, with knowledge, at a member of the Thought Police." (224)

Mr. Charrington, whom Winston trusted and liked, ended up being a fake. He was dressed as an old man, but was really a member of the Thought Police and was spying on Winston and Julia's affair. After some time, the two were caught because of their naive trust. The two are finally found out by The Party. Just before being found out, the two had said, "We are the dead." It was a coincidence that they were then caught, and are now going to become the dead.


Chopper: n. a person or thing that chops
Supple: adj. lithe; ability to bend easily

1984 pt. 2 Ignorance is Strength

"Big Brother is infallible and all-powerful. Every success, every achievement, every victory... all knowledge... are... directly from his leadership and inspiration. Nobody has ever seen Big Brother. He is a face is on the hoardings, a voice on the telescreen. We may be reasonably sure he will never die, and there is... uncertainty as to when he was born. His function is to act as a focusing point for love, fear, and reverence, emotions which are more easily felt toward an individual than... an organization." (208)

Big Brother the leader may not even exist at all. He may be a group of people using one person as their voice. A person with Big Brother's face may never even exist, but the people are forced to follow this ghost as if it were a real person. The people are forced to give their passionate emotions to Big Brother so that they are under the control of the Party.


expropriated: v. The confiscation of private property with the purpose of creating social equality.
perpetuating: v. To save from extinction

1984 pt. 2 War Is Peace

"In the centers of civilization war means no more than a continuous shortage of consumption goods, and the occasional crash of a rocket bomb which may cause a few scores of death." (186)

The people of this time have gotten so used to death and devastation that they're desensitized, and all that they know is happening is a certain food or item is in a shortage. Even the rocket bombs are sort of blown off by them as only causing a few deaths, as if human lives are dispensable.

reprisal: n. The practice of using political or military force without actually resorting to war.
alignment: n. Arrangement or position in a straight line or in parallel lines.

1984 pt. 2 ch. 4&5

"Syme had vanished. A morning came, and he was missing... a few thoughtless people commented on his absence. On the next day, no body mentioned him. On the third day Winston went... to look at the notice board... It looked almost almost exactly as it had looked before- nothing had been crossed out- But it was one dame shorter... Syme had ceased to exist; he had never existed." (147)

Syme was vaporized. This is important because he was very loyal to the Party, but he was taken off the face of the Earth because he was too smart for them. He intimidated them, even though he liked the Party. The Party will take anyone out the moment they sense even the smallest possibility of danger.

bolster: n. long, narrow pillow or cushion
muslin: n. Any of various sturdy cotton fabrics of plain weave, used especially for sheets.

1984 pt. 2 ch. 3

"It's generally safe to use any hide-out twice. But not for another month or two, of course" (126)

Julia seems to have everything all figured out. It's like she has a whole plan in her head that she had carefully articulated. She knows a lot about sneaking around and how to stay safe while using almost obsessive caution.

enunciating: v. To announce
systematically: adj. using step-by-step procedures

1984 pt. 2 ch. 1

"At the sight of the words I love you the desire to stay alive had welled up in him, and the taking of minor risks suddenly seemed stupid." (109)

Winston feels that because he was told he was loved, the Party is not as strong as it used to be. Or rather, that he was stronger than the Party, or could become stronger.

inapplicable: adj. irrelevant
folly: n. act of foolishness