Book 1 Chapter 2-6

Quote/Text

                  "It was three years ago. It was on a dark evening, in a narrow side street near one of the big railway stations. She was standing near a doorway in the wall, under a street lamp that hardly gave any light. She had a young face, painted very thick. It was really the paint that appealed to me, the whiteness of it, like a mask, and the bright red lips. Party women never paint their faces. There was nobody else in the street, and no telescreens. She said two dollars. I - ". (Pg.63


Response
                  This was a text right from the beginning of chapter 6. Winston had started writing in his journal again, providing a piece of his mind and more information of about him.Compared to the narrators', the content provided in Winston's journals are probably a bit more important because we get to connect with Winston on a personal level. Anyways, back to the text, this is just one of the random memories that Winston likes to share. It's one of those things that Winston thinks of when living his tedious and unrealistically horrible life. It took me 2 times to read and finally understand what the text was indicating to come to realize that Winston was talking about his first experience of a hooker. It gave me more insights about the illegality of prostitution in Oceania, since Winston made sure to include the fact there weren't any telescreens around. And it gave me more information about Winston's love/sex life. Although I can't be completely sure as to whether Winston took the 2 dollar deal the prostitute offered (2 'dollars' in England? I thought they used Euros), all the information implies that he inevitably did take it. Overall, this texts made changes to how I now see Winston, in other words new lenses. Before, I just saw him as a person who feels he didn't fit in with the society he lives but kept quiet, but now I think that he maybe entirely deviant, nearly in all aspects.

Book 1 Chapter 1

Quotes:

1. "WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" (pg. 4)
2.  "An unmistakable message had passed. It was as though their two minds had opened and the thoughts were flowing from one into the other through their eyes. 'I am with you', O'brien seemed be saying to him. 'I know precisely what you are feeling... I am on your side'". (pg. 17)
3.  " 'Why can't we go and see the hanging' roared the boy in his huge voice" (pg. 23)

My Reaction:

Quote #1
                It actually took me a while to get hooked to this book. The first couple pages of the book were weird, and my response was literally, "ok... no comment", in a bored manner. But when I got to page 4, and got introduced to this propaganda, I thought that the book was beginning to get interesting. I always imagined myself being a leader or any other form authority (governor, police, legislator, etc.), and I always believed that in order to maintain such a position stable, Quote #1 must always be advocated and implemented. At the same time, I also imagined myself being an ordinary citizens: and ironically, if I sensed anything related to this quote expected from me, I would inevitably revolt. I don't really have an argument for this quote, it's just something that stood out and grabbed my attention which lead me to be a lot more interested in this book.

Quote #2
                In all honesty, this quote stood out to me because I can relate to it on some levels. Reading it made me reflect on some of my past experiences of when majority group of people believed in B.S and I felt alone in holding an opposing perspective. In such instances, just like the protagonist in 1948, I would also be extremely observant in other people in hope of finding someone who shared similar opinions. Some of even the smallest signs by other people, would cause me to react the same way Winston did: force myself to to believe that I found a comrade.

Quote #3
                This was a quote by is Mrs. Parson very young son, who wanted to participate in the traditional once a month activity of watching people get hanged. Apparently, children in those areas usually just go and normally engage in these activities, and their parents provide them permission without any form resistance. I was very shocked when I read this passage, the lack of even the smallest morality but rather encouragement of inhumane activities actually got me a little upset. This passage just basically showed me something I wasn't prepared for, and it basically felt like the climax of the book.