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| St. Clement's Dane |
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| Glass Paperweight |
I know we have read past the end of Part 1 in Orwell's novel 1984, but I was rereading through the last section and was wondering what you might think about "St. Clement's Dane" and the "Glass Paperweight." What do each of them represent (symbols; how they might contribute to a certain theme or motif in the novel)?
Also something I noticed in the novel that seemed different and significant to me was that room where Winston and Mr Charrington talk. Mr Charrington said that the room did not have any "telescreens." After they talk about the paintings, there is a quote that states: "'Here comes a candle to light you to bed, Here comes a chopper to chop off your head' ...'Here comes a chopper to chop off your head' they brought their arms down and caught you" (Orwell, 102). I am not sure if you have already discussed about this in class since I was absent, but what do you think that phrase might indicate? Does it perhaps foreshadow something that might happen to Winston? (Maybe think of the fact that there are supposedly no telescreens in the room, and that the only powerful force that we are introduced to in the novel that has the authority to "c[atch] you" is the Party and the Thought Police).
As Winston mentions himself, the reason to why he liked the glass paperweight with the piece of coral inside was not because it was beautiful, or anything of materialistic value, but because it was useless and came from the past. As we learned earlier one big issue that Winston is thrilled by is history because for one fact it's his job to deal with it and he thus knows about how the Party handles it. To have actual, physical proof in his hands now that proves a certain piece of history is simply fascinating to him. The same thing goes for the church: The photo is a remnant of the times before the Party.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think back to the quote with the chopper again the first thing it makes me think of is the choppers we saw earlier in the book that patrol around in the city looking inside windows. Maybe the fact that they are coming so close is exaggerated to nearly chopping ones head off. Also candle's are, while romantic and harmonious, are also often what you would find in funerals where they are supposed to be a guide to your final destination/afterlife. In this sense the bed would be death and the light would be guiding you to death. That is however only one way to interpret it of course.
Your interpretation is fascinating because I never put all the pieces together like that, but I have to ask, I'm not an moderator but I'm curious, the way that you wrote about the coral and the glass paperweight, in your first paragraph, you made it seem like it was nothing but an artifact, an antique. There is no significance of it in anyway. Was this your intention? To indicate that these items are insignificant? If so, why?
DeleteI think what Georg was trying to say that if you put things such as the glass paperweight with the coral inside it on their own they have no value. How can such a thing practically help us??? As Winston works as the Record Department of the Ministry of Truth he is naturally captured, by certain things as history things of the past that he can manipulate easily. But actually having a piece of history, something that is not vulnerable to the manipulation of history because it is simply "there" makes it of great value. It is significant because it represents history and not a fabrication of it.
DeleteI do agree that the fact that Winston has an obsession with the history and buying the object might be a symbol of that for him, but I take it more a sign of rebellion in general. Beyond his obsession with history, there is his hate for Big Brother and the system. The glass paperweight with the piece of coral is a piece of his identity that he is able to "steal" back and keep hidden as a symbol of hope from himself. This said, I don't necessarily agree with your association of light with death. I look at it more with a certain touch of optimism. As he now, has something from the past, the future might be more enlightened and Winston will thank to that be able to see clearer on his path.
ReplyDeleteConcerning the songs Rabea, I found them pretty twisted and absurd first time I read it. For children's song it is pretty violent. But for some reason, after a little thinking process I kind of accepted it because a song from my childhood that all the kids use to sing popped out to my head. It is however, about butchering a bird, not as bad as cutting off a human head. What I'm trying to say, is that sometimes violence can be brought up in our first years of life in a "natural way" or sadistically accepted one innocently since it s something new that we begin discovering. I do not think it foreshadows anything apart of even more flashbacks coming back to him, which I think is a great thing. Because as we see the importance that he gives to history is worth it, is one of the only if not the only thing he has left that can open to him a window of hope: The fact that it was once better, lives faith for change and abolition of the dystopia.