Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Julia doesn't hate the state that much. No, really

Towards the beginning of part two, a synapse was broken between physical and emotional attraction in the heart of two rebels. I think Orwell sent an implicit message behind Winston's pick-up line "'Would you believe ,' he said, 'that till this very moment I didn't know what color your eyes were'", a message that the mind of a man is the man and nothing else physical is. The entire book itself is perpetually propagating, from the state's control of thought, to the crushing domination presented by O'Brian's psychological victory in room 101, the simple idea that mentality is what makes humanity - what you think you are is what you are. Big Brother has gotten people to break every moral boundary and all relationships previously made for purposes these mindless imbeciles cant even explain. Thus, they're lives have regressed to ones algorithmically predestined by another "higher up" imbecile in the department of love. What this means is that there is no humanity in their hearts other than unquestioned passion for Big Brother. However, during coetic moment of realization Winston and Julia have, standing there in that sanctum of all that can be wonderful in the world, actually speaking to each other for the first time, they reveal their complete contempt for the authorities that try and try to impregnate their minds with Big Brother. These are the minds behind the ineptitudinous imbeciles at the desks in the bureaucratic department of truth. These are the souls who love each other

One of the things in class the other day people seemed to agree with is that Julia is mentally devoid of anything but hatred for the state. I understand the interpretation, but I think a better one would explain the immense loyalty she shows towards Winston (excluding room 101). People aren't cores of hate, and cant be. This just isn't how the human brain works. But when I hear that her entire personality is one of utter anarchy - one that seeks to do nothing but destroy institution upon institution - I always think "why does she want to do this?" This scene in the forest following Julia's enigmatic messaging and instructions embodies the answer. The words exchanged briefly before their unprovoked debauchery reveal what appears to be a complete lack of physical comprehension. They literally don't know who each other are. All each of them know is that the other is a fellow political dissident. Based on that lone knowledge, they managed to develop a deeper emotional bond than most people do in relationships today. No, I'm not even close to over-estimating this when I say that the mere idea that another person on this desolate Oceania embraces rebellion impelled a deeper emotional bond between them than most of us ever hope to achieve. Julia's idea of inhumanity could be defined as Big Brother, but she values the humanity in the thought that Winston shares the rebellious idea more than a complete hatred for Big Brother.

I couldn't find an article with variations of "what do people value in their lives" that didn't relate to money, nor could I find one on "humanity" not related to crimes against it or habitats for it.

1 comment:

  1. You use really big words. But, on topic, I really liked how you said "people aren't cores of hate, and can't be." There is hope that people aren't completely bad!

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