V5 Themes & Symbols 1984

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Themes and Symbols in 1984

Themes

Themes are not explicitly mentioned in a story. They are usually implied. They are bigger than the story. Also, themes are life lessons, morals, messages or questions that are communicated to us through a literary work.

Mention one theme in 1984

Manipulation of history

Mind control

Resistance and revolution

Dangers of totalitarianism

Technology

'Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'

Newspeak

'Desire was thoughtcrime.' 

the use of telescreens (to control)

Big Brother

Symbols

Generally, it is an object representing another, to give an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant.

Sometimes, however, an action, an event or a word spoken by someone may have a symbolic value. For instance, “smile” is a symbol of friendship. Similarly, the action of someone smiling at you may stand as a symbol of the feeling of affection which that person has for you.

Telescreens

What do the telescreens symbolise?

Telescreens

The omnipresent telescreens are the book's
most visible symbol of the Party's constant monitoring of its subjects.

Big Brother

Describe in your own words what Big Brother symbolises.

Big Brother

• The face of Big Brother symbolizes the Party in its public manifestation; he is a reassurance to most people (the warmth of his name suggests his ability to protect), but he is also an open threat (one cannot escape his gaze).
• Also, it symbolizes teh vagueness with which the higher ranks of the Party present themselves - it is impossible to know who really rules Oceania, what life is like for the rulers, or why they act as they do.

Winston's diary

Winston stopped writing ..... He did not know what had made him pour out this stream of rubbish. But the curious thing was that while he was doing so a totally different memory had clarified itself in his mind, to the point where he almost felt equal to writing it down. (ch.1)

With the feeling that he was speaking to O'Brien, and also that he was setting forth an important axiom, he wrote:

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four.
If that is granted, all else follows.  (ch.7)

What does Winston's diary respresent?

Winston's Diary

In 1984, Winston’s diary functions as a symbol of his hatred for the Party. For Winston, then, the diary is symbolic of his desire to freely speak his mind, without fear of being arrested and tortured. The diary also acts as a metaphor for Winston’s repressed feelings of rebellion.

Room 101

“Room 101" said the officer.

The man's face, already very pale, turned a color Winston would not have believed possible. It was definitely, unmistakably, a shade of green.

"Do anything to me!" he yelled. "You've been starving me for weeks. Finish it off and let me die. Shoot me. Hang me. Sentence me to twenty-five years. Is there somebody else you want me to give away? Just say who it is and I'll tell you anything you want. I don't care who it is or what you do to them. I've got a wife and three children. The biggest of them isn't six years old. You can take the whole lot of them and cut their throats in front of my eyes, and I'll stand by and watch it. But not room 101!"

"Room 101" said the officer.”

What does Room 101 symbolise?

Room 101

• Room 101 is a torture chamber 
• It represents the power of the Party and is the room where Winstons spirit is crushed. Room 101 is a presentation utilized by the party to show absolute dominance. It proves that the party has the power to totally ruin someone through the use of their deepest fear