1984
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varicose ulcer
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Sandy
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Apr 19, 2016 03:40PM
The book mentioned Winston's varicose ulcer many times, does it imply anything special?
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Duane wrote: "Yeah, it was supposed to be a hemorrhoid, but Orwell's publisher made him change it."Thanks for sharing, Duance, but why did the publisher want him to change?
Focus groups indicated that the American consumer market demanded it.
Duane wrote: "Focus groups indicated that the American consumer market demanded it."Thanks again Duane, you know what? I got this webpage:
http://www.shmoop.com/1984/winston-va...
A thing that swells and itches, and after you scratch it, flakes. Sounds gruesome, right? So is sexual repression. Have you noticed how the ulcer seems to bother Winston most in the mornings? How about when its symptoms subside after he starts seeing Julia? Or how it becomes engorged again when Winston is separated from Julia? Exactly.
Okay, okay... well, assuming there *is* any meaning to it, e.g. that there even *was* any symbolism, and that Orwell didn't just throw a varicose ulcer (Or a hemorrhoid, FTM) in there because HE happened to have them and just added one to his narrative for color and flavor, then, the Watsonian (I think?) analysis according to Shmoop might obtain...But even so, I wouldn't discount the Doylist perspective, which might be that Orwell just wanted to torture his character with physical torments along with all of the mental and emotional misery he was suffering...
Even so, from what I've seen of varicose ulcers (Which isn't much, but still far too much), they're caused by *venous* insufficiency (i.e., bad circulation) resulting in *arterial* overpressure. Lack of exercise, resulting in vascular constriction, is a major contributing factor. So if Winston was getting more exercise, e.g. by fucking Julia a lot, it would probably be good for his varicose ulcer, whereas if he were confined to a jail cell, well... I.e., while a complex psychological analysis is appealing to our finer sensibilities and refined tastes, as Einstein put it "an explanation should be as simple as possible, but no simpler..."
Duane wrote: "Okay, okay... well, assuming there *is* any meaning to it, e.g. that there even *was* any symbolism, and that Orwell didn't just throw a varicose ulcer (Or a hemorrhoid, FTM) in there because HE ha..."lmao, to be honest, I agree with your explanation "torture his character with physical torments along with all of the mental and emotional misery he was suffering".
Anna wrote: "i like how there is a discussion titled and dedicated to varicose ulcer. Comment to give this discussion a bump."Thanks for the bump. ;)
