Grace’s Reviews > 1984 > Status Update

Vocab and Allusion- insatiable: adj. impossible to satisfy (of an appetite or desire)

Inference- The girl that Winston had been so worried about being a secret spy to the Party secretly delivers him a note when they bump into each other. Contrary to his prior beliefs, it's note a death note, but one that reads "I LOVE YOU." Since the Party is against any unified relationships that regard attraction, I can infer that this is an act of rebellion and the girl is not at all an undercover spy.

Ask- Winston is becoming more worried than ever that the Thought Police are going to catch and punish him for thoughtcrime. He thinks about how it would be less painful to commit suicide before he was caught and tortured. If Winston is so terrified of being caught to the point of suicide, why doesn't he hide out in the prole district he just spent so much time in?

Prediction- Winston has made it appear that he is now directing his diary entries towards O'Brien in a way, since he is almost certain he is in the same confused mindset he is about the Party. I predict that O'Brien will become a more prominent character and we will get to learn more about him if Winston tries to work against Big Brother.

Favorite- "Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious." I think this quote perfectly illustrates both the low state of the proles in this novel's society along with its saturated power that resides with Big Brother.

Inference- Winston is in the canteen to eat when an announcement from the Ministry of Plenty says that Big Brother had raised the chocolate ration to twenty grams. This confuses Winston as it had been said yesterday that rations had been reduced to 20 grams. I can infer from this and the fact that everyone else is content that Winston is different from his fellow Party members and may start rebelling.

Vocab and Allusion- pannikin: n. a small metal drinking cup

Connection- Winston is at his job in the Ministry of Truth where the past is rewritten in order to comply with the ideologies of the Party. This entire description of his work reminds me of the book /The Giver/ because that story was about a society completely devoid of all knowledge to the outside world and how things used to function. In a way, the past was erased or rewritten in that story as well.

Prediction- Winston has had dreams recently that go against many strict teachings of the Party. In addition to that, he had earlier committed "thoughtcrime" by subconsciously writing "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER" repeatedly in his new diary. I predict that these uncontrolled events that are starting to happen to Winston will wake up a rebellious side of him against the Party.

Theme- One major theme I see starting to develop in this story is power/manipulation. Winston's day is described, which notes the large posters that litter walls everywhere reminding people of Big Brother's power. It also describes the Two Minutes Hate, where "the Party" brainwashes the civilians with videos that inflict anger and hatred towards the Party's enemy, Emmanuel Goldstein.