Literature Analysis #1

1.) In 1984, Winston Smith lives in London which is part of the country Oceania. The world is divided into three countries, Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Oceania is a totalitarian society led by Big Brother, which censors everyone’s behavior, even their thoughts. Winston does not like living in under the Party. Winston hears rumors of a group called Brotherhood, that is composed of a group of underground rebels intent on overthrowing the government. Winston meets Julia and they secretly fall in love and have an affair, which is considered a crime in Oceania. While walking home one day, Winston runs into O’Brien, an inner Party member, who gives Winston his address. O'Brien is supposed to be part of the Brotherhood and Winston would like to join. Since Julia hated the party as much as Winston did, they went to O’Brien’s house together where they were introduced into the Brotherhood. O’Brien is actually a faithful member of the Inner-Party and this is actually a trap for Winston. The owner of the store below Winston and Julia's apartment was also a spy for the Party. Winston and Julia are sent to the Ministry of Love which is a sort of rehabilitation center for criminals accused of a thought crime. There, Winston was separated from Julia, and tortured until his beliefs coincided with those of the Party. Winston eventually cracks and denounces everything he believed him, even his love for Julia, and was released back into the public where he wastes his days at the Chestnut Tree drinking gin.

2.)Totalitarianism:
George Orwell uses this story to portray how dangerous a totalitarian government can actually be. Under this government people no longer have any rights and nothing can happen privately. In this book, Orwell sets up a perfect totalitarian state and used Winston as an example that even the most independent thinkers can be broken by this type of government. This story shows that  once this type of government takes over it is nearly impossible to get rid of it.

3.)Pessimistic:
I sensed a very pessimistic tone throughout this book. Winston quickly expresses his hate for Big Brother, by writing it in big bold letters in his diary. "His pen had slid voluptuously over the smooth paper, printing in large neat capitals - DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER over and over again, filling half a page."
Winston doesn't even try to make himself heard because he knows he will be punished as soon as he does and early on in the story you can feel him sort of giving up, as shown by this quote. "Curiously, the chiming of the hour seemed to have put new heart into him. He was a lonely ghost uttering a truth that nobody would ever hear. But so long as he uttered it, in some obscure way, the continuity was not broken. It was not by making yourself heard but by staying sane that you carried on the human heritage." 
Winston realizes that the proles are the countries last hope because they make up eighty five percent of the population. "If there is hope, it must lie in the proles, because only there, in those swarming disregarded masses, eighty-five percent of the population of Oceania, could the force to destroy the Party ever be granted."

4.)
Foreshadow: In the beginning of the story Winston says, "people who go into the Ministry of Love come out, but disappear soon afterward." At the end of the story Winston is sent to the Ministry of Love and comes out, but as a totally changed person. (7)

Metaphor:  "If there is hope, it must lie in the proles, because only there, in those swarming disregarded masses, eighty-five percent of the population of Oceania, could the force to destroy the Party ever be granted."(60)
-The Proles represent the lowest working classes of society (the proletariat) and they also serve as a metaphor for hopelessness.

Personification: "If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say this or that even, it never happened that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death,"
 (126).
- It was scary how much control the Party had.

Allusion: “Big Brother is watching you”(5)
- Allusion to the idea of Stalin looking over the people of the Soviet Union.

Foreshadowing: "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." (5)
- Hinting that something is wrong.

Irony: “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength,” (17).
- The three slogans of the Party.

Repetition: “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the future controls the past,” ( 248).
- He uses repetition to keep readers interested.

Flashback: "It was no use, he could not remember: nothing remained of his childhood except a series of brightly-lit tableaux, occurring against no background and mostly unintelligible."
-The reader learns that Winston is constantly struggling to remember his past, and that he often fails.

Climax: "Stand out in the middle of the room. Stand back to back.Clasp your hands behind your heads. Do not touch each other." (183)
-Winston and Julia getting caught by the thought Police.