Nabeel Utopias Blog

In the rather vivid scene where Winston and Julia enter the Golden Pasture of Winston's dreams, we get a deeper understanding of his feelings towards sex and how they interfere with his "date" with Julia. As they become intimate, Julia tells him that she has slept with many Party members in the past. The average citizen of Oceania would be disgusted by this information. But Winston tells her that the more men she's had sex with, the more he loves her. This moment of intimacy is fueled by Winston's desire to be as anti-Party as possible. He sees this act of love only as a way to break Party rules.  Do you guys agree? If not, why do you think Winston has this reaction?

I recently realized that in the background of the overall plot of 1984 , world wars seem to be constantly going on. They have no impact on the plot whatsoever, but seem to always be there. I'm not sure how they started or how they're going, which makes me unsure why Orwell incorporates them. The Party might see them as a way to make their citizens embrace nationalism, but in my opinion there are many other ways to do this. Is Orwell simply adding to the pessimistic vibe of Oceania, or is there something more going on? 

In yet another scene of Winston's private life that Orwell allows us to observe, Winston is writing in his diary about a past sexual encounter he had with a prostitute. He recalls the Party's views about sex: that it should only be done for the purpose of producing a child and never for pleasure. And until Winton knows Julia, he is one of the many people manipulated by the government by this message. At the beginning of the novel, Winston's sexual fantasies were strangely wicked and immoral. I think this is due to the repression of his own sexuality. It makes him have violent impulses but he never lashes out, which is enough for the Party.