There is a girl at work who Winston hates. He hates her because she is young, beautiful, and belongs to the Anti-Sex League. He wants to have sex with someone attractive and alive, unlike his estranged wife, and this girl has dedicated her life to making this impossible. One day she falls in the hallway next to him, and as he helps her up, she slips him a note. He reads it at his desk and it reads simply "I love you." (108)
Quote: I chose this quote because it is monumental. If I were reading an escapist romance, I would obviously not consider a confession of love monumental, but that it came out of the gray, listless world of "1984" is astounding. I can imagine that this is why Orwell included this plot. The introduction of humanity is what gives us hope for Winston, but it is ultimately the center of the bleak message of "1984." The purpose of this quote is to create a rose growing in the cracks of the cement.
Analysis: In literary terms, this could be considered the beginning of the "rising action." After Winston and Julia (the name of the girl, we learn later) hook up, the plot accelerates quickly. The writer's craft for this quote is interesting. While in and of itself, "I love you" is not exactly a novel phrase, in this instance they are incredibly exciting. Orwell creates this using suspense, first shocking us with the note being slipped, then building up Winston's curiosity as he must wait to read it to avoid suspicion from the Thought Police, and, finally, letting us read the note, with Winston. Orwell also presents the words from the note in the same way that he presents the Party Slogan: centered and separated from the text by at least one line, except that he put in cursive, which effectively conjures handwriting, and that it attempts to refute everything that the Party Slogan stands for.
Quote: I chose this quote because it is monumental. If I were reading an escapist romance, I would obviously not consider a confession of love monumental, but that it came out of the gray, listless world of "1984" is astounding. I can imagine that this is why Orwell included this plot. The introduction of humanity is what gives us hope for Winston, but it is ultimately the center of the bleak message of "1984." The purpose of this quote is to create a rose growing in the cracks of the cement.
Analysis: In literary terms, this could be considered the beginning of the "rising action." After Winston and Julia (the name of the girl, we learn later) hook up, the plot accelerates quickly. The writer's craft for this quote is interesting. While in and of itself, "I love you" is not exactly a novel phrase, in this instance they are incredibly exciting. Orwell creates this using suspense, first shocking us with the note being slipped, then building up Winston's curiosity as he must wait to read it to avoid suspicion from the Thought Police, and, finally, letting us read the note, with Winston. Orwell also presents the words from the note in the same way that he presents the Party Slogan: centered and separated from the text by at least one line, except that he put in cursive, which effectively conjures handwriting, and that it attempts to refute everything that the Party Slogan stands for.
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