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1984 Winston's Dialectical Journal

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Entry 2 In the third chapter, I began to learn a little bit about Winston’s past and the past of this whole crazy place called Oceania in which he lives. In the beginning of this book, Winston talks about how one can’t control what they dream so they are left vulnerable when they sleep. This vulnerability is clearly a theme because Winston has a meaningful dream about his mother and young sister, “Winston was dreaming of his mother. He must, he thought have been ten or twelve years old when his mother had disappeared. She was a tall, statuesque, rather silent woman with slow movements and magnificent fair hair,” (30). The way in which Winston describes his mother led me to believe that he had held her in a very high regard. The use of words …show more content…

In this section, Winston’s entire out look and thought process changes extremely quickly and determinedly. Once he starts to interact with this girl who he seems to keep bumping into to, the whole course of Winston’s outwardly obedient but internally disobedient behavior becomes much more actively counter regime than it ever had before. This drastic change begins even in his first interaction with the mysterious girl who falls in front of him in the hallway at their office, “A curious emotion stirred in Winston’s heart. In front of him was an enemy who was trying to kill him; in front of him, also, was a human creature, in pain and perhaps with a broken bone. Already he had instinctively started forward to help her” (107-108). Winston understands the possible danger of interacting with someone he doesn't’ know. Until this moment, he has never reached out and opened himself up for any other person. He has been entirely interested in keeping himself alive, well, and sane. For his entire adulthood, Winston has become very accustomed to hiding his emotions and controlling his behavior. He has worked hard to remain under the radar and not interact with anyone he doesn’t have to. Still, when Winston sees the pain in this women’s eyes, his complete control and lack of human compassion are gone in an instant. By using the word “instinctively,” the author shows how even in their first encounter, this women has a humanizing effect on Winston. In the last entry, I talked about how the INSOC regime has squashed the humanity of helping another person with or without a reason why. Clearly, this is a turning point for Winston who has just physically and metaphorically reached out towards another

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