Wednesday April 8th

Look at Julia and Winston’s conversation at the end of Chapter 2. One statement that really stands out is when Winston, “I hate purity, I hate goodness. I don’t want any virtue to exist anywhere.” Think of John’s defiant speech to Mustapha Mond at the end of Chapter 17 of Brave New World. Do these statements relate in any way? What is Winston saying here? And are there other notable statements here that you feel you should bring up?

What Winston is saying relates to what John says in that they are saying that they want the exact opposite of their society (1984's society is not based on purity but it claims to be). Brave New World was all about sex and instant gratification and John was arguing that he wanted the opposite of that. In 1984 what Winston is saying is that he doesn't want anything to do with the party and its ideals, he says he wants the exact opposite even though really when it comes down to it there is no purity or goodness in the party. In fact what he is saying really is what the party is all about, even though they tell the people its all about virtue. So really Winston is feeling what the party wants him to feel but he thinks he's being an individual. The party wants people to hate they just don't want them to think that those are the things that they are hating. Thus newspeak comes into being so people can feel the way Winston does but they can't form the words to understand what and why they feel that way.