"The Nasty" as Political Opposition

Julia plays an important role in Winston's character development. So far, we've seen Winston stray from the brainwashing and mob mentality imposed by Ingsoc with small acts of defiance like buying a journal or giving glances to a co-worker. But in book two, we see Winston's interaction with Julia. From her tearing of the Anti-Sex League sash to making love in the woods, each scene is marked with opposition.

While each interaction is small, they coagulate into an opposition mindset. Winston actually states that he's more attracted to her the more men she's slept with, which is definitely not a-ok in the Big Brother handbook. We know Winston is interested in a large-scale rebellion, but seeing his defiance in a different dimension illuminates his character.

Comments

  1. L. MoffittFebruary 22, 2021 at 7:34 AM

    Makes you think Winston would really love living in Ford World. He and Lenina need to meet.

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  2. AnyaFebruary 22, 2021 at 7:37 AM

    I like that you pointed out the "opposition mindset." It's true that in this part of the novel, Winston seems to think of every rule-breaking action he commits as an attack against the Party, even if his rebellion is on a small-scale, personal level.

    ReplyDelete
  3. KeshavFebruary 22, 2021 at 7:42 AM

    I definitely agree with this! In my mind, Winston seems to gain a rush of satisfaction by doing the smallest things (starting a diary, for example). But in this case, Winston equates breaking small rules with breaking larger ones (like when he was talking to O'Brien about the crimes he would commit), and he doesn't care as long as it opposes the Party.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousFebruary 22, 2021 at 7:46 AM

    It's interesting how the way the Party reacted to Winston's opposition changed depending on the levels of defiance. Because the owner of the antique shop was a member of the thought police, it's certain that the Party knew that Winston bought a journal and was interested in learning about the past, but they didn't react to those acts, which makes me think it's possible that Winston's actions aren't that uncommon. However, once large-scale opposition became ingrained in every one of Winston and Julia's acts, they had to intervene.

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