At this moment the telescreen let out a piercing whistle. It was the signal to return to work. All three men sprang to their feet to join in the struggle round the lifts, and the remaining tobacco fell out of Winston's cigarette (63).
As I was reading the last section of chapter 5 I started to notice that they were really strict with timing and they always made sure that they were punctual with everything. I wondered what they would go through if they ignored this whistle, was it as serious as a crime where you would be vaporized? One thing that I noticed on page 62 was that Winston really liked his cigarettes and it seemed that he always wanted to use each cigarette fully. Looking back at the quote it shows how this whistle has control of his life and Winston would drop his cigarette without a second thought. The whole system of being punctual and there being a punishment if you are not at your job in time reminded me of my middle school where there would be a bell at the end of every class to remind you that you have to walk yourself to your next class and if you are late then they would usually make a huge fuss about it. This telescreen and the whistle seems to be the main source of where thought crimes are found out and it seems that it would be something to always be aware of throughout the story.
"Smith!" screamed the shrewish voice from the telescreen. "6079 Smith W! Yes, you! Bend lower, please! That's better comrade. Now stand at ease, the whole squad, and watch me." (36).
When reading this part in chapter 3, the first thing that came to mind is that they are now onto Winston and that sooner or later the thought police would be capturing him because of what he is writing about in his diary. It seemed weird to me that all of a sudden that person behind the telescreen was looking at Winston and told him to do his exercise. Winston stated that he loathed this exercise so that would mean that he usually doesn't give effort towards this exercise. Another thing that we can see from this is how fear runs them and they are willing to do anything so they can look good in front of that telescreen. For example how as soon as Winston was told to do his exercise better he immediately reached for his toes and touched them, something that he hasn't done in years.
"if you want a stronger version of 'good,'what sense is there in having a whole string of vague useless words like 'excellent' and 'splendid' and all the rest of them" 'Plusgood' covers the meaning, or 'doubleplusgood' if you want something stronger still (51)."
I disagree with Syme stating that the destruction of words is a beautiful thing, I believe that the variety of words that we are given is something that brings us closer as a society. We are able to express ourselves much better. We can also communicate and understand each other much better and we are able to work together much better. Narrowing the range of thought with Newspeak in the story made me feel like the whole object of this language is to just have full control of people. To basically have people just working for you like robots and they are not able to rebel because of their lack of words to think with. Having all people under surveillance and every few years having some words removed from their language seems like something that the story is trying to lead to. This relates to the story by showing the readers the type of world that their system has in mind and what they are trying to reach in humanity.
The cigarette losing its tobacco is an interesting detail. Oftentimes, those who smoke cigarettes appreciate the time that smoking a cigarette provides them: a moment of solitary reflection, a break from their work schedule. Paired with the bell, it may relate to the time that Winston has taken from him. Also, as Winston was planning on saving the cigarette, it may provide an additional comment on Winston's desire to save memory as well; that saving anything is a futile effort.
ReplyDeleteI think that the thought of the whistle being similar to a middle school bell is very interesting. It is true that we grow out of this control, but in Winston's world it seems as if they never grow out of it and are always being watched as if they are children. When the Telescreen was first introduced I was very surprised and I felt the violation in myself. It does not seem right to be surveyed 24/7; that would not give the chance for people to express their true opinions or be themselves. I think that this type of society will eventually lead to a future where people, naturally, don't express themselves and they are glad to be controlled by the party.
ReplyDeleteSomething that really caught my attention about the first quote was that punctuality was a very important and serious thing. The fact that the system can have possible punishments for ignoring these telescreen alarms just sucks. I'm not even looking at it from a authoritarian point of view. Having to be this punctual and not be able to slack of is just a negative to the general quality of life. I would hate to live in that sort of world. Especially since I am definitely not a morning person. *laugh out loud*
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on your disagreement on how Syme believes that the destruction of words is "beautiful" because creating alternative words such as "plusgood and doubleplusgood" sounds weird and silly. Simplifying the words in their Newspeak language does make it seem like their goal is to control the people of Oceania.
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