ENGLISH DEPARTMENT The Picture of Dorian Gray

10th Grade – 1st Period

Ana María Niño* L i t e r a t u r e *

MAJOR CHARACTERS Protagonist

Name Winston Smith

Type: Round and omniscient character.

Traits: (deduced and given by the author) Thin, fragile, intellectual, serious, fatalistic, thoughtful, paranoiac, and pessimistic. He is 39 years-old, he has revolutionary dreams and works for the party in a low position.

Conflicts: (types of conflicts present)The main conflict is man vs. society because Winston is always against the government and he always doubts about their ideals. Another conflict present, coming from the last one is man vs. man because Winston has a bad relationship with the party functionaries. And finally there is a man vs. self-conflict because Winston is always questioning the party and himself about his daily life. Also he doesn’t know if he should rebel because of his ideals or stay believing what the party says.

ANTAGONISTName: Big Brother

Type: Round and third person limited in the few things he says.

Traits: (deduced and given by the author) May not really exist, he is only seen in photos, coins, videos, posters, etc. His eyes always follow people, he is about 45 years-old, with a black mustache and ruggedly handsome features. He is supposed to be the leader of the party.

Conflicts: (types of conflicts present)There are no conflicts because he is not actually a character.

FOILName: JuliaType: round and third person objective character.

Traits: (deduced and given by the author) She is Winston’s lover, enjoys sex, is pragmatic, optimistic, and has a personal motivation for rebellion unlike Winston. She is also beautiful and black haired.

Conflicts: (types of conflicts present) Julia has men vs. society conflicts because she has a personal motivation for rebellion against the party, mainly because she enjoys sex. This leads to man vs. man and man vs. self- conflict because Julia uses other party members for personal rebellion and she contradicts herself by wearing the anti-sex league symbol, but in fact she has an addiction to sex.

IRONY:

Situational: Julia is a nymphomaniac, and its a big irony that she is part of the junior Anti-Sex-League. Also, she takes men to have sex in places that she discovered because she is part of this league.

Verbal: The names of the ministries that rule in the 1984’s dystopian society are evidently a verbal irony. The Ministry of Truth is the one who lies to the people, the Ministry of Love discourages love, and the Ministry of Peace incites violence.

TONE/MOOD:

Tone: Unrelieved darkness, gloomy, depressing, oppressed and colorless.

Mood: It is very dark since the novel talks about a dystopian society, it can’t be bright. It is also sad, hopeless, and there is no sense of freedom.

SYMBOLISM:

Telescreen: The omnipresent telescreens represent the party’s constant surveillance of its subjects. They also symbolize how the totalitarian govenment abuses of technology for its own goals and doesn’t improove knowledge. The place where there is no darkness: This place is not what Winston imagined throughout the novel, it’s not paradise but actually a prision cell where the light is never turned off. It symbolizes hope and Winston’s approach to the future and his pessimistic attitude towards it.

Big Brother: Represents the party in its public manifestation, he is known as the leader of the party and of the nation. He also symbolizes the vagueness with which the higher rakns of the party present themselves. His name and the posters of his face symbolize protection but at the same time a threat because of his power.

THEME:

Totalitarianism: 1984 is a political novel and the party at government is a totalitarian state. The whole novel takes place under this theme. Orwell is really concerned about the oppression he observed in communist countries and also by the role of technology which allowed governments to monitor constantly and control every situation, and all of this is what he tries to describe and narrate through the whole book. The book reflects a perfect totalitarian society in which the government, in this case the party, has an absolute power over the rest.

Psychological Manipulation: The party as a totalitarian government manipulates all people under its rule. Winstons work is a clear example of how they brainwash people to believe and do what they say with no objection. The party´s main objective is to eliminate the independent thought. The telescreens located everywhere, apart of monitoring the behavior of citizens, are in charge of transmitting propaganda that shows every fail of the party as a giant success. Additionally, everyone is constantly reminded of the sentence: “Big Brother is watching you.” announcement that restricts citizens of acting the way they want. It´s also important to mention that the Party is always trying to break family bonds by introducing children to the Junior Spies and making them betray their parent if they betray the Party. Sex is seen as a procreative action in order to create new party members, it’s no longer a desire.

Technology: They live in a futuristic society. When the book was written, the technology that appeared in the book didn’t actually exist (the telescreens, the torturemachines, etc.). It has an important role in order to keep surveillance, facilitate physiological manipulations, and finally achieve totalitarianism and absolute power. By using telescreens and microphones, the party is able to monitor the citizens all the time. Additionally, technology is also used to control economic production, sources of information and also the machinery to torture enemies. Technology, usually used for improving a society, is now used to facilitate and increase danger.

IMAGERY:

Oxymoron: Statement that is contradictory but contains truth. - War is peace- Slavery is freedom- Ignorance is strength- Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.

Personification: Constantly, Orwell is giving life to the Party in order to give life to the whole story.

Irony: The names of the ministries that rule in the 1984’s dystopian society are evidently a verbal irony. The Ministry of Truth is the one who lies to the people, the Ministry of Love discourages love, and the Ministry of Peace incites violence.

PLOT:

Introduction:Winston is like any other citizen of Oceania. He starts a diary rebelling himself against the party’s ideals and politics. He feels constantly under pressure because of the presence of the telescreens everywhere, he is constantly afraid and paranoiac. He fears that a party member will notice that he is against Big Brother´s leadership. During the first part, the narrator shows the arguments that lead Winston to hate the party, specially the way the totalitarian government manipulates the whole community.

Rising Action: Winston gets involved in a relationship with Julia. Now, besides of hiding his diary, he has to hide his relationship with Julia. Winston’s lover doesn’t care about the party either and she also has a personal enjoyment for rebellion. Having a relationship with Winston it’s a rebellion itself. These increases Winston’s need of rebellion and therefore the tension of the book. Additional to this, O’Brien inducts Winston and Julia into the brotherhood.

Climax: The climax of the story is reached when Winston and Julia are at St. Clements’s Church. They wake up as non-repressed people and they start discussing their future, taking into account that they have now joined the Brotherhood. There is a picture inside the church that echoes what they say, soon enough they are surrounded by the thought police.

Falling Action: Winston is send to the ministry of love where they lock him up. He has the opportunity to meet with other prisoners who, because of an unknown reason, seem to fear the room 101. Then, he is submitted to a series of horrible interrogations, performed by O’Brien. Finally, O’Brien takes Winston to the room 101 where he has to confront his worst fears. When he enters, he is surrounded by rats which are ready to eat him, so in order to avoid it he decides to confess everything and by this he betrays Julia.

Resolution: Winston is released from the Ministry of Love and he is now totally reformed. He now believes in the politics and ideals of the party. Winston´s relationship with Julia is now apathetic; his love for her is now replaced for his love for the party.