"I'm good at games. I was a troop leader in the Spies. I do voluntary work three evenings a week for the Junior Anti-Sex League. Hours and hours I've spent pasting their bloody rot all over London. I always carry one end of a banner in the processions. I always look cheerful and I never shirk anything. Always yell with the crowd, that's what I say. It's the only way to be safe." (page 122)
This quote from the novel is from Julia when she and Winston talk in private for the first time. For strangers these two are extremely trusting toward each other, which actually makes me somewhat nervous even for Winston's wellbeing. Although I am still skeptical of her, the points she makes in this quote got me thinking. She talks about how she knows in her mind that she does not believe in what is being taught, and yet she continues to go with the flow because that, for her, is easier than attempting to start a societal uprising. This is exactly the kind of behavior that is the beginning of brainwashing. It begins with physical surrender, and soon after your mind will alter. Is it possible that her youth causes these mental resistances? Do you think as she gets older she will become just another one of the "sheeple"?
Declan,
ReplyDeleteYou made several great realizations of the character of Julia, also the beginning of brainwashing. When you said that brainwashing starts with physical surrender that made me realize that the way the people of Oceania were living was not initially a choice, but when they were brainwashed they were made to believe that it was their choice to be a part of society. I think that Julia is a unique person that will not change her ideals because she knows what is right and wrong and that she can make a difference in the rise of the brotherhood.
I also agree with what this shows about Julia. It clearly shows how she knows what she must do to survive in this world and has simply come to accept that. It shows how the people realize what they must do and instead of questioning things like we do in real life have been beaten down so much that they simply just give in.
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