The Place Where There is no Darkness

This is perhaps one of my favourite aspects of this novel. We hear from Winston that in a dream he heard "We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness" and that he believes it was O'brien's voice he heard it from. To make a long story short, it was O'brien, and they do. The fact that the place where there is no darkness is the interrogation rooms of the Ministry of Love and that they meet their at the darkest point of the story is an example of the duplicity and deceit that permeate the book. This deceit is perhaps wht makes me appreciate the novel so much. All throughout the book this statement is used as a hope for the future, as a sign that everything will turn out alright, and when it turns out the exact opposite we are let down in an impressive fashion.

The Paperweight

The paperweight is a beautiful symbol in this novel. Winston, in his second visit to Charrington's shop, buys a glass paperweight with a fragment of coral in the center. This paperweight really couldn't fit the bill for symbol any better if we wrote it ourselves. The definition of a symbol is something that represents a larger idea or concept. The paperweight is not only a remnant of the past that the party is nearing completion in destroying, it is a symbol of that very same past. When Winston holds it in his hands and revels in the smoothness of the glass and the beauty of the coral, we see that it is not the aspects of the paperweight he is appreciating but the aspects of the past it represents.When Winston is arrested and one of the men smash the paperweight we can physically feel the grief of the party winning, and this is a testament to the quality of writing involved.

Writing Style

1984 is written with a very direct, matter-of-fact, and unimbellished writing style. Orwell seems to be following his own rules, such as "If it is possible to cut a word out, do it" and "never use a long word when a short one will do". This lends a great deal to the tone of the novel. The language used in his descriptions grind the dull and unsatisfying air of the subject matter into our minds. He constantly uses descriptors like "grey" or "flat" to describe the environment of oceana and it is extremely effective in building a sense of unease and creating a beautifully drab and depressing crisis in which much of the novel revels in.

Solipsism

Solipsism, at it's essence, is the theory that nothing exists outside of the consciousness of the individual. Basically that reality is inside of the skull. Solipsism is also explored in 1984, albeit not in the classical sense. The solipsism of 1984, as stated by O'brian, is more a collective solipsism, the theory that the external world exists only through conciousness. The party finds this world view effective because if reality is internal, and conciousness is alterable then reality itself is a simple matter to modify to one's liking.

"It was as though some huge force were pressing down ... upon you – something that penetrated inside your skull, battering against your brain, frightening you out of your beliefs, persuading you, almost, to deny the evidence of your senses. In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality, was tacitly denied by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense. And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right. For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable…what then?"

Mr.Charrington

Mr Charrington is my favourite character in this novel. From the beginning we see him as a deep and nostalgic man, and this view is broadened by his periodic recollectionof old nursery rhymes. Over time this poem is started by Charrington, lengthened by Julia, expanded upon by Charrington, continued by O'Brien:
Oranges and Lemons says the bell of St. Clements
You owe me three farthings says the bells of St.Martins
When will you pay me says the bells of old Bailey
When I grow rich says the bells of Shoreditch
This is where you believe the rhyme ends, until Winston and Julia are arrested and Mr Charrington, who shows himself to be not an old man but a middle-aged member of the thought police,completes the rhyme with:
Here comes the candle to light you to bed
here comes the chopper to chop off your head

This results in one of the better scenes in the novel, and leads to the third part, Winston's capture.

Possibly the reason I like this character so much, in the words of a university student on shmoop.com:
"He illustrates the ‘"just when you thought you were safe" mantra we seem to have adopted since beginning 1984. He emphasizes the themes of betrayal, deception, and all around brutality that are woven through the text".

The Two Minute Hate

When Winston is at work in the ministry of truth,  he has to go through something called the two minute hate. The two minute hate is a daily event where everyone gathers infront of a large screen and are driven into a frenzy of hatred, even to the point of throwing things at the screen. The two minute hate is an interesting event, it's overt purpose seems to be to stir up hatred towards Goldstien and Eur/Eastasia, but it could also serve the purpose of detecting disloyalty in the party members. Whatever it's purpose is, it is never overtly stated, the two minute hate is just something you need to be a part of.

The Parsons Family

When Mrs. Parson asks Winston to clear her drain we get an interesting picture of the Parson family. The Parson home is smelly and cluttered, and the children are making tantrums over not being able to go to the hanging. After clearing the drain Winston is hit with a catapult from one of the older Parson kids; The younger ones dancing around him calling him a traitor and a thought-criminal. This event causes Winston to reflect on the family values that the party imposes on it's subjects. Parents are encouraged to love their children in an almost old-fashioned way, while children are turned systematically against their parents by means of organisations such as the junior spies. These organisations had a tendency to turn the children into ungovernable little savages, but the scary part Winston reflects, is the fact that this produces in them no tendency to rebel against the word of the party.