Representation and Perspective in 1984 How does Orwell use form and language to position us to think or feel a certain way? Look at his subjectivity and his intended impact on us. When incorporating considerations of representation in your essay responses, you move from an objective consideration of language, eg: Orwell uses imagery here to convey the idea... to statements that encompass the subjective and intentional nature of the piece and therefore the impact on the reader: Orwell has used imagery here to (late/position/get the audience id / feel... ‘The following are considerations of how Orwell represents his ideas, through form and language, to position us: FORM Dystopian Establishes expect Functions as a warning; frightens us ‘+ Exaggerated form of human experience * Society and setting are critical in understanding character ns in reader Juvenalian satire * Asabove, isa warning + A commentary on areal historical circumstance, as well as human behaviour Realistic prose novel + Despite the dystopian setting, creates verisimilitude to make reader feel they a world setting nareal- Three-part structure + Takes reader through three stages: ©. Part I: fear of this dystopian world; contemplation of what lives © Part Il: understanding of significance of key innate human experiences (human connection, love, privacy, beauty, reading, nature, etc); creates a sense of hope, a natural human response © Part Ill: hope destroyed, especially at end when Winston succumbs. lost in our everyday PERSPECTIVE/CHARACTER Winston - Everyman character ‘© The human experience of tyranny + Someone the average reader can relate to © Particularly recognizable to 1950s English reader ‘Third person limited narrative * The isolated perspective enhances the sense of Winston's isolation in this world. * We never really know what other characters are thinking or feeling, like WinstonVoice: intimate and emotive © Develops a strong sense of empathy for Winston Strong sense of the human response to this world © Winston is deeply human Authorial intrusion: Enables Orwell to communicate his ideological perspective (see Dystopia and Satire, above) SETTING Recognizably post-war London Fear that totalitarianism could reach England. «Fear that totalitarianism could reach anywhere; this is about human nature, not some unlikely state of affairs. Significance of different settings «Range of settings enable different insights into human experience; impact of the contrast between these settings: © World of Inner Party, Outer Party and proles Public world vs private, peaceful world of apartment Urban decay vs glittering Ministry towers ‘The canteen His office ‘The Golden Country of his dreams and the countryside they visi Room 101 000000 LANGUAGE Vivid imagery «The significance of sensory imagery to place us in this world and to relate to its depriv and moments of joy. ‘* Visual imagery to evoke clear sense of setting and characters + Auditory imagery to evoke contrast in peace and constant intrusive noise and ‘shouting’ of the fanatic society; the noise of the party + Music, song, as both a thing of beauty and human expression or of human indoctrination and control ‘The use of Party maxims, paradoxical statements ‘© Winston repeats the statements of the Party throughout, sometimes in a sarcastic and knowing tone, sometimes in an unconscious repetition. Suggests how intrusive the Party is in people's thought processes. «Statements often presented in bold and apart from the other text; this format signals the power of the Party's dictates + Paradoxical statements evoke unease, frustration or fear in reader: goes against accepted logic, and yet is clearly mandated and even accepted in this world, Orwell's creation of a new lexicon to show the insidious power base in the novel * Aswith above, Newspeak terms are repeated throughout, suggesting their hold in this | society. Tone, and shifts in 10‘* Reflects Winston's very human responses. ‘+ The understated tone suggests the capacity for Winston (and therefore any of us) to gradually become resigned to such a world. This is designed to evoke fear in the reader and cause them to question their own likely responses. Tricolon ‘+ Use of this rhetoric device significant as Orwell has used the novel as a vehicle for his ideological beliefs. Particularly noticeable during the authorial intrusion passages. An emotive appeal to our sense of justice, and of everything we value. Repetition ‘+ Alot of repetition, Of questions, of phrases, of ideas. Not subtle. Constant questions ‘+ Winston's constant efforts to understand. We understand him as someone with great capacity for critical thought. Signals to us that he is still human, + Also has a didactic function. Enables Orwell to pose the questions he thinks we should all be asking, as humans, about our society and about our humanity. Declarative sentences ‘Same function as questions, above. MOTIFS AND SYMBOLS The face ‘© Symbol of humanity, * Which faces reveal it and which faces hide it and which faces evidence its loss or erasure. ‘The glass paperweight ‘+ An item of beauty; no utilitarian function. Man's aesthetic capacity. © Repeated imagery of its softness, light, beauty * Alink toa collective past. A world the Party denies existed * Symbolises to Winston a fragile, rare, contained world - that of the apartment, he and Julie. © When Thought Police enter at end, they smash the paperweight. St Clement's Church «Again, a link to a collective past. A world the Party denies existed. Symbolism inherent in specific settings + See setting above. a