1st Hour 1984 Scribe

The first thing Mrs. Moritz asked was “how was your weekend?” After we discussed what we did over the weekend, she handed out black and gold water bottles and explained that Mackenzie, her daughter, had her birthday party over the weekend. It was held at the House of Bounce. After the short discussion we took our quiz. Then we got into our fishbowl group. The presenters were Tina Lynch, Julia Brennan, and Alison Bailey.

The first topic discussed was why Mr. Charrington had not been captured by the thought police. The most basic response was that he was a prole and so they did not really care about what he did as long as it wasn’t blatantly insulting the party. Another response was that because he had no business so he had no influence so they did not care. Another question that arised was why did Winston had such easy access to the shop house. Many people answered but some of the main ones were that he as lonely, he needed money, or that he was just interested in Julia and Winston (not in a sick way).

The next topic that was discussed was the proletarians. The first question that aroused was whether the statement “the proles are human, we are not” was accurate or inaccurate. There was a mixed response. Most of the inner circle and presenters agreed that the statement was accurate because even though they were in poverty, they had some freedoms, the most important freedom being thought. But there were a few who thought that it was not a good statement because they were just as caught up in the party as the party members but they were just poorer.

The follow up was a question that asked people whether they would be a prole or a party member. Overwhelmingly the group chose to be a prole because they believed that being able to sing and sleep in peace was worth being poor. The final question was about the proletarian lifestyle. We discussed how it was almost like the future had skipped back in type. It kind of reminded people of late 19th century New York. It was two totally different societies that just happened to co-exist with one another.

The final topic discussed was just comparing Julia’s way of life to Winston’s. The first question was why Julia, if she can truly read peoples faces, couldn’t read O’Brien’s mind. No one really had an answer to this question. The only solution was that Julia was just really, really lucky. The next question was whether Julia needed Winston or Winston needed Julia more. They decided that Winston needed Julia more because he had never had anyone to cling onto. Julia had done this “scores” of times so she knew how to get away from it all.

The final question was if Winston or Julia would survive longer under the current circumstances. It was a split-decision. Some people said Winston because he thought through everything. He would never make a careless decision because he knew how to think. The other half said Julia because she had experience, and other qualities. She volunteers and knows how to not be suspicious. Also she knows how to put on a good face. She also is not as connected with Winston so if anything were to happen to him she would be able to carry on unlike Winston.

We finished with Mrs. Moritz reminding us that we have to read through 224 by Wednesday.

-Sean Bull


Question from Alison, Tina and Julia:

When Julia and Winston are up in the room above Mr. Charrington's shop, how can they feel a sense of both a "damned soul grasping for his last morsel of pleasure when the clock is within five minutes of striking," and permanent security?