1984 Winston Paperweight

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Orwell employs symbolism when he introduces the coral paperweight. This paperweight was used as a symbol of Winston’s connection to the past. In Oceania, it was prohibited for citizens to possess relics from the past. When Winston came into contact with Mr. Charrington, he was simultaneously coming into contact with the past. Not only could Winston escape the whirring of the telescreen’s noise in the background, but the palms of his hands could touch a piece of the past that most never knew existed. As time drew on, Winston could feel the pull of the Party and the pull away from the past. “There was another crash…the fragment of coral, a tiny crackle of pink…rolled across the mat” (Orwell 223). The moment the paperweight breaks is the…show more content…
In the beginning of 1984, Winston would not hesitate to believe that 2+2=4. After he was vaporized and tortured into believing in Big Brother, Winston could be found unconsciously writing 2+2=5, a major symbol created by Orwell and an idea that the Party preached in order to have every citizen as submissive (Orwell 290). The leaders of the Party saw themselves as supreme. Whatever they believed was the truth and whatever happened in Oceania was happening because the Party had said it would happen. After a certain amount of time, citizens would not hesitate to believe The Party was, in fact, a god-like figure. It could be said that party members believed Big Brother to be God. Little was known about the outside world and no one wanted to know the truth about the outside world. Oceania seemed like the perfect bubble to party members. In the world today, North Korea shines as the Oceania of modern society. Kim Jong-un stands as the supreme leader of North Korea and keeps an imaginary bubble locked over the country. Citizens of North Korea have no access to the outside world. Many do not even know what may be going on in other countries around the world. In North Korea, the only thing to worry about is the prosperity of North Korea and keeping the supreme leader happy. Just as Kim Jong-un glorifies himself with his citizens, Hitler and Big Brother were glorified among their people. It is hard to imagine that such men could be glorified as they committed atrocities that, even after 70 or more years, their crimes are unspeakable. “There was concern that such items might be seen as glorifying the genocidal dictator…we didn’t learn a lot about the Hitler cult in school” (“German Exhibit…” 3). A human being is defined by how he or she thinks and what he or she believes in. If the right to create personal
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