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Imagery
Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Book 1, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Doublethink:
Because doublethink relies on gaping contradictions, 1984 is full of paradox and situational irony. This is apparent already in the first chapter of the first book, when the narrator outlines the function of the four ministries that make up the government of Oceania.
[...] the Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts; the Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war; the Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order; and the Ministry of Plenty, which was responsible for economic affairs.
Put more explicitly, the Ministry of Truth is in charge of disseminating lies; the Ministry of Peace augments violence; the Ministry of Love carries out punishment and torture; the Ministry of Plenty controls rationing. Thus, each of the ministries has a paradoxical function. Goldstein's manifesto, which Winston reads in the ninth chapter of the second book, reveals the paradoxes at the core of Ingsoc even more explicitly. In the book," Goldstein writes that "it is only by reconciling contradictions that power can be retained indefinitely."
The paradoxical foundation of the governing system is further highlighted by the Party slogans, which Winston also reflects on in the first chapter of the first book.
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.
In Orwell's dystopian world, the Party brazenly acknowledges its disruption of logic and meaning. For Big Brother and members of the Party, war is peace because violence is the only way to sustain their repressive grip on the people and reality. Freedom is slavery because total submission has become the only way to stay alive. Similarly, ignorance is strength because it can be fatal to show signs of individual thought and empirical questioning. These slogans appear repeatedly throughout the book, giving the reader ample opportunity to reflect on their paradoxical constructions.
The consistent paradox throughout the novel gives rise to irony and, moreover, makes it evident how totalitarianism empties everything of meaning. When Winston opens the diary to begin writing in it, the narrator mentions in a parenthetical that this act technically isn't illegal: "nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws." Nothing is illegal because the Party can designate anything as illegal. It is impossible for people to keep track of what they are supposed to think because the Party's ideology goes against reason.
In the third chapter of the first book, Winston thinks about the "labyrinthine world" of doublethink, in which even understanding the word "doublethink" requires using doublethink:
To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which canceled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself [...]
In this passage, the narrator—by way of Winston's thoughts—describes the meaninglessness that arises when figures of authority violently control reality. Winston grapples with this throughout the novel, until O'Brien removes his capacity for critical thinking.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Sex and Celibacy:
While describing Winston's experience of the Two Minutes Hate, the narrator introduces one of the novel's main characters. The reader will later learn that this girl is named Julia, but in the beginning of the novel she is simply known as "the dark-haired girl." Her early characterization is situationally ironic, as she is sexualized while being described as a representative of the Junior Anti-Sex League. From this point, the clash between sexuality and sexual repression becomes a motif in the novel. For Winston and Julia, some of their most important resistance is their desire for each other, as they build a relationship on both physical passion and romantic love.
The girl's initial characterization is marked by irony. On the one hand, she is wearing a "narrow scarlet sash" as an "emblem of the Junior Anti-Sex League." On the other hand, this sash is wound around her waist, "just tightly enough to bring out the shapeliness of her hips." Despite being a representative of an organization devoted to celibacy and sexual repression, the character immediately makes Winston think about sex. The very emblem of her anti-sex organization contributes to her sexualization.
Winston feels a vehement dislike of the dark-haired girl and even directs his hatred toward her during the Two Minutes Hate, as the narrator explains in the first chapter of the first book:
He hated her because she was young and pretty and sexless, because he wanted to go to bed with her and would never do so, because round her sweet supple waist, which seemed to ask you to encircle it with your arm, there was only the odious scarlet sash, aggressive symbol of chastity.
The main reason Winston wants to have sex with the dark-haired girl is her sexlessness and the "aggressive symbol of chastity" that makes sex with her unattainable. It is ironic that the very emblem of her celibacy causes Winston to see her in a sexual light. This passage reveals the impossibility of controlling people's desires, even for a totalitarian state: often, prohibition only makes people want things more. Winston primarily wants to sleep with the girl because he believes he "would never do so."
Later, when describing Winston's marriage with Katharine, the narrator offers more information about the Party's stance on sex. For them, the only purpose of marriage is having children "in the service of the Party." Big Brother wants Party members to see sex as a "slightly disgusting minor operation, like having an enema." By "trying to kill the sex instinct" through sexual puritanism, the Party ironically gives sex an immense power.
As his relationship with Julia develops, Winston comes to fully recognize the oppositional power of sex—and, conversely, the "direct, intimate connection between chastity and political orthodoxy." Expressing hatred for purity, Winston is even excited that she's had numerous sexual partners before him because desire is the "force that would tear the Party to pieces." After they sleep together for the first time in the second chapter of the second book, he takes pleasure in the radical nature of lust:
Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act.
The diction of "victory" is significant in the world of 1984, as it is a word the Party uses to brand itself: Victory Gin, Victory Coffee, Victory Square, Victory Mansions. By using this word about their love, Winston appropriates the Party's propagandistic language to understand his private emotions and subtle acts of resistance.
Related Themes:
Book 1, Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Doublethink:
Because doublethink relies on gaping contradictions, 1984 is full of paradox and situational irony. This is apparent already in the first chapter of the first book, when the narrator outlines the function of the four ministries that make up the government of Oceania.
[...] the Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts; the Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war; the Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order; and the Ministry of Plenty, which was responsible for economic affairs.
Put more explicitly, the Ministry of Truth is in charge of disseminating lies; the Ministry of Peace augments violence; the Ministry of Love carries out punishment and torture; the Ministry of Plenty controls rationing. Thus, each of the ministries has a paradoxical function. Goldstein's manifesto, which Winston reads in the ninth chapter of the second book, reveals the paradoxes at the core of Ingsoc even more explicitly. In the book," Goldstein writes that "it is only by reconciling contradictions that power can be retained indefinitely."
The paradoxical foundation of the governing system is further highlighted by the Party slogans, which Winston also reflects on in the first chapter of the first book.
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.
In Orwell's dystopian world, the Party brazenly acknowledges its disruption of logic and meaning. For Big Brother and members of the Party, war is peace because violence is the only way to sustain their repressive grip on the people and reality. Freedom is slavery because total submission has become the only way to stay alive. Similarly, ignorance is strength because it can be fatal to show signs of individual thought and empirical questioning. These slogans appear repeatedly throughout the book, giving the reader ample opportunity to reflect on their paradoxical constructions.
The consistent paradox throughout the novel gives rise to irony and, moreover, makes it evident how totalitarianism empties everything of meaning. When Winston opens the diary to begin writing in it, the narrator mentions in a parenthetical that this act technically isn't illegal: "nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws." Nothing is illegal because the Party can designate anything as illegal. It is impossible for people to keep track of what they are supposed to think because the Party's ideology goes against reason.
In the third chapter of the first book, Winston thinks about the "labyrinthine world" of doublethink, in which even understanding the word "doublethink" requires using doublethink:
To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which canceled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself [...]
In this passage, the narrator—by way of Winston's thoughts—describes the meaninglessness that arises when figures of authority violently control reality. Winston grapples with this throughout the novel, until O'Brien removes his capacity for critical thinking.
Related Themes:
Book 2, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Sex and Celibacy:
While describing Winston's experience of the Two Minutes Hate, the narrator introduces one of the novel's main characters. The reader will later learn that this girl is named Julia, but in the beginning of the novel she is simply known as "the dark-haired girl." Her early characterization is situationally ironic, as she is sexualized while being described as a representative of the Junior Anti-Sex League. From this point, the clash between sexuality and sexual repression becomes a motif in the novel. For Winston and Julia, some of their most important resistance is their desire for each other, as they build a relationship on both physical passion and romantic love.
The girl's initial characterization is marked by irony. On the one hand, she is wearing a "narrow scarlet sash" as an "emblem of the Junior Anti-Sex League." On the other hand, this sash is wound around her waist, "just tightly enough to bring out the shapeliness of her hips." Despite being a representative of an organization devoted to celibacy and sexual repression, the character immediately makes Winston think about sex. The very emblem of her anti-sex organization contributes to her sexualization.
Winston feels a vehement dislike of the dark-haired girl and even directs his hatred toward her during the Two Minutes Hate, as the narrator explains in the first chapter of the first book:
He hated her because she was young and pretty and sexless, because he wanted to go to bed with her and would never do so, because round her sweet supple waist, which seemed to ask you to encircle it with your arm, there was only the odious scarlet sash, aggressive symbol of chastity.
The main reason Winston wants to have sex with the dark-haired girl is her sexlessness and the "aggressive symbol of chastity" that makes sex with her unattainable. It is ironic that the very emblem of her celibacy causes Winston to see her in a sexual light. This passage reveals the impossibility of controlling people's desires, even for a totalitarian state: often, prohibition only makes people want things more. Winston primarily wants to sleep with the girl because he believes he "would never do so."
Later, when describing Winston's marriage with Katharine, the narrator offers more information about the Party's stance on sex. For them, the only purpose of marriage is having children "in the service of the Party." Big Brother wants Party members to see sex as a "slightly disgusting minor operation, like having an enema." By "trying to kill the sex instinct" through sexual puritanism, the Party ironically gives sex an immense power.
As his relationship with Julia develops, Winston comes to fully recognize the oppositional power of sex—and, conversely, the "direct, intimate connection between chastity and political orthodoxy." Expressing hatred for purity, Winston is even excited that she's had numerous sexual partners before him because desire is the "force that would tear the Party to pieces." After they sleep together for the first time in the second chapter of the second book, he takes pleasure in the radical nature of lust:
Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act.
The diction of "victory" is significant in the world of 1984, as it is a word the Party uses to brand itself: Victory Gin, Victory Coffee, Victory Square, Victory Mansions. By using this word about their love, Winston appropriates the Party's propagandistic language to understand his private emotions and subtle acts of resistance.
Related Themes:
Book 2, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—O'Brien's Speeches:
In the eighth chapter of the second book, Winston and Julia visit O'Brien in order to acknowledge their opposition to the Party. Feigning allegiance with them, O'Brien delivers a series of gripping speeches about the Brotherhood. Employing pathos, he cements Winston's faith in him and the causes of unorthodoxy and resistance. O'Brien's speeches are later tinged with a layer of irony: while he seems to wholeheartedly believe what he says about the Party and Brotherhood, he ultimately does not stand for any of the words coming out of his mouth.
Appealing to Winston's emotions, O'Brien's words about the Brotherhood offer a moving picture of the self-sacrificing function of resistance in a world where freedom is limited.
The Brotherhood cannot be wiped out because it is not an organization in the ordinary sense. Nothing holds it together except an idea which is indestructible. You will never have anything to sustain you except the idea. You will get no comradeship and no encouragement. When finally you are caught, you will get no help.
The reader knows that Winston is already devoted to this "indestructible" idea and that he has realized that resistance will necessarily be solitary. Nevertheless, he finds this more appealing than the loneliness of opposing a system without a higher purpose. He would rather be alone with the knowledge that he secretly belongs to a larger movement than be utterly alone. O'Brien can sense this and crafts his speech about the Brotherhood along such lines.
O'Brien continues his pathos-infused speech, appealing to another ideal of Winston's: that he can contribute to a future that actually respects the past:
There is no possibility that any perceptible change will happen within our own lifetime. We are the dead. Our only true life is in the future. We shall take part in it as handfuls of dust and splinters of bone. But how far away that future may be, there is no knowing. It might be a thousand years. At present nothing is possible except to extend the area of sanity little by little. We cannot act collectively. We can only spread our knowledge outwards from individual to individual, generation after generation.
Throughout 1984, Winston returns repeatedly to his desire to live in a world that respects the past. One of his biggest problems with the Party is its constant tweaking of history for political aims. When O'Brien asserts that Winston's efforts in the Brotherhood will contribute to bridging the past and future, he is detecting and exploiting his audience's emotions. Winston's faith in O'Brien swells over the course of this chapter. "A wave of admiration, almost of worship" flows from Winston toward O'Brien as the latter speaks, which attests to O'Brien's success in appealing to Winston's specific emotions.
Later in the novel, when O'Brien's true identity and affiliations are revealed, the reader recalls this chapter as ironic. O'Brien speaks with great conviction about a cause that is directly in opposition with his own. This becomes rather eerie. While he is capable of recognizing the issues with the current system and the appeals of the Brotherhood, he nevertheless wishes to uphold the world that the Party stands for. He is not brainwashed in the way that other characters seem to be—and evidently has the power to think critically—but still prefers totalitarian brutality to equality and freedom. This makes O'Brien especially frightening to Winston.
Related Themes:
