1984

So far, 1984 isn't really what I expected it would be, but it's an interesting book nonetheless. I especially like the symbolism of the ever-present face of Big Brother, watching and hearing pretty much everything Winston does. It reminds me a lot of T. J. Eckleburg's eyes in The Great Gatsby. Big Brother makes Winston more careful and wary of everyone, which adds a constant worry and suspicion of any new characters. I think it gives a sort of unease, because I'm not sure who he can trust. Do you think Winston will ever meet Big Brother? I think he might somewhere along the way.

I also don't really know what to make of Syme and Winston's relationship. Winston and he hang out as friends, or at least friendly-ish acquaintances, but it also says "it was a fact that if Syme grasped, even for three seconds, the nature of his, Winston's, secret opinions, he would betray him instantly to the Thought Police. So would anybody else, but Syme more than most" (55). He's kind of hard to pin down, because he seems to like Winston while simultaneously being the first person who would betray him. I guess he's more loving toward his job and the infamous Big Brother than to someone who invests time in him like Winston does, which is kind of sad, but I'm honestly not sure Winston even likes him that much. Maybe he's just using Syme as a faceless someone who he can interact with. Do you think he actually feels friendly towards Syme?

Antigone Quote II

(I forgot my script, so I got this quote from the Harvard Classics translation)

Quote: Creon says "Ah me! The fault is mine. On no one else, / Of all that live, the fearful guilt can come; / I, even I, did slay thee"

Question: Could an argument be made for Antigone causing the chain reaction of deaths?

Antigone Quote

"Antigone: Even so, we have a duty to the dead.

Creon: Not to give equal honour to good and bad.

Antigone: Who knows? In the country of the dead that may be the law."

Question: Antigone implies we know nothing of how things work in 'the country of the dead;' is she right?