Jordan Khan

April 12, 2016

ENG3UI - 06
Mr. Toffoletti

1984 Assignment #2
The atmosphere in 1984 is very pessimistic. This is made very clear by Orwells
descriptions of each scene. This amplifies the negative themes such as isolation and
betrayal. Winston and everyone else is living in the same poor conditions. There is
propaganda and party support everywhere. The small amount of positive shown by the
Golden Country just amplifies the meaning of the dark and grittiness. The atmosphere is
very important in helping readers to better understand the themes such as betrayal and
isolation with the gloomy conditions, propaganda, and the dream land of the Golden
Country.

Unless you are an Inner Party member, your living conditions are very poor. Right
from the beginning the reader learns its very dirty and gloomy. It was a bright cold day
in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his
breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of
Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from
entering along with him. (Orwell 1) Everything seems to be very bland and
dysfunctional, with dulled mirrors, rusty razors, and broken lifts. This negative
atmosphere spawns generally negative themes like isolation and betrayal. Asleep or
awake, eating, indoors or out of doors, in bath or in bed no escape. Nothing was your
own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull. This environment makes you
feel confined. There is no private place to go so there is a strong feeling of isolation. The
dark atmosphere and lack of real space simply gives off the feeling of betrayal. These
gloomy conditions help to portray isolation and betrayal in the novel.
 Propaganda and party supporters are everywhere. There appears to be no escape.
The posters of Big Brother saying Big Brother Is Watching You show this. People are
everywhere, yet this gives the feeling of isolation. Winston feels this especially because
he thinks he is different, and he is. He is lost in a sea of mindless people. In the Two
Minute Hate he is there with everyone chanting and yelling. He joins them, but doesnt
really mean what he is doing. Its all for show. Winston feels daunted and alone among
all these people that follow orders without any question. His betrayal to the Party brings
the feeling of isolation. The Party is everywhere but the Brotherhood is nowhere. Until
he finds Julia he is completely alone. This is why he becomes so attached to Julia. This is
why he carelessly forms an alliance with OBrien. With the propaganda and so many
people only caring about Big Brother and his rules, Winston may feel like no one cares
about him. Due to this fact, he feels both isolated and betrayed. The inescapable
support for the government effectively creates a feeling of isolation and betrayal.

There is very little positivity in 1984. When the reader learns about the Golden
Country, it just amplifies the effects of Winstons poor life. This dream area of peace is
all bright and green versus the dark, grey and miserable life he is used to. The
landscape that he was looking at recurred so often in his dreams that he was never fully
certain whether or not he had seen it in the real world. In his waking thoughts he called
it the Golden Country. It was an old, rabbit-bitten pasture, with a foot-track wandering
across it and a molehill here and there. In the ragged hedge on the opposite side of the
field the boughs of the elm trees were swaying very faintly in the breeze, their leaves
just stirring in dense masses like womens hair. Somewhere near at hand, though out of
sight, there was a clear, slow-moving stream where dace were swimming in the pools
under the willow trees. (Orwell 33) This imaginary place is the opposite of where
Winston actually lives. Freedom, no isolation or betrayal. Light shows freedom and dark
shows slavery in 1984, though the Party wants you to think their dark state is both.

The themes isolation and betrayal have been shown better through the
atmosphere of 1984. The rough and gritty living conditions of Winston and his fellow
Party members presents this. The propaganda and Party fanatics are everywhere and
make any thoughtcriminals feel unsettled no matter where they are. The contrast of the
bright, green paradise, Golden Country, further improves the effect of the real
atmosphere in 1984. These different elements of 1984s atmosphere are able to amplify
the themes of isolation and betrayal.