Gabriel Garcia
Period 9
Sophomores 2020
Aim: How does the setting of the novel contribute to the mood and tone of 1984?
Do Now: Turn and Talk - Consider your knowledge of Oceania thus far. What words, which provide “tone” might you use to describe Oceania (create a list)? Explain your word choices.
We continued the lesson by discussing the differences between tone and mood. Tone demonstrates how the speaker feels and mood describes how the reader feels. It is important to remember that the speaker is not always the author; it can be a narrator.
The lesson continued with a class discussion comparing Winston’s tone with that of the reader. We found that they are very similar with both being pessimistic. As the reader, we see the immense control that the government has on society with every hint of dissent being swiftly cut down. It is difficult to see how this could change as we realize that Winston's struggle is ultimately hopeless against the wall of Big Brother’s oppression. Winston is pessimistic because he stands alone in the middle of an ocean of those who are against him. He seems to be the only one who can recall memories of life before INGSOC took over, but it is futile to spread this knowledge with others. Throughout the novel he accepts that he will most likely be vaporized along with many of his acquaintances, but does nothing to change this because he knows that he is little more than a minuscule and expendable cog in a massive machine. Winston’s tone is different from that of the rest of Oceania because everyone else he encounters is so heavily influenced by Big Brother that they are blind to the regime’s obvious faults. Even those who work in the Ministry of Truth with Winston and are responsible for ‘rectifying’ the past see this as a righteous act all in favor of Big Brother, with no realization that they are simply tightening the chains that already bind them. Even those who Winston would call ‘friends’ such as Syme can not be trusted as they would turn Winston over to the Thought Police without a second thought.
Next we discussed the setting and how it contributes to the mood and tone of 1984. Setting is the time, place, physical details and circumstances in which a story occurs. They include the background, atmosphere, or environment in which characters live and move. The setting in 1984 is important because it provides an incentive for the majority of Winston's thoughts and actions. The setting is dominated by the watchful eye of Big Brother, who seeks to destroy anyone who might pose the slightest threat to INGSOC. This drives Winston to rebel in the best way he can, by writing down his independent thoughts and memories in a journal as well as resisting the overarching influence of Big Brother which seeks to control everything in its reach. The greater setting of the world of 1984 also plays a significant role. The three nations are in a state of perpetual warfare with constantly shifting alliances. The government uses this to appeal to the people’s patriotism and hate towards others in order to better control them. Winston is the only one who can see past these lies and retain his own individuality separate from the mold of the state.
We learned a new vocabulary word, palimpsest, and it is a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain. The government in 1984 used palimpsests heavily in order to rewrite any errors or transgressions from history, making them as if they never existed. Through this, the government is able to create truth out of lies, while reality disappears from the pages of history. This also presents us with a great irony from the book which is that Winston says he loves his job, yet he is changing the past in order to protect those whose he hates above all. This shows that though Winston is different from the other people in Oceania, in some critical respects he is just like them as well.
As we drew to a close we had a brief discussion about Syme, and used the passage where he talks excitedly about the New Dictionary he is making. Syme also presents the reader with irony as he describes the elimination of words as beautiful and says that he is so excited to see when Newspeak will be condensed even further eliminating what he refers to as useless words. However, the irony in this statement is that once Newspeak does eliminate all of the words that allow people to adequately express themselves, the adjectives that he energetically uses to describe his passion of destroying words, will be destroyed as well.
The last slide of the lesson was a discussion about the dark-haired girl. I believe that she is someone who thinks similarly to Winston and perhaps is frequently around him because she wants to speak to him, but is frightened the same way that he is of the government’s watchfulness. Winston however, differs from my view and thinks that she is a spy looking to gather information on him in order to hand him over to the Thought Police. I however think this is highly unlikely because if she really were a spy, with all the materials at their disposal, Winston would have been long gone by now.
At first, the transition to remote learning was a hard adjustment as I missed the face to face interactions I had with my teachers and peers. Furthermore after some time, I found myself losing some motivation to complete assignments. However, I realized that regardless of the situation education is still one of the most vital things in life and so I strived forward and continued to work hard. As the year draws to a close it is incredible to think that we will be in remote learning for over three months but ultimately we all made it through together. Our teachers and administration were understanding, while our fellow peers picked us up when we needed help and carried us through this tough time. As the summer approaches the temptation to forget about the virus and enjoy the fresh air and warmth is undoubtedly there, yet we must not forget that this is a very real and present threat. As the coronavirus death toll in the United States surpasses 100,000, this grim milestone must serve as a reminder to all of us that in order to ensure the safety of our fellow countrymen, we must continue to follow government regulations for a while longer. If not, the effects of our actions may have irreversible negative consequences.
Reflection
In this lesson we learned how setting influences the mood and tone in literature by applying it to the novel 1984. The setting is what drives the conflict in 1984 between Winston and the oppressive regime of Oceania. Every aspect of life is meticulously controlled by the state with individual thought seen as dangerous and threatening. Winston however is different from most others and he clings on to memories of a distant past where things were different. The perpetual warfare between the three nations is advantageous to INGSOC as they can appeal to the people’s feelings of fear and hatred in order to control them, and the watchful eye of Big Brother along with the Thought Police keeps the populace in check, snuffing out the slightest form of dissent. Ultimately this creates a pessimistic mood and tone. The reader understands that there is no hope for Winston in this totalitarian world, while Winston has given up on the possibility of change, accepting his own death at the hands of the regime that strives to control him. We learned this because oftentimes the setting can be overlooked when analyzing what causes events within a story. Other elements like theme or conflict can take center stage, while the setting is seen as a secondary aspect. However, as was revealed by our lesson, the setting oftentimes is the overarching element that allows for everything to occur within a book. For example, if it wasn’t for the oppressive society, the story of 1984 could not exist as this is what drives Winston to act the way that he does. Applying this idea to mood and tone from the very first pages of the book, the city of Airstrip 1 is described as a bleak and ominous metropolis where no meaningful relationships exist and every move is meticulously observed. Through these descriptions the reader develops a pessimistic mood as described above and we better understand Winston’s pessimistic tone by visualizing the setting in which he lives. I can use what I learned by applying the principle that the setting contributes to mood and tone to other works of literature. In 1984 the reader’s mood is the same as Winston’s tone yet this is not always the case. In the novel Animal Farm the reader’s mood is one of pity towards the farm animal’s plight, such as when Boxer is sent to the knacker. This differs from the tone of the two sides of animals on the farm. The farm animals live in a constant state of uncertainty, fear, and oppression while the pigs are ambitious and cunning in gaining a profit off of the other animal’s backs. The reader’s mood and the two tones are all made possible by the strict and totalitarian conditions imposed on the farm once Napoleon’s regime takes over.
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