"She fell on her knees, threw open the bag, and tumbled
out some spanners and a screwdriver that filled the top part
of it. Underneath were a number of neat paper packets. The
first packet that she passed to Winston had a strange and
yet vaguely familiar feeling. It was filled with some kind of
heavy, sand-like stuff which yielded wherever you touched
it.
‘It isn’t sugar?’ he said.‘Real sugar. Not saccharine, sugar. And here’s a loaf of
bread—proper white bread, not our bloody stuff—and a little
pot of jam. And here’s a tin of milk—but look! This is the
one I’m really proud of. I had to wrap a bit of sacking round
it, because——’
But she did not need to tell him why she had wrapped it
up. The smell was already filling the room, a rich hot smell
which seemed like an emanation from his early childhood,
but which one did occasionally meet with even now, blowing
down a passage-way before a door slammed, or diffusing
itself mysteriously in a crowded street, sniffed for an instant
and then lost again.
‘It’s coffee,’ he murmured, ‘real coffee.’" (116-117)
In this quote, Julia returns to Winston with some Inner Party luxuries. These goods are less tampered with and less artificial than those given to common citizens. Being denied such rights to these luxuries, Winston is somewhat to feel a normal packet of sugar. The other items that Julia presents are: a white loaf of bread, a little pot of jam, a tin of milk, and finally coffee.
The items listed off sound like normal common household foods but the party has changed common goods to make them inferior and less delicious. A loaf of white bread is said be better than the rubbish bread that they normally receive and is seen as high class.
The last thing that Julia takes out is some Inner Party coffee. The coffee causes Winston to think back on his childhood for a quick second. Before he is really able to distinguish the memory, he seems to fade away and he realizes that he is smelling real coffee.
The reason the coffee probably reminds him of childhood is because his family probably drank coffee in the morning before the party was formed and things changed. Winston was probably too young to drink coffee so perhaps his mother drank it when he was little and that aroma of the past has stayed with him.
The smell of coffee is a whiff of freedom.
In this quote, Julia returns to Winston with some Inner Party luxuries. These goods are less tampered with and less artificial than those given to common citizens. Being denied such rights to these luxuries, Winston is somewhat to feel a normal packet of sugar. The other items that Julia presents are: a white loaf of bread, a little pot of jam, a tin of milk, and finally coffee.
The items listed off sound like normal common household foods but the party has changed common goods to make them inferior and less delicious. A loaf of white bread is said be better than the rubbish bread that they normally receive and is seen as high class.
The last thing that Julia takes out is some Inner Party coffee. The coffee causes Winston to think back on his childhood for a quick second. Before he is really able to distinguish the memory, he seems to fade away and he realizes that he is smelling real coffee.
The reason the coffee probably reminds him of childhood is because his family probably drank coffee in the morning before the party was formed and things changed. Winston was probably too young to drink coffee so perhaps his mother drank it when he was little and that aroma of the past has stayed with him.
The smell of coffee is a whiff of freedom.
I agree with you on stating that once Julia brought these goods to Winston, it was a sort of freedom that he was experiencing knowing that he can eat or drink something that would be considered illegal for them. I liked how you brought up the idea that Winston's mother might have drank coffee and the aroma of the coffee reminds Winston of her mother and a bit of what his past might have looked like.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that coffee is freedom to winston. This quote also shows how much the party changed Winston's life, so much that he never got to drink "real coffee. This is a big quote, i think there's was a little more to this quote.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your interpretation of this quote! When I initially read the quote, I didn’t think about coffee representing freedom, so that really opened up a new path in my mind. Also when I read the quote, it made me think of a film we were watching in my English 1A class. I don’t remember what it was called, but it had to do with an overpopulation of people and low production of food. People were sleeping on stairs and only the rich would eat actual food. The common people are other people and some replacements. Anyways, the point is that the people at the top got real food. I feel like they are both similar in the sense that the people at the top get the good stuff.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job interpenetrating this quote. At the very beginning I had no clue where you were heading with this. I can see now how something as simple as coffee can be a simple of freedom. If we think about it you're exactly right by removing the common household foods it takes away from there freedom.
ReplyDeleteJulia brings Winston many things he would never be able to attain especially as you said a sense of freedom. Julia brings makes him feel like it was before like big brother no more. As simple thing as coffee makes him feel his freedom. I enjoyed your selection its very interesting. Good job keep up the great work.
ReplyDelete