In the novel, 1984, by George Orwell, there is a significant change in the tone between Part 1 and Part 2. As protagonist Winston Smith learns more about Big Brother and how he can join a rebellion against it, the tone of the novel begins to become more positive. In Part 1, the tone could be considered miserable, bleak, and hopeless. But as the audience reads into Part 2, there is a shift; and the novel begins to gain a rebellious, strong, and hopeful tone. The shifts in the tone of the novel between Parts 1 and 2 reflect upon the seemingly increasing probability for Winston to assist in eliminating the totalitarian Party rule over Oceania. In Part 1, the audience learns just how miserable Winston’s life is. Winston is an …show more content…
In one of the opening lines of the novel, the speaker states that: "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). This sentence sets the tone of Part 1 off in a very miserable and unapologetic way.
The life of the Party members is bleak, with many of them living in shabby, dirty apartments, and having little food or other necessities at their disposal, similar to Winston. The Party controlled the people’s every move and watched them through telescreens in their homes. Anyone who went against what the Party said was punished or killed; and it is because of this that Winston …show more content…
Winston began reading, then stopped to embrace and appreciate the peace and quiet that he was feeling around him. In the room he was reading in, “He was alone: no telescreen, no ear at the keyhole…” (Orwell 184). He enjoyed the serene environment, and then continued reading, finally stopping when he realized Julia had fallen asleep. When he finished for the night, he reflected upon what he had read and felt as if he fit in with the Brotherhood ideas, “But after reading it he knew better than before that he was not mad. Being in a minority, even a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad” (Orwell 185). After reading, he felt increasingly hopeful that he, Julia, and the rest of the Brotherhood could potentially assist in the destruction of the Party. Throughout Part 1 and Part 2 of 1984, the tone changes from miserable, bleak, and hopeless to rebellious, strong, and increasingly hopeful. The cause for this shift is due to the growing probability for Winston’s intelligence and hated for the Party to be put towards a good cause: Party