Page 4 - 1984FinalProject-LiaMoreira (1)

○ Chapter 7: Power to the Proles
■ This chapter is named "Power to the Proles" because Winston starts the chapter by

writing in his diary that if "there is hope, it lies in the proles" (pg. 89). Winston says this
because the proles make up the majority of the Oceania, London population. They make
up 85% of the country's population and so, if there is any hope of changing modern day
society, that is, overthrowing the current totalitarian government, it's the proles that
would do so. Not even the Eurasian enemies would be able to destroy the party, only by
the proles - but in order to do that, they would have to be conscious of their strength,
which they are not. The power lies within the Proles but they have no idea of their
strength, for they are manipulated by the government; they are benefitted in the society,
or so they think they are since there are no telescreen present in the proletarian
neighbourhoods, thought police doesn't even go there, they are allowed to have private
relationships and they even have fake lottery.

○ Chapter 8: Powerless
■ This chapter is called "Powerless" because it shows how there isn't really a way to rebel
against Big Brother. The previous chapter talked about how there is hope to set free from
the government's manipulation with the proles help, for they compose 85% of the
population. That got stuck in Winston's head and so, he goes to the proles neighborhood,
despite being suspicious and dangerous due to the monitoring of Party members done by
the government. When he gets there, he goes to a bar and has a talk with and old
proletariat men. As he talks to him, he notices how he doesn't even make sense when
talking or cares about anything other than his beer. This shows how the proles aren't
interested in rebellion, they are settled and they don't see that they could be better off
without Big Brother and its manipulatory systems. This way, Winston goes home and
feels powerless, he feels like he is alone in thought of rebellion.

● Part 2: A Couple of Roses
■ This part is called "A Couple of Roses" because as mentioned before, Oceania, which has
a totalitarian oppressive government, treats their citizens like flowers in a garden: takes
care of them, always looking for the "rotten flowers" which are the rebellious citizens. In
this part, the main idea being pointed out is how there actually can be rebellion that goes
unnoticed (they want to create a world in which they can live in), or so that's what Julia
and Winston think. They are the metaphor, they are the "Couple of Roses", that found a
common think: they both hate Big Brother, they are together like a couple and they are
roses because those are the symbol of true love.