Nick Smith

AP Literature, Period Six

Mr. Price

2 March 2017

Symbolception: Symbolism in 1984

1984 is one of the most symbolic works in history. At the time it was written, World War

Two was four years in the past, and Joseph Stalins vicelike grip on the Russian populace hadnt

changed. George Orwell, the author of 1984, was deeply troubled by the spate of totalitarianism

which seemed to be rising all over the world. Even though Hitler and Mussolini had been

deposed, Stalins rule was still going strong in Russia. Orwell wanted to provide a vision into a

future that could occur if the tyrants had their way, if free speech were to be abolished and

thoughts were no longer private. To connect this dystopian tale to the present day, Orwell used

liberal helpings of symbolism to establish how bleak the world was, and how much things had

changed, and how much the reader definitely didnt want their world to resemble the world in the

novel. Some of the more important symbols in the book include Winstons journal, the food in

the cafeterias, and the telescreens.

At the very beginning of 1984, Winston Smith, the main character of the story, purchases

a womans diary and ink quill in which to write down his thoughts. When he first settles down to

write an entry, he is struck with indecision, as he wonders For whom was he writing this

diary? (Orwell 7). He realizes that he wants to write to the future, which doesnt make sense

because the future cant reply. This could symbolize Orwells intentions behind writing the novel

in the first place, or maybe represents indecision that he himself experienced while writing 1984.
His book was meant to be a cautionary tale, a warning to a future which he couldnt see into and

to which he could never reply. The book is also a dangerous possession- when Winston bought it,

he carried it guiltily home in his briefcase because even with nothing written in it, it was a

compromising possession (6). It is established in the novel that the Party, the all-powerful ruling

class, doesnt punish the deed, but the thought. The diary, even when blank and not covered in

Winstons heretical scribbling, is a compromising thing because of its potential for sedition. It

represents the Partys opposition to free thought- even a blank diary can get someone killed.

Finally, the diary represents Winstons built-up frustration at the world around him. The first

thing that he writes in the diary after the date is a stream of garbage about a movie he saw the

other day- a woman down in the prole part of the house started kicking up a fuss and shouting

they didnt oughter of showed it in front of the kids they didnt it aint right not in front of the kids

(9). More than once during the book, Winston talks about a ubiquitous sense of crushing dread

and injustice, a sense that one was entitled to more than unhealthy food and grimy quarters.

Years and years of repression suddenly vent themselves onto this diary, showing Winstons

impotent rage at his surroundings. This sudden venting of heretical nonsense could be taken as a

good sign, since most of the characters in the book live in the same conditions as Winston, and

they might feel the same emotions as he does since theyve been subjected to the same treatment

as he has. So, while Winstons diary is a symbol of his mental state and the rule of the Party,

there are more objects in 1984 that are symbolic of what the world has become.

In 1984, the terrible food is brought up time and again, and is one of Winstons main

sources of frustration with the world in which he lives. For example, the only alcohol available to

him is synthetic Victory Gin. When he drinks it, he describes it as being like nitric acid, and

moreover, in swallowing it one had the impression of being hit in the back of the head with a
rubber club (5). Despite how unpleasant the stuff is, Winston drinks it anyway. He drinks it

when he wakes up, he drinks it at lunch, he drinks it when he wakes up and he drinks it when he

goes to sleep. It makes him irritable and kills his taste buds, but theres nothing he can do about

it. With his Victory Gin, he eats his flavorless lunch- a metal pannikin of pinkish-gray stew, a

hunk of bread, a cube of cheese, a mug of milkless Victory Coffee, and one saccharine tablet

(50). The food generates a suppressed feeling of injustice in Winstons heart. Its an arm of the

Partys control over the masses. It symbolizes just how little the Party really cares about its

subjects, and makes the reader wonder if any of Winstons fellow Party members feel the same

way about he does. Everyone stands in the same lunch lines drinking the same noxious chemicals

and eating the same disgusting food. Lastly, when Winston goes to join the mythical

underground organization dedicated to bringing down the Party, he is given a glass of wine and

asked to propose a toast. Once the toast is finished, Winston is very eager to drink the stuff

because like the glass paperweight or Mr. Charringtons half-remembered rhymes, it belonged

to the vanished, romantic past (171). However, when Winston goes to drink it, he cant even

taste it because years of gin have destroyed his taste buds. This inability to be able to experience

something from the past seems to add an extra layer of hopelessness to Winstons plight. He

finally, finally gets to interact with the past he longs for so much and is dedicating his life to, but

the Partys agenda has interfered with that experience too. The Party has not only ruined his real

life, but it ruins his romanticized ideas about the past. It makes it seem, to Winston at least, that

there is no way to conquer a foe that has can destroy even the most private and unrealistic

imaginings. So, the food in 1984 helps to symbolize the bleakness of its world, but there is one

more very iconic feature of the book that symbolizes all of its most important points.
 The telescreen is a device bolted into the walls of every house. It watches and listens to

the occupants at all times, perpetually waiting for a slip of the tongue or a carelessly critical

sentence. Not only does it watch, it distracts, as it plays music at all times. When Winston sits

down to write in his journal for the first time, he becomes conscious of nothing but the

blankness of the page in front of him, the itching of the skin above his ankle, the blaring of the

music (8). The telescreen in this case symbolizes the Partys unparalleled ability to crush and

destroy sedition. Winston doesnt even need armed Thought Police bursting through his windows

or the threat of constant surveillance to stop him from writing in the journal- all he needs is

distraction, which the telescreen happily provides. The revolution that could have the potential to

save the world is being halted by obnoxiously patriotic music. This thought-killing distraction

could also symbolize the distracting potential of something like the television, which was being

very popularized at the time Orwell wrote 1984. Winston goes through life with his mind

occupied by nothing except staying calm and showing no emotions or expressions that could

indict him as a thought-criminal. When, during his job, he comes across a picture that could have

taken the Party apart (the picture depicted a group of supposed thought-criminals at a Party

function), he realizes that even your breathing could be controlled, with an effort; but you could

not control the beating of your heart (79). Winston reflects back to that crucial moment- he

could have kept the picture and had a chance to singlehandedly change the world, or he could

just do what he did and destroy it, which was his job. Winston thinks that in his present situation,

he would have kept the picture. This instance symbolizes just how deep the Partys influence

really extends, even down to the subconscious. Years of fear and torment freeze Winstons brain,

and all he can think to do is destroy the best shot his short-lived rebellion actually had at

succeeding, and all because the telescreen was watching. The omnipresence of the telescreens
themselves represents the omnipotence of the Party and shows just how tough such a simple

thing as privacy is to come by. When Winston goes places with no telescreen, he is astonished-

There is no telescreen! he could not help murmuring (97)- at the notion of simple privacy.

The telescreens serve to represent just how large a gap there is between the world of 1984 and

the world of reality. Something so simple as a moment to oneself is nearly impossible to come

by- Winston has a tiny nook in his apartment in his room that the telescreen cannot reach, but

that is all. Even in his telescreen-free room above Mr. Charringtons shop, he was being watched,

and even when OBrien turned the telescreen off for his meeting with Winston, Winston was

being watched. Genuine privacy is an illusion in 1984, which is the most important concept that

the telescreens symbolize. So, the telescreens are one of the most important symbols in 1984, but

they are by no means the only important symbol present.

There are many, many symbols used in the book 1984, including the food, the

telescreens, and Winstons journal. These symbols all serve a single purpose- to illustrate the gulf

between the real world and Orwells world. Good food and privacy and freedom of thought are

all taken for granted in the present day, but perhaps they shouldnt be. The amount of effort the

characters go to for something like a surveillance-free moment or real sugar is mind-boggling.

The nonfiction world is very different to the Orwellian world, and the symbols in 1984 serve to

illustrate those differences and to ensure that the novels message is all the more poignant and

relatable.