Literary Luminary
Passage #1: "The face of Big Brother swam into his mind, displacing that of O'Brien. Just as he had done a few days earlier, he slid a coin out of his pocket and looked at it. The face gazed up at him, heavy, calm, protecting, but what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark mustache? Like a leaden knell the words came back at him. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." Page 104
In this passage, Orwell uses the literary device of personification to bring to life the true oppressive emotions of the Party through the facial details and expressions on the face of Big Brother on this coin in his pocket. This is the second time Winston finds himself looking at this coin, and I believe he carries it around with him as a constant reminder of what he is working so hard to defeat. He describes the look of Big Brother as heavy, calm and protecting, but follows up these claims with the question what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark mustache? This gives a powerful, almost mysterious feel to Big Brother, as Winston himself doesn't truly know what the Party is capable of.
This is a great passage, and a great example of personification. The symbol of big brother almost creeps me out and when he hears the voice of big brother in his head, I thought Orwell did a good job of making the reader feel the same as Winston. The fact that Big Brother managed to successfully brainwash the majority of Oceania just makes me have the same hatefull feelings Winston experiences and it makes me feel like if I were in that situation, I would have the want to rebel just as much as Winston does.
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