1984: Emotions

George Orwell, 1984.

"What mattered were individual relationships, and a completely helpless gesture, an embrace, a tear, a word spoken to a dying man, could have value in itself.The proles had stayed human. They had not become hardened inside. They had held on to the primitive emotions which he himself had to re-learn by conscious effort. And in thinking this he remembered, without apparent relevance, how a few weeks ago he had seen a severed hand lying on the pavement and had kicked it into the gutter as though it have been a cabbage-stalk." (pg 172, Orwell)


This quote is significant simply because it is an accurate representation of Winston's character development. It shows how numb Winston feels before being in a relationship with Julia, and how different he is now, after meeting her.

Prior to meeting Julia, Orwell portrays Winston as a character that is merely getting through the day for a reason that was unknown to him; an individual that is living just for the sake of doing so. One particular part of the quote which reflects that is him kicking the severed hand "as though it had been a cabbage-stalk." Which highlights how highly dehumanized Winston is feeling. But Julia's presence made him feel alive once again. Because her slipping the paper in his hand which said I love you is the cause for him starting to have feelings once again, and it is also the reason why he realizes that the most important things that matter to him are things such as "an embrace", and an "individual relationship."

The other part of the quote which talks about the proles (which are the lower class, poor individuals) shows that because of the absence of telescreens and the constant fear of being watched they are capable of maintaining their human emotions, since they have no reason to censor the feelings which they feel the need to express. But, because Winston must have a telescreen inside of his home, he often has to control his emotions in order to not appear suspicious to the "Thought Police," because not doing so would result in him getting vaporized. But, due to the constant controlling of his emotions, it caused him to try and detatch himself from reality as much as possible in order not to risk showing any feelings. Which is what resulted in him being emotionally numb until meeting Julia.