1984
Book 2, Chapter 3
Sean Richardson P/4
Character Analysis

Julia - At first, we believe Julia hates Winston and may
even be part of the Thought Police, but starting in Book
2, she completely changes. She is directly stated as
being alert and businesslike, with a practical cunning
that Winston couldn’t match. She is said to enjoy her
job in the Fiction Department, feel at home with
machines, despise books, and live in a hostel with at
least 30 other women. Also, she is said to have been
born with excellent character, but society has changed
her and when not near a telescreen, she is a corrupt
individual. She even claims herself to be so.
Character Analysis

Katharine - The only way we get to know Katharine
in this chapter is through Winston’s retelling of his
memories. She was an orderly woman and abided
strictly by Party laws. She believed that sex should
only be considered to have children (as a duty of the
Party, no less). After thinking too much about her,
Winston decides he hated her, and on a community
hike they went on, he actually wanted to think about
pushing her off a cliff.
Vocabulary

Enunciate (v.) - To utter or pronounce in an articulate
manner.


Orwell describes Julia's instructions as though
she is enunciating a general principle, clearcut and straight to the point.
Adept (adj.) - Skilled; proficient; expert.

Julia is shown to be adept at speaking without
moving her lips, showing how secretive she
truly is.
Vocabulary

Hypocrite (n.) - A person who pretends to have virtues, moral
or religious beliefs, or principles that he or she does not
actually possess; a person whose actions belie stated
beliefs.


People in the Party usually try to give the image
that they are working for the good of the people,
but in reality are only working to better
themselves.
Hysteria (n.) - An uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear,
often characterized by irrationality, laughter, or weeping.

Sex privation is said to cause hysteria, as it could
be transformed into war fever or leader worship.
Newspeak

Goodthinkful – Naturally orthodox,
incapable of thinking a bad thought.

Winston describes his ex-wife
Katharine as a goodthinkful person,
dutifully listening to the Party and never
straying from its laws.
Literary Elements
•
“Never go home the same way as you went out,”
she said, as though enunciating an important
general principle.
–
This simile, stated by Julia, is used to
describe the statement as a general fact to
show that by now, in all of his thoughtcrime,
Winston should know what to do when
avoiding the Party.
Literary Elements
•
Suddenly he became aware of Julia's face a few
centimeters from his own, deathly white, as white
as chalk.
–
Another simile, the plaster on Julia's face
from the rocket bomb turns it completely
white, like a person's face after death. This
shows the constant danger Oceania is in,
even in deserted areas.
Literary Elements
•
He wondered vaguely how many others like her might be in the
younger generation – people who had grown up in the world of
the Revolution, knowing nothing else, accepting the Party as
something unalterable, like the sky, not rebelling against its
authority but simply evading it as a rabbit dodges a dog.
–
This passage contains two similes, one right after the
other. The first compares the Party to the sky, as, from the
viewpoint of the people, is unalterable and has total
control over its domain. The second compares the
younger generation evading the government to a rabbit
evading being hunted: they are afraid of what the
consequences would be if they try to rebel. The
government is made out to be a powerful and feared
system without many enemies.
Literary Elements
•
She described to him, almost as though she had seen
or felt it, the stiffening of Katharine's body as soon as
he touched her, the way she seemed to be pushing
him from her with all her strength, even when her
arms were clasped tightly round him.
–
This passage uses imagery to create a vivid
picture of the kind of person Katharine was like:
a timid, law-abiding, goodthinkful woman who
only thought of her duty to the Party.
Discussion Question 1
•
How did Julia become the kind of woman that we
found out she really is?
–
She was raised very well and given many
opportunities, and when she grew up and
started committing thoughtcrime, she knew
what she had to do to avoid being caught
for as long as she can.
Discussion Question 2
•
How did Winston change the way he was from
the time he was married to Katharine to now?
–
Katharine changed the way Winston felt
about law-abiding, loyal Party members. He
started to hate them because the law got in
the way of his emotions, including pleasure
and happiness. He wanted to have a world
where he could express himself as he
pleased. Then, he met Julia. Now he has
that world in secret, and he is happy.
Discussion Question 3
Describe Julia’s character as it relates to Winston. How is she different from him? How is
she similar to him? How does Julia’s age make her attitude toward the Party very
different from Winston’s?
Winston's childhood took place largely before the Party came to power around 1960.
Julia, on the other hand, is a child of the Party era. Many elements that seem
frightening and evil to Winston fail to upset or even faze Julia. Like Winston, she
hates the Party and sees through many of its techniques. She even has a better
grasp of the Party’s methods than Winston does, planning their affair and often
explaining aspects of the Party to him. However, the Party’s control of history doesn't
interest or trouble her as it does Winston, because she doesn't remember a time
when the Party was not in control. In defiance of the Party, Julia enjoys sex and
rebels against them in small ways. But growing up under the Party regime has made
her apathetic to the difference between truth and falsehood. She has no patience for
Winston’s desire for an abstract rejection of Party doctrine. Rather, she falls asleep
when Winston reads to her from Emmanuel Goldstein’s book, epitomizing her
simple, self-centered, pleasure-seeking approach to life.
Discussion Question 4
•
Why didn't Winston need to know Julia's
surname or address?
–
Because of constant Party surveillance,
there would be no possible way to meet
indoors or exchange written
communication without raising suspicion
and being punished.
Discussion Question 5
•
What does Julia do at Minitrue and why was she
picked to work in Pornosec?
–
Julia mainly works in the Fiction Department
on running and maintaining the novel-writing
machines, which she has become skilled at.
She has been around this department so long
that she could describe the composition of a
novel, but she doesn't care for books. She
once was in Pornosec because of her
childhood reputation and loyalty, and because
of this was believed to be pure.
Chapter Summary
•
After the night of making love, Julia and Winston wake up and set the
path to return without being noticed. Julia has obviously had
experience, as she is completely businesslike and carries out the plans
without haste. They only had one more meeting that entire month in a
church belfry. Other than that, they only could happen to pass on the
street. While at the belfry, the area is hit with a rocket bomb. We finally
learn about Julia's life story and background and that she is one of very
few who were picked to work in Pornosec. On top of all this, she has
had numerous affairs with Party members of all ages, which attracts
Winston to her because she is a corrupt, secretive person. Then
Winston goes into more detail about his marriage with Katharine and
describes her how he remembers her. He dips into a story from the
early months of their marriage, when he and Katharine lagged behind
on a community hike to look at a strangely colored flower. At this
moment, he had thoughts of pushing her over the cliff they were looking
down over. After the memory, they once again plan out the directions to
and from their next meeting before parting ways.
Chapter Analysis
•
Almost all of the chapter is written in the style of
flashbacks, both for Julia and Winston, mainly for
Orwell to give us an analysis of both characters'
pasts. The themes of both sides vary greatly. Julia's
flashbacks convey her past life as a dutiful person,
while Winston's bring up his past marriage to
Katharine, who Julia, by chance, used to be like. This
all takes place in the ruined belfry where the two
carried on their tryst, creating doublethink. They know
they love each other, but at the same time, they know
and believe in their past.