[ We blew out the Light 1 ]

We blew out the Light 1

In George Orwell’s 1984 the world is ruled by three nations, 2

each of which lives by identical ideals. In the story our 3

protagonist, Winston, lives in a country called Oceania. Oceania is 4

ruled by an inner party under the leadership of Big Brother. To 5

insure the party is infallible they are constantly rewriting 6

history. Sometimes it’s newspaper articles other times it’s 7

monuments. Winston’s job is to rewrite articles. The mutability of 8

the past disturbs him, but after he meets Julia, a fellow worker in 9

the Ministry of Truth, they find a safe haven in a room they rent 10

above Mr. Charrington’s antique shop. The room above Mr. 11

Charrington’s antique shop represents the past. 12

“ There was a strip of carpet on the floor, a picture or two 13

on the walls, and a deep, slatternly armchair drawn up to the 14

fireplace. An old fashion glass clock with a twelve-hour face was 15

ticking away on the mantelpiece. Under the window, and occupying 16

nearly a quarter of the room, as an enormous bed with the mattress 17

still on it.” (Orwell 1984 pg. 96)) From this description a very 18

comfortable old feeling is given to the room. The glass clock with 19

the twelve-hour face could have been used to symbolize any time, but 20

is specifically the past since Oceania no longer uses twelve-hour 21

clocks. Winston also mentions to Julia that as a child he use to 22

sleep on a mattress of that size. There are things other than the 23

room itself which show the past.24

While they are looking at a print of St. Clements Dane Mr. 25

charrington begin saying bits of an old rhyme. “ oh-Oranges and 26

lemons say the bells of St. Clement’s . That was a rhyme when he had 27

been a little boy. How it goes I don’t remember, but I do know it 28

ended here comes a candle to light you to bed, here comes a chopper 29

to chop off your head.” (Orwell 1984 pg. 98) Later Julia asks what 30

an orange is, Another one of the countless reminders that nothing is 31

as it once was. Julia, Winston, and Mr. Charrington each remember 32

part of the rhyme, just like some citizens of Oceania remember a bit 33

of the past, but no one can remember the whole thing. Candle light 34

is soft, and “ here comes a candle to light you to bed” is a clever 35

way of saying you were going to die peacefully. It was accompanied 36

by “here comes a chopper to chop off your head.” which is a hideous 37

way to die. That part of the rhyme represents the contrast between 38

the paranoid present where the thought police could take you in the 39

night and the past. In the room sometimes the present seemed almost 40

tolerable.41

Julia would often bring forbidden items with her to the 42

room. “Real sugar. Not saccharine, and here’s a loaf of bread-proper 43

white bread, not our bloody stuff-and a little pot of jam…. The 44

smell was already filling the room, a rich hot smell which seemed to 45

emanation from his early childhood,” (Orwell 1984 pg.140) The sugar 46

is the needless, but enjoyable luxuries they no longer have, but 47

what should be focused on is the bread. Bread has been made for over 48

8000 years, and is one of the oldest foods. Again we see a powerful 49

symbol of the past. The coffee was simply another reminder of his 50

childhood. Like the countless reminder of the past within the room.51

The room above Mr. Charrington’s antique shop represents the 52

past. It represents everything they’re forced to forget, it’s the 53

endless volumes of books destroyed, and the luxuries lost. Winston 54

lives in a world where nothings real, where there’s no past, in a 55

time without time. Winston lives in a world with three nation, all 56

the same. “Here comes a candle to light you to bed, here comes a 57

chopper to chop off your head.” 58