"1984" post 2

“He was out in the light and air while they were being sucked down to death, and they were down there because he was up here. He knew it and they knew it, and he could see the knowledge in their faces.”

The main character, Winston Smith, in “1984” by George Orwell reveals a past regret in his childhood against his family. George Orwell uses irony and symbolism to discuss Winston’s feelings on the situation, which reveals a lot about his character.
In the previous chapter, Winston speaks about his disliking for children who “rat” on their parents and turn them in to the thought police. The children don’t understand what they are doing at the time because they believe they are doing the right thing, since they are following the rules of their government. The children are pronounced a “child hero” and they get an article in the newspaper while their parents and family members are “disappeared.” Winston unearths a traumatic childhood memory that implies that he had been like one of the children who betrayed their family. This occurrence is ironic because Winston was once one of those children and now he hates them.
The fact that Winston hates those children reveals that he expresses extreme regret for what he had done to his family. He now realizes the consequences of his actions and dislikes what he used to believe and how he used to act. This regret reveals a lot about Winston’s character. He has a lot of guilt and low self esteem because he still resents those who make the same mistake he made. However, since Winston does nothing to stop the children who turn in their parents, he is also cowardly and nonassertive. If he had tried to show the other children what happens and attempt to reach out to them then he would be more heroic. Therefore, Winston’s character is labeled as cowardly and guilty for his lack of being proactive.
George Orwell’s uses symbolism in this passage to exhibit how Winston feels about the situation. Water’s connotation can be of purity and truth. Winston’s mother and sister sinking into the water symbolize how they found truth beneath the government’s lies and they are being punished for it. Orwell describes the mother and sister to be in a saloon of a sinking ship. The saloon and the ship could signify the government and its imperfections and the family members feel trapped by them and feel as though it is killing them. It is not the ship that is drowning the people; it is the government who is pulling them down deeper and deeper over their head. Orwell illustrates how the mother and sister are so close to purity and truth but the ship (government) drags them down and kills them before they can escape.
Therefore, George Orwell uses Winston’s memory to convey and very important symbol in the story and to reveal significant details of the main character’s childhood. Orwell unearths these memories so the reader can understand the main character on a more personal level. The irony used in the passage is used to illustrate how Winston currently feels on the situation and foreshadows how he will act when he regrets doing something.