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Hanif Bin Ariffin

Ms. Leah Minor
ENG3U Period 2
28th October 2014
1984: Was Julia a Thought Police in Disguise?
In the novel 1984, we read that Julia was the soul partner of Winston in his rebellion
against the government. He was the only human that Winston truly trusts and love in the whole
of Oceania. They seem like the perfect couple and they truly love each other fully. But little do
we know that Julia was actually a spy for the government. She was a Thought Police working to
expose and lure Winston out. This notion is backed first by the fact that Julia act suspiciously,
second that she has all the required characteristics to perform the operation perfectly and third,
that Winstons story looked like it was perfectly staged...
We know that Winston never talked to anyone in the office, not even to his coworkers. He
doesnt even know the name of those working with him in the same office, there were quite a
dozen people whom Winston did not even know by name, though he daily saw them hurrying to
and fro.(George Orwell, page 53) The only person he knew very well was Syme, Mr. Parsons
and Ms. Parsons in the beginning of the story. None of this individuals are remotely close to
Julia. Syme and Mr. Parsons are men, so it is very unlikely they could communicate and know
each other. The communication between men and women was strictly prohibited because the
government wanted to nullify any intimate relationships. Ms. Parsons doesnt work at the
Ministry of Truth so she couldnt know Julia. However, despite all this, when Julia met Winston
for the first time he already knew the full name of Winston. When asked what was her name she

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said, Julia. I know yours. Its Winston Winston Smith.(George Orwell, page 152) When
questioned how did he know, she proceed to openly said, I expect Im better at finding things
out than you are, dear. She knew Winstons full name because she works with the Thought
Police which has the registers and identifications of all the citizen. Another clue to show that
Julia has the quality of a Thought Police is when she confessed that, It was something in your
face. I thought Id take a chance. Im good a spotting people who dont belong. Thought Police
are a special police division which specialized in exterminating thoughtcrime. It is expected that
a member of a Thought Police can identify criminals simply by looking. This kind of espionage
work do exist in the real world. Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI agent, were given the task to infiltrate
the Bonanno crime family. He disguised himself for a complete six years. All contacts, records
and histories of him were erased by the FBI to perform this mission. He officially didnt exist.
This real life event shows that this kind of disguise is possible.
Julia is hired for the job because she has all the needed characteristics to undergo the
operation perfectly. She is also the kind of the perfect citizen that the Oceania government desire
from its teenagers, At school she had been a troop leader in the Spies and a branch secretary in
the Youth League before joining the Junior Anti-Sex League.(George Orwell, page 164) She
was also regarded to have a very excellent character. Having all this distinguished attributes will
surely attract the higher-ups to hire her into the Thought Police. She certainly has an inside
connections with the people at the Ministry of Truth, specifically the Thought Police working
there. She also happened to work in the Ministry of Truth in the Fiction Department. In fact, she
was hired to work at Pornosec, a sub-section at Fiction Department that produce cheap
pornographic materials for the proles. Since she is very beautiful to be hired into the production
of pornographic materials, Winston will surely fall for this trap. Julia fits for the task because

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Winston isnt interested in old people. As seen from his encounter with the old prostitute, he was
clearly disgusted by it, The urge to shout filthy words at the top of his voice was as strong as
ever.(George Orwell, 87). There is a psychological phenomenon where beauty creates a
psychological effect called halo effect. This happens because visual appearance dominate ones
impression of something. A halo effect is a positive evaluation that biases an observer to think
well of everything connected with a person (Russel A. Dewey). Because Julia was beautiful and
desirable, she is the perfect trap to lure Winston to the Thought Police.
Lastly, the story of Winston looked like it was perfectly staged to trap Winston and his
ideas. This kind of relationship is similar to the one used by psychopath to lure and use its
victim. There are three stages of this relationship: Idealize, Devalue and Discard (Admin). First,
in the Idealize stage the assailant will pour a great deal of affection towards the victim. This
stage is to create a feeling of belonging and special so that the victim will feel completely
charmed. During this stage, the assailant will make the victim busy will all sort of love and
adoration. In the case of Winston, Julia made Winston feels special by, calling him darling,
precious one, loved one.(George Orwell, page 151). This made Winston really happy with the
fact that a young lady is in love with him. The second stage the devaluation stage is when the
victim will be ripped apart and slowly demotivated into submission. In the case of Winston
however, this process is done by OBrien with his brainwashing procedure, Shall I tell you why
we have brought you here? To cure you! To make you sane! The third stage is the aftermath of
the brainwash where their relationship become very dull. At this point, Winston has lost all of his
former self and becomes whatever the government wants him to be, He had won victory over
himself. He loved Big Brother. The point is that Julia plays a very important role in making
Winston love him so that they can make him betray that love. To make someone betrays a true

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love since Winston was not aware of this plan is a sign that the process of brainwashing the
individual is a complete and utter success.
To think how d id Julia knew Winstons name, how she was all suspicious, that she is an
active member of the Junior Anti Sex League that he received training as a Spy and how much
Winstons life seems like it orchestrated proves that Julia was in fact a Thought Police that works
for the government. She was given the task to elaborately destroy Winston and his idea of
revolution. This method is in line with Oceanias definition of vaporization, to change the subject
into submission and to destroy the very idea itself. Julia as a Thought Police in disguise plays
a significant role in luring Winston into the submission. To make him fall in totally in love with
her, and then to brainwash him until he betrays that love is the ultimate weapon to destroy an
individual into complete submission.

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Works Cited
Admin, A.B. Stages of the Psychopathic Bond |. n.d.
<http://psychopathsandlove.com/stages-of-the-psychopathic-relationship/>.
Orwell, George. 1984. London: Secker and Warburg, 1949.
Russel A. Dewey, PhD. What is Beautiful is Good | in Chapter 15: Social | from
Psychology: An Introduction by Russ Dewey. n.d.
<http://www.intropsych.com/ch15_social/what_is_beautiful_is_good.html>.