Haley Hunt INTL 3111 Mr.

Robert Arnold 13 March 2012 Microtheme 4 In George Orwells novel Nineteen Eighty-Four the main character Winston feels trapped in a society where he does not feel he belongs nor does he feel he is safe. Orwell uses a paperweight filled with a piece of coral to represent ideas throughout the novel. Throughout the novel Orwell initially uses the piece of coral to represent the past, but eventually uses it to symbolize the way that Winston feels about living in Oceania. During Nineteen Eighty-Four Orwell mentions the paperweight three different times and all three times he uses the paper weight to symbolize different meanings in the text. In the first chapter of the novel Orwell uses the paper weight to symbolize the past. It must have come from the Indian Ocean. They used to kind of embed it in the glass. That wasnt made less than a hundred years ago. More, by the look of it. This quote was taken out of the first chapter part eight and it is when the store owner is describing what the paper weight is to Winston. The paperweight was something from the past that had not been destroyed. During the reign of the Party they destroyed anything that was made before they came into power. They destroyed books and anything that would remind them of the past. Even after destroying everything they could find, the paperweight was left untouched. What appealed to him about it was not so much its beauty as the air it seemed to possess of belonging to an age quite different from the present one. Winston enjoys the fact that the paperweight is something from the past. Since the past has been completely erased it gives him something to hold onto. The reason that

Winston stumbled upon the paper weight is that he was looking for answers about the past and this was a way to achieve what he was looking for since the answers he was seeking were not easily found. Winston also appreciated the paperweight for its uselessness. Everything that is created during his time is made for a purpose, but this item was made for no reason. This gives a look into how the past was more open and laid back then the time period that Winston currently lives in. The second part of the novel where the paperweight is mentioned is in chapter two, part four. In this section Winston is explaining the paperweight to Julia. Thats what I like about it. Its a little chunk of history that theyve forgotten to alter. Its a message from a hundred years ago, if one knew how to read it. This symbolizes the past that Winston is so desperate to be able to relive. Winston is constantly seeking to bring back the past or to be able to hold onto the past, even though The Party is destroying everything that is related to the past. The paperweight symbolizes what Winston believes would be the perfect world. The coral is surrounded by the pure glass casing and it is perfectly safe. Winston wishes that he could be protected and safe, but he is unable to be safe because he is constantly being watched for his impure thoughts. It is difficult for Winston to cling to the past since The Party is constantly destroying it, but he is desperately clinging to the past which is symbolized by the paperweight. The final mention of the paperweight is when the police come in to arrest Winston and Julia at the end of chapter two. The piece of coral is destroyed by one of the officers and the piece of coral is exposed. The fragment of coral, a tiny crinkle of pink like a sugar rose-bud from a cake, rolled across the mat. How small, thought Winston, how small it always was. In this part of the novel Orwell is using the coral to symbolize how Winston feels during the Partys reign. Winston has this deep connection to the past which is symbolized in the coral

paperweight at the beginning of the novel. When the paperweight is broken it symbolizes how Winston is now being broken down by the Party. The coral was small and fragile which represents the correlation between Winston and the Party. Winston is a small useless piece of the Party that can easily be destroyed as the paperweight was a useless piece of the past that was easily destroyed. When the paperweight is first mentioned it is used to symbolize the past which Winston is obsessed with and wants to keep in touch. Even when Winston explains the paperweight to Julia he still explains how it is a connection to the past. Throughout the novel Winston is constantly in search of maintaining the past even though the Party has destroyed everything that is related to the history of the world. As the story progresses that coral inside the paperweight becomes a symbol of Winston. Winston is the paperweight because he is obsessed with the past and the paperweight is a piece of the past that Winston so desperately clings too. During the story Winston also explains how small the coral is which represents how he feels in comparison to the Party.