Winston's deja vu of life before the Party

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At several points in Parts 1 and 2 of the book, Winston faintly recalls aspects of life before the Party that he is sure he didn't experience. When Winston looks at the upstairs room in Mr. Charrington's shop for the first time, it triggers a sense of familiarity. He seems to know what it feels like to sit in a similar room and not be watched all the time by a telescreen, even though he can't identify any specific memories of the experience. Another one of these incidents occurs when Winston hears Mr. Charrington say the St. Clement's rhyme. Winston feels as if he can hear church bells ringing, but he doesn't remember ever having heard church bells in his life. When O'Brien pours glasses of wine for Winston and Julia during their meeting, Winston also vaguely recalls seeing a device that poured some kind of liquid into a glass.

I think part of the reason why Winston has these recollections is that he really did experience these aspects of pre-Party life, but the Party's conditioning has suppressed these memories. Winston tries to oppose the Party, but he still sometimes gives in to its propaganda, like with the Two Minutes Hate. It's possible that Winston has partially accepted the Party's version of the past, consequently blocking out some of his memories of a time before the Party and making them only accessible via situational triggers.

Why do you think Winston is getting these vague flashbacks? Is there more to it than the Party's conditioning? Comment below!

Comments

  1. L. MoffittMarch 2, 2021 at 7:32 AM

    Interesting. I hadn't thought about that. Maybe what's happening to Winston is a version of what he used to do in his professional life: erasing the true past and replacing it, such that he has no idea what he's really experienced.

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  2. Romaisa AamerMarch 2, 2021 at 7:59 AM

    Since I'm not sure if Winston will be able to make any progress after what we've read happened to him so far in Book 3, I think these flashbacks might just serve to show the reader that Winston did in fact have a past that has been harshly erased, making the society of 1984 all the more dismal. Like Ms. Moffitt commented, it is similar to what he used to do as a job.

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