The scene at the antiques shop is vital in adding to the
storyline. I find irony in how the entire book is about Big Brother and the
government controlling everyone’s lives and taking away their freedom as if
that is what government is supposed to do. In order to convince citizens that
government is supposed to be controlling and demanding, they have eliminated
all reminders and stories of history and brainwashed older citizens into
forgetting about the past and only knowing a controlling government. The only
trace of history left is the antique shop, which is rather ironic that the
antique shop has not been eliminated also. The store and its items in stock
must have some sort of significance.
Winston
met the proprietor again as he stepped into the old antique shop in chapter 8,
where the proprietor remembered him buying the diary that Winston has been
keeping day by day. As Winston tells him that he is just stopping by, the
proprietor states, “You see how it is; an empty shop, you might say. Between
you and me, the antique trade’s just about finished. No demand any longer, and
no stock either. Furniture, china, glass it’s all been broken up by degrees.
And of course the metal stuff’s mostly been melted down. I haven’t seen a brass
candlestick in years.” This particular scene is a sign that the government is
trying to rid the country of any elements of history to brainwash citizens. If
citizens knew how government used to be and how much freedom citizens had
before Big Brother took over, many people would probably rebel and try to
overthrow the government. By erasing all elements of history, citizens have no
problem with the current government and obey the laws.
Another
interesting part of this scene was when the man took Winston upstairs to where
he used to live. Winston noticed that there was no telescreen up there, in
which the man replied, “I never had one of those things. Too expensive. And I
never seemed to feel the need of it, somehow.” At some point, the man never had
to have a telescreen in the prole district, where other areas are all
constantly being watched on a telescreen. Why would the proles be able to have
a choice whether they have a telescreen or not? This was a question I pondered
as I read, and I came to the realization that the proles are prisoners and are
not watched on telescreens since they are already in captivity.
One
last point of discussion occurs just after Winston notices the telescreen. The
old man asks Winston if he is interested in any old prints. Winston looks at
the picture described as, “a steel engraving of an oval building with
rectangular windows, and a small tower in front. There was a railing running
round the building, and at the rear end there was what appeared to be a statue…
it seemed vaguely familiar, though he did not remember the statue.” Winston began to remember what the picture
was about and remembered it to be in Victory Square outside the Law Courts.
Winston did not purchase the picture because it would be an “incongruous possession”,
meaning that he may be rebelling against the government by purchasing the
picture. Why is the picture still remaining on the wall and why is it screwed
to the wall? Why is the picture still there when almost all other elements of
history are diminished? The picture seems to be yet another symbol for the lost
past that the government has erased.
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