Figurative Language in 1984

LITERARY DEVICES/FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: 1984
(These are some examples; note someone borrowed my copy of the book so pages numbers might not correspond)

Here is the start of a list of  figurative language in the book. Add your own to this by creating a post on your own blog site. 

Metaphors: As Winston's transformation of emotions and perceptions of world changes after he is with Julia (Part 2, Chapter 2), there are an eruption of metaphors, in what up to now, has been mostly a book that uses similes for description. He feels 'ice at his heart' (p.118); and experiences a 'pale-coloured pleasure' (p.120); first paragraph of this chapter has 'pools of gold', ground 'misty with bluebells'; air 'which kisses the skin and a wood with a heart. (p.123); and the cliche metaphor of 'ripe yet firm' (p.142); (Chapter 6) Winston is still fearful of the consequences of becoming involved in a conspiracy against the Party and the metaphor is used to show the strength of his feeling, 'the sensation of stepping into the dampness of a grave' (pp166-7)

Simile: Part 3 Ch. 2 Pg. 207- "He [Winston] clung to O'Brien like a baby, curiously comforted by the heavy arm around his shoulders." - This simile portrays Winston as he reaches the final barrier of torture and his eventual appreciation of Big Brother... Part 2 Ch. 4 Pg. 114- "In the sunfilled courts below, a monstrous woman solid as a pillar...."- This simile, which describes a prole woman working, provides the reader with a visual image of how a typical prole in society was portrayed.

Motifs (as they are repeated):  The Slogans of the Party; Winston's Dreams; Paperweight; Mysterious Nursery Rhyme, 'Oranges and Lemons'. 'We are Dead' (p.142) will get repeated later in the book.

Olfactory Imagery: Part 2 Ch. 4 Pg. 117- Julia brings Winston warm coffee which reminds him of his old childhood. This contributes to the mood of the story by exemplifying Winston's longing for the past. Memory and Past a central theme is extended through his mother as a symbol of freedom and love.
Visual Imagery: Part 1 Ch. 8 pg. 79- "He was a man of perhaps 60, frail and bowed with a long, benevolent nose and mild eyes distorted by thick spectacles." -I

Allusion: Part 1 Ch. 2 Pg. 22- The Spies, which in the novel describe an adolescent organization that carries out party policies, presents a major allusion to the historical Hitler Youth.

Analogy: Part 2 Ch. 9 Pg. 166- High society, middle society, low society. - 




Foreshadowing: Part 1 Ch. 8 Pg. 70- "If there is hope, it lies in the proles." - Winston writes this statement in his diary, in what he later recalls as a mystical truth.

Repetition: Part 3 Ch. 6 Pg. 240- "You want it to happen to the other person. You don't give a damn about what they suffer. All you care about is yourself." "All you care about is yourself," Winston echoed. - This quote serves as a fine example of the shift in mood Winston undergoes as he becomes more agitated throughout the rising action in the plot.

Objects and Images as Symbols:
Most of the symbols represent freedom of thought and choice to do what one wants when one wants--for example, the diary Winston purchases and writes in just out of the view of the telescreen, and then hides each time he leaves the apartment.  In it, he writes about how he hates Big Brother (another symbol--since he is not a true person...just a figure head of the society).