Book 2,
chapter 10 of s is a jarring turning point forand . The plot of the
chapter is something of a contrast in and of itselfthe languid, luxurious post-coital morning
exploding in Big Brothers troops bursting through the window. There are smaller moments of
contrast within the chapter. When Mr. Charrington reveals himself to be a member of the Thought
Police, he does so by reciting the end of a nursery rhyme: Here comes a candle to light you to
bed, here comes a chopper to chop off your head! The violent lyrics entangled with what is
supposed to be a ditty for children has a spooky contrastthe feeling of vile things hiding in
plain sight.
Another example of contrast earlier in the chapter is when
Winston notices the Prole woman out the window: The solid, contourless body, like a block of
granite, and the rasping red skin, bore the same relation to the body of a girl as the rose-hip
to the rose. Why should the fruit be held inferior to the flower? Winston comments that she is
beautiful even while He held Julias supple waist easily encircled by his arm. Julia and the
Prole woman are physical contrasts of each other, one being blown up to monstrous dimensions
by childbearing, then hardened, roughened by work, and the other being Julia, a character noted
for her classical, physical beauty. Butuses this contrast to make the point that the Prole woman
is the more beautiful of the two. She is free, in a manner of speaking, and her ability to have
children means that some part of her will live on. The contrast is so stark that it leads
Winston to remark on how meaningless the lives of Party members are, commenting, with Julia
agreeing: We are the dead.
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