Tuesday, October 30, 2018

What different feelings does Winston experience during the Two Minutes Hate?

At
first, when Goldstein's image flashes on the screen,feels his diaphram constrict. He can't look
at Goldstein without feeling "a painful mixture of emotions." The people are so well
conditioned to experience fear and rage when they see Goldstein's face that half the people in
the room are uncontrollably angry before even thirty seconds are up. The narrator tells us that
people can't avoid at least acting as if they are participating, but by the time that they are
thirty seconds in, nobody has to act any more because they are all sucked into the moment. It is
impossible to avoid joining in. Winston is with the crowd, feeling rage, and "hideous
ecstacy" of fear, vindictiveness, a desire to torture and kill. He has joined the others
and is screaming like he is crazy. Then Winston shifts--he still feels hatred, but it is not for
Goldstein any more, but Big Brother. Then he switches again, and feels connected to the crowd,
and hates Goldstein again. In these moments, he loves Big Brother, and feels like he is their
saviour and protector. The narrator says that people can shift the object of their hatred by an
act of will at this point. So he shifts from hating Goldstein to hating the dark-haired girl
behind him. At the end of the two minutes of hate, the people start to feel delirious with joy.
Winston shares their joy, but when they start to chant, he feels "his entrails go
cold"--that is intense fear. He hides his fear by chanting with the crowd, pretending he
does not feel what he feels.

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