1984 Through Music

                                  1984 Through Music
        Music has the ability to either reflect or inspire with just a simple tune or complicated melody. Whether it comes from an mp3 player, phonograph, or a live band, people constantly turn to music to release the day's stresses and inspire themselves with new ideas. A song has a power that allows anyone to interpret their own meaning and apply it to daily life. For Winston Smith, a Party member in George Orwell's 1984, music allows him to see simplicity and beautiful in a frightening, ugly, and utterly hopeless world. Through songs in the novel, Winston is able to hope for a brighter tomorrow, see respect for the true past, and highlight stronger negative emotions.
        Sometimes, music can be used to convey a sense of tragedy or negative emotion. It can reflect a broken spirit through a haunting melody or meaningful lyrics. Orwell plays on this in a scene where Winston sits in the Chestnut Tree Café. He observes three men, Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford, who have been previously taken by the Party to confess their 'thoughtcrimes'. Winston hears a song as he watches: "Under the spreading chestnut tree, I sold you and you sold me" (Orwell 65). This reflects on how these men have lost everything under the 'spreading chestnut tree', or the overbearing shadow of the Party. When it was time to confess, they sold each other out and told each other's secrets. This foreshadows a later event at the end of the novel, after Winston has been re-educated and released by the Party. He hears the same song as before while he sits in the Chestnut Tree Café. The song's meaning changes to reflect the destruction of his independence and his new-found love for Big Brother. Song can also be used to inflict negative emotion, especially within propaganda. During Hate Week, a special song is created that completely covers the negativity associated with the war against Eurasia. It consists of heavy drums, a rough marching sound, and harsh chanting. Winston observes how the people get rowdy and angry with the song as they sing or chant along. Music can definitely have an effect on emotions in a negative way, and can be used to reflect a tragic scene.
        Music allows respect for the true past, and can be used to symbolize the bonds between people. In many songs, historical occurrences and places are mentioned, making them like a glance into the past. In 1984, a rhyme is used to call back the true, unchangeable past. Mr. Charrington, an old shopkeeper, teaches Winston a children's rhyme. It begins: "Oranges and lemons say the bells of St. Clement's" (72). It is a small vestige of the past, St. Clement's being an old London church; this shows that while a government can try its best to hide the past, human memory will still wedge its way through the cracks of society. Winston clings to this rhyme and tries to discover the rest. Songs can symbolize the creation or determination of a bond between two people. When Winston tells Julia of the 'Oranges and Lemons' poem, she adds two verses. Her grandfather had taught it to her as a child, and Winston is happy to learn the next lines. This cooperation reveals the strong bond of love between Winston and Julia. Later, O'Brien completes the "St. Clement's" rhyme, which immediately satisfies Winston. Furthermore, he feels that O'Brien adding the last piece to the puzzle represents their completed bond against the Party and pursuing a better future. This seems to pervert the relationship between Julia and Winston, since he's been watching all along, as well as adds to Winston's confession that he "loves" O'Brien. Music truly can be affected by or have an effect on human relationships.
Music is often a beacon of hope and carries with it a certain freedom. The liberty of simply singing a song is something a majority of people have. This is displayed in a scene where Julia and Winston are in the Gold Country for their first meeting. A nearby thrush begins to sing; Orwell displays the beauty of freedom through the thrush's tune and how peaceful it is. The music of the bird shows how it lives freely. Winston asks himself: "For whom, for what, was the bird singing? No mate, no rival watching it" (124). He wonders how the thrush can manage to sing so prettily in such a world. It represents all Winston wants in life: individuality and freedom. Nevertheless, singing carries with it a sense of passion and hope. When staying in the small room above Mr. Charrington's shop, Winston hears a prole woman belting out a meaningless, machine-made song. Despite the lyrics having no real interpretation, he begins to think about the millions of citizens all across Oceania who manage to find power, freedom, and pleasure in it. Since Party members never sing, there could be a certain strength found in this singing prole woman, and the many proles like her, in that she isn't as controlled by the Party. There is hope that free will lives on, and this is definitely found in the simple pleasurable freedom of song.
Through 1984, it is seen that music plays an important role in both literature and everyday life. With the many songs throughout the novel, Orwell depicts how they can be used to inflict a sense of hope and freedom, show the unchangeable past, and point out strong emotions. Music can and is applied in everyday life like this; people listen to sad songs when they are sad, and listen to upbeat songs when they are happy. The music a person listens to affects how they view their life and the people around them, and can inspire one to create a better future for themselves.