1984 essay on mr charrington

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What are your feelings about Mr Charrington and the part he plays in the novel?

Mr Charrington is a fairly old man with a cockney accent whom we meet at the start of 1984. We have many mixed emotions about him as at the start we like him, and by the end we realise he is extremely “two faced”.

              We first meet Mr Charrington at the start of the book when Winston recalls buying his diary from a rough neighbourhood in the Prole district. The first description Orwell gives us of Mr Charrington is a man with an “unclean yet friendly smell”. In my opinion this is quite a positive remark because unclean is a very positive word compared to its synonyms such as dirty. Plus grandparents stereotypically have a weird smell but are also stereotypically friendly. This description makes us relate to him and we very quickly accept him, as he seems normal in a very abnormal environment. Furthermore, the fact that he is helping Winston to rebel draws us to him. Orwell also describes his voice as “very soft”, which again makes him seem friendly and approachable. He seems down to Earth.

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              Winston and Mr Charrington seem to click very early. Mr Charrington opens up to Winston about his business and private life, “between you and me, the antique trade is just about finished”. Orwell depicts him as a very accepting man as although they have only known each other for a matter of minutes he has already opened up to Winston and seemingly accepted him by saying “between you and me”. He trusts him. Mr Charrington then shows Winston the room upstairs, “we lived here until my wife died”. There is a sense of ...

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