How does Orwell strikingly convey the relationship between Winston and Julia at this moment in the novel?
In this extract, Orwell discusses Winston’s and Julia’s cautious actions in order to meet each other, after their initial affair at the forest. Orwell strikingly conveys the relationship between Winston and Julia through the use of literary devices to depict their love for each other, and their cautiousness in meeting each other showing Julia’s influence over Winston’s life.
Orwell shows the relationship between Julia and Winston as one that is completely fueled by lust, which allows them to oppose the Party. This can be seen when Orwell mentions that they had “succeeded in making love”. The use of the verb “succeeded” conveys how desperate their need for “making love” was, that they considered it a victory, as emphasized by the verb “succeeded”. Moreover, Orwell also states that Winston was kissing a “live warm face”. This is important as it shows that their relationship was a way to escape the monotonic and cold environment of the Party, as it is conveyed by the verb “live” and adjective “warm”, thus showing the presence of life and liveliness, as opposed to the cold, lifeless environment of the Party. This is further proven when Winston discovers that both of their faces were “thickly coated with plaster”, thus showing the never-changing detached expressions that Winston and Julia had to put on as Party Members, as plaster is used to solidify objects. The reader would understand that their relationship was driven by lust, which is an act forbidden by the Party, so everytime they managed to exchange love, they would be opposing the Party, thus gaining back their emotions and liveliness.