Winston quite literally gets ‘jerked’ out of his thoughts as the instructress leading the exercises “screamed [at Winston] from the telescreen.” The reader alarmingly realises that Winston is being watched constantly, even for something as simple as doing stretches. This highlights and adds to the existing idea that the Party is intrusive and ever-present, which encourages the reader to acknowledge their own freedom and contrast it to the controlled, deprived ‘freedom’ of the citizens of Oceania. The reader comprehends the grave reason for Winston’s constant falsification of himself, as shown by Winston’s “face [remaining] completely inscrutable” and “a single flicker of the eyes could give you away”, resulting in the reader experiencing more sympathy for him. The shocking way in which the instructress calls out Winston as first “6079” before his name strongly represents the Party as belittling and inhumane. This numbering system is similar to a prison’s, suggesting that Winston is trapped and controlled, again evoking sympathy in the reader.
During the exercises, Winston begins to question himself and whether what his life is evolving into is right, or wrong. Orwell presents a dilemma to the reader: should Winston conform or rebel? “Just once in his whole life he had held in his hands unmistakable documentary proof of the falsification of a historical fact. And on that occasion-”. This line allows the reader to deduce and fill in the deliberate gap left by Orwell, where Winston threw away a piece of evidence that could prove three previously denounced leaders innocent. However, being terrified of the Party and the consequences rebelling them could have, Winston quickly rids of the evidence. Here, Winston questions his actions, as for the first time in his life, he could make a difference, rather than remain insignificant and hopeless. Orwell creates a sense of regret by comparing the phrases “Just once in his whole life” and “And on that occasion.” The words “whole life” indicates the momentousness of holding that piece of evidence to Winston, but with the added words “on that occasion”, the reader is provoked to feel sympathy as they realise Winston disposed of such a significant piece of paper out of fear.
Orwell also creates a strong sense of Winston being humiliated in this extract. The instructress singles out Winston as he fails to touch his toes, screaming at him to “bend lower”, and suggesting that he is “not trying”. The reader acknowledges the intense physical pain Winston feels as he does this exercise, but also being called out in front of a plethora of other people also receiving the broadcast is unsettling. Winston is left with two choices here: he can disobey the instructress’s commands, which could lead to his ‘vaporisation’ and his humiliation, or he can comply, leading to serious pain in his legs. He chooses the latter, clearly emphasising to the audience the seriousness and the power which the Party has, to be able to control Winston through fear, even if it causes him physical pain. Winston is further belittled by the instructress in two ways. Firstly, she mentions how she is “thirty-nine and [she has] had four children” and can still touch her toes. Winston, being a man and around the same age, is struggling to do so. Secondly, the instructress also indirectly compares Winston to “our boys on the Malabar front.” In both, Winston is compared to people who are in a worse position than him, yet he cannot touch his toes, a task which should be trivial. This is humiliating, but ultimately leads to Winston “[succeeding] in touching his toes with his knees unbent, for the first time in years.” Despite it leading to Winston’s success, this method of humiliating him to motivate him is inhumane and cruel, which is picked up by the audience. This means to the end is harsh and brutal, two words which summarise the Party and their ideas. This constant, relentless belittling and degrading of Winston becomes notable to the audience and compels them to relate to his situation of being distinguished and mocked, building more sympathy.
Overall, I believe that Orwell successfully and effectively built and maintained sympathy in the reader throughout this extract, both further indulging the reader in the book, and developing the dystopian setting, to prepare for the main events in the plot later in the book. This extract highlights the way in which the Party has complete control over any persons in Oceania. The Party sells the idea of mandatory exercise to the citizens by telling them the government wants to prevent weight problems, but the Party is interested in more than the general health of the population. The “Physical Jerks” are another way the Party displays and demonstrates its undisputable power over the citizens. It is another form of repression and control. This time, though, the control is over people's physical states. The general propaganda is mental control, and the “Physical Jerks” is physical control. Both allow the Party to maintain total control. This theme is prevalent all throughout the book and its appeal and similarity to the modern world is one of the main reasons the book is popular today.
