1984 Blog 2

The antique shop in 1984 holds and has held incredible symbolic significance in George Orwell’s 1984 since the very mention of it in the beginning of the book. As Winston desperately strives to understand a factual past, he clings to whatever glimpses of that past he can possibly find, no matter how illegal or rebellious.

First of all, the location of the shop adds to the implied rarity of the antiques, “…in a narrow street, with a few dark little shops interspersed among dwelling houses.”(pg 93) A shop dedicated to black market rubbish equates to Winston’s never ending attempts to seek reality in the meek world of lies and deception. “An empty shop…” (pg 94) can be related to the world “empty” so to say of any truth of history.  

Winston’s attraction to the coral within the shop also displays significance. In a society so easily broken up by the government, a fragile, nearly glass object that is still intact would be worth a fortune, or so one would think. It is very ironic that Winston paid a mere 4 dollars for it. The pure, “beautiful thing” (pg 95) could possibly represent Winston’s current life: perfectly intact, but lacking substance; “apparent uselessness” (pg 96); currently solid, but any wrong move and either would be destroyed beyond repair.

The final symbols are displayed when the shopkeeper takes curious Winston to the upper floor of the antique store. Within the upstairs room, Orwell draws the readers’ attention to numerous certain details: “an old-fashioned glass clock…ticking away,” a bed that “occupies nearly a quarter of the room.” The utter size of the bed along with the contradiction of a “beautiful” bed being infested with bugs, hints towards its significance.  The importance of the painting on the wall of the upper room is slightly confusing. The writer takes careful consideration in how and when to introduce the painting, but then also has the characters spend an immense amount of time studying it and discussing the subject matter. Even after Winston and the shopkeeper establish the subject matter of the painting, they continue to discuss it. The curious thing about the painting is twofold. First of all, it’s screwed into the wall. Most paintings aren’t adhered to the wall in this matter. Also, the Church of St. Clemens, which is the subject of the painting, is current day a place for the government to display propaganda. So there must be some connection between those, although I’m not sure what.

Overall the antique shop scene is rife with symbolism and foreshadowing.