1984 geography

[kev67]

I've just started re-reading 1984. I read about three-quarters of it about thirty years ago when I was fifteen or sixteen, but gave up when I realised Winston was not going to escape and join counter-revolution and maybe even lead it to victory.

One thing I was never quite sure of was who was fighting who. There are three great powers: Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia. Great Britain seems to have been renamed Airstrip One and is described as the third most populous province of Oceania. So which are the other provinces, America, western Europe? Is Eurasia the old Soviet block, and Eastasia, China? Quite a lot of Russia is in east Asia.

[Bonsai Ent]

Ta da

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=1984+map&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#

I think my copy had a map in

[kev67]

Airstrip One seems to be in a very vulnerable position. Still, Norman Tebbit would be pleased. He's in your neck of the woods, Bonsai?

(Norman Tebbit is a retired, fairly right-wing politician and was a firm ally of Margaret Thatcher during the 80s. He has a straight-forward way of speaking and a traditional way of seeing things.)

[kev67]

In chapter 4, Winston says they were currently in alliance with Eastasia against Eurasia and that, as far as all the official records go, that had always been the case since the start of the war. However, he says he remembers that four years previously Oceanian had been in an alliance with Eurasia against Eastasia. That seems a little odd. On mainland America the population may not notice the difference, but on Airstrip One surely everyone would notice a change in the number of bombs landing.

Also, Airstrip One is a very odd name to give to a country.

[Volya]

In chapter 4, Winston says they were currently in alliance with Eastasia against Eurasia and that, as far as all the official records go, that had always been the case since the start of the war. However, he says he remembers that four years previously Oceanian had been in an alliance with Eurasia against Eastasia. That seems a little odd. On mainland America the population may not notice the difference, but on Airstrip One surely everyone would notice a change in the number of bombs landing.

I think you may have missed the point. The people of Oceania are brainwashed/scared enough not to question the fact that their memories do not seem to fit the facts they're being given.

[kev67]

Maybe they are or they aren't brainwashed. I don't supposed many would dare comment that the difference in the number of bomb attacks was consistent with a new enemy being just on their doorstep while the old enemy was the other side of the planet. Maybe if people really bought the fact that they had always been at war with Eurasia and not Eastasia, they might comment on the disparity of bombs falling on them, that increased suddenly four years ago. I suppose it's all part of the double-think effect, by which everyone knows but everyone denies. It's just that the population of Airstrip One would have a bit more to deny.

[kev67]

I don't suppose it is a very original observation that the territories of Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia reflect what might have happened if World War II had gone another way. Eurasia could have been the territory that resulted from either Hitler having successfully invaded Russia, or D-Day having failed, giving Stalin the opportunity to occupy all of continental Europe. Eastasia might have been the result of Japan successfully having conquered most of south east Asia, or perhaps someone like Chairman Mao would have achieved that deed. Oceania seems to be a conjuction of the USA and large parts of the British Commonwealth, or at least English speaking countries. Personally, I doubt Latin America was part of it. In 1948, Britain probably felt it had more in common with the Commonwealth and the US than with Europe.

[Volya]

Given when the book was written, I think it would be more about the Cold War than WW2. Oceania being the USA and their cohorts, Eurasia as the Soviet Union, and Eastasia as Mao, and other countries in the Far East that may have turned communist as a result of the domino effect.

[kev67]

A lot happened in 1948 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948), when I gather the book was started. The Cold War was just getting under way. The Berlin blockade started in June, and tension was starting to ratchet up. Chairman Mao did not come to power in China until 1949 though. I don't really think there was any sign of totalitarianism in the US at the time. OTOH the first televised hearing of the House of Un-American Activities Committee took place, OTOH President Truman signed off the Marshall Plan.

[kev67]

Julia reckons that Oceania is bombing itself, which does not seem so unlikely. I wonder if Airstrip One is actually part of Oceania. They never seem to see any Americans troops despite Eurasia being only across the channel. All the main fighting happens thousands of miles away. They do get to see Eurasian prisoners being marched through from time to time. However, they mainly look Mongolian, which would suggest they are Eastasian. Another hint is that the measurement system has gone metric. I think it is more likely that Airstrip One is part of Eurasia.

[kev67]

Volume 2 chapter 9 spells it all out.