Experiencing A Novel

The text "The Psychology of the Novel" brings up many points that also relate to the novel “1984” as wells as the effects of ones life on a story they read. In the text the author writes “it exists not as words in books but as images with feelings attached.” This statement means that to any given person the experience of reading the same books is different from the next, because of the different events they have lived through and the different ways in which we all see the world. “Every word seems to relate to and reflect upon every other word, building layers of meaning and feeling that seem to shift continuously,” this relates heavily to the novel “1984” because in that society they are forever changing what is written and this means that, even though the words do relate to one another the meanings can never be layered because how the information and texts have been edited and “fixed.”

Later in the text the author writes about how a reader instantly perceives and reacts to “the qualities of the voice,” this is seen in “1984” as well because of the reactions to the Two Minutes Hate. The people living in  1984 are all programmed to react to a certain voice and image in a specific way. Even though in 1984 this is a bad thing in present day it is not perceived as so horrible because we are reacting from past experiences and knowledge.  A little farther into the text the author also talks about how a persons experiences and connection to the novel effects the way that they read it. This is also seen in “1984” because Winston gets “the book” and because of his interaction with the Party, O’Brien, the Brotherhood, and Julia he reads “the book” with complete trust.

The author of  "The Psychology of the Novel" proceeds to talk about the willingness of suspended disbelief and it’s effect on the experience of reading a novel. Personally, I believe that being able to lift your self out of reality and read a story without the prejudices we have of/in the real world really impact your ability to understand what the story is about. This is also written in "The Psychology of the Novel."  However the way that the idea is presented also hold a lot of power of experience. As said in "The Psychology of the Novel" some stories are written so that you notice the little things along the way because you really already know the outcome. This is a major part of the story of “1984” because all through the novel Julia and Winston know that they are going to die and the essentially they are already dead, but they live in the here and now to see what they can do in the present to maximize their lives.