1984 Symbols In 1984 by George Orwell, there are a few examples of important symbols throughout the book, all meaning different things depending on how they are looked at. The book follows the story of a man named Winston Smith. His life is not very exciting until he finds himself in the middle of a rebellion against the party, or so he thought. The party is the political group that is in charge of the country, Oceana, its leader is Big Brother. The party's goal is to make everyone dumb so they do not recognize that they are being controlled. When Winston finds himself having an affair with a girl, also part of the party, Julia, he decides he needs somewhere to stay so they will not be found. He rents a room above a little antiques shop, run by Mr. Charrington. It is in this room where the most important symbols of the book are found. When he first enters the little shop he finds a coral paperweight, Winston likes the way it seems out of place and decides to buy it. “Winston immediately paid over the four dollars and slid the coveted thing into his pocket. What appealed to him about it was not so much its beauty as the air it seemed to possess of belonging to an age quite different from the present one.” (Orwell 81). Even before his affair with Julia started, Winston knew that the paperweight was different, maybe part of him knew it would mean something more to him at some point. Later when he puts it on a shelf of his new room he realizes why he liked it so much. It reminded him of himself and Julia. The piece of coral was surrounded by a glass dome, which makes him think of he and Julia all alone in their own little world, just like the coral. Later in the story the paperweight was smashed by the thought police. It reminded Winston of how much the Party really did control everyone. The paperweight, the one that symbolized his and Julia's