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Yellow-Bellied Heroes Any dictionary lists it as one of the definitions of the word, but does yellow really mean cowardly? And is being “cowardly” in the sense that we understand it really a bad thing? An Irish proverb states that “It is better to be a coward for a minute than dead for the rest of your life,” (Clouds 1) and even more provocatively, a song called “Break Your Heart” contains the lyrics, “the bravest thing I’ve ever done was to run away and hide.” Indeed, running away often takes more courage than standing and fighting, and in many cases it is the most logically sound course of action. So perhaps being yellow is not being yellow at all. George Orwell uses symbolic imagery of the color yellow in 1984 to represent political rebellion and unorthodoxy in a society where such things are punishable by death, contrasting with the color yellow’s traditional representation of cowardice. For unorthodoxy is best defined simply by Orwell’s Newspeak word “thoughtcrime.” (Scott-Kilvert 960) The simplest of these images is O’Brien’s servant, Martin. Winston is first suspicious of the man with the expressionless face, but finds that the “yellow-faced servant,” (page 140) as Orwell takes care to describe him, is actually an ally. Soon thereafter, when Winston and Julia are captured by the Thought Police, Orwell uses two yellow images in very close proximity, and in reference to Julia’s face. The face, as a metaphor is a representation of the soul, the inner being. Facial expressions telegraph emotions and feelings, and the eyes themselves are traditionally illustrated as the windows to the soul.
Approximate Word count = 1049
Approximate Pages = 4.2
(250 words per page double spaced)
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