Summary of the Assigned Reading
Captured by the
government, Winston discovers that O’Brien had manipulated him and had been
working for the party. Winston is brutally tortured in the Ministry of Love, in
the dreaded Room 101. O’Brien proceeds to re-teach Winston, using torture/pain
to force him into total submission to the Party.
Level 2 Questions
1.) How do the connotations of “the place
where there is no darkness” change throughout 1984?
Initially, “the
place where there is no darkness” appears as a place of refuge and
enlightenment to Winston. Before he knows about O’Brien’s true nature, Winston
is convinced he can trust O’Brien, and that he could be a part of the Brotherhood
and widespread rebellion. “The place where there is no darkness” symbolized a
place wherein there is light. This appeared as a positive place to Winston, who
saw the manipulation and oppression of the Party to be the darkness that
covered the truth up from him and the citizens of Oceania. In reality, “the place where there is no
darkness” is a place of pain and torture: the Ministry of Love. In the
Ministry, Winston concludes that “in this place, he knew instinctively, the
lights would never be turned out […] there were no windows.” Realizing his
vulnerability in the Ministry of Love, Winston recognizes that he cannot tell
the time of day, nor will he see the outside world, or any true light. “The
place where there is no darkness” turned out to be referring to Winston’s
torture chamber in place of his freedom from oppression. (Pathos)
2.) How do the Party criminals differ from
the common criminals?
The common
criminals within the Ministry of Love seem to enjoy more freedom and power
within the prison society. Conversely, the Party members, who completely
control society outside of prison, exercise no power within the walls of the
Ministry of Peace. The hierarchy of the holding facility is that “the positions
of trust were given only to the common criminals, especially the gangsters and
the murderers, who formed a sort of aristocracy. All the dirty jobs were done
by the politicians.” The common criminals are viewed as less of a threat,
although their actions (such as murder) are perceived as much worse and extreme
in the real world. More than anything, the party is threatened by thoughts. If
feelings of resentment or ideas of rebellion manifest in the minds of their
people, the possibility of losing power and control only increase. The Party is
more concerned with its members, who have committed thought crime and know the
inner workings of the party. These individuals have the minds and possibly the
means to rebel, making crimes such as murder seem minute as long as they
possess ideological control over those who commit them. (Logos)
3.) Why does the Party look to change the
mindsets of its criminal rather than simply kill them?
As expressed by
O’Brien himself, the party’s system ensures “…there are no martyrdoms.” The
party wishes to completely suppress rebellion, and ensure that revolutionary
thoughts die before the thoughtcriminals do. The danger of martyrdom is that it
only encourages others to fight, and even die for their beliefs. The Party
understands that many people would rather die with their own beliefs than live
under complete submission to the beliefs of another. In the past martyrs have
inspired revolution and other individuals, making it vital for the Party to eliminate
beliefs. O’Brien says to Winston, “Shall I tell you why we have brought you here?
To cure you! To make you sane! […] We do not merely destroy our enemies; we
change them.” Changing one’s enemy can be seen as a more drastic action. There
are many fates worse than death, and brutal torture to end free thought, is one
of them. (Logos)
4.) How does the Party use forces such as
children and doublethink to effectively indoctrinate their society?
Through the use
of children and doublethink, the party is effectively able to halt the spread
of revolutionary ideas, and maintain control over its people in a twisted way.
When Winston
asked Parsons who had him arrested, he replies, “It was my little daughter […]
I’m proud of her. It shows I brought her up in the right spirit, anyway.” This
entre scenario perfectly exemplifies the idea of doublethink. Parsons had said
“down with Big Brother” in his sleep, and might have felt resentment and hatred
towards the Party, yet is proud of his daughter for denouncing
thoughtcriminals, even though it cost him a life in jail. The fact that
children are used to spy on their own parents demonstrates the Party’s desire
to eliminate all relationships or feelings of love that are not expressed
towards Big Brother. Without such relationships, the Party would be sure of its
total control, and have less fear of rebellion against Big Brother. Through
doublethink, the Party is able to ensure that its citizens believe what they
want them to. Although individual thoughts exist, they are overridden by Party
propaganda. (Logos)
5.) How prevalent is betrayal in the society
of 1984? Why does Winston believe in people such as O’Brien, only to be
betrayed, and why would he betray Julia?
Winston is
betrayed multiple times in 1984. He foolishly chooses to trust Mr. Charrington
and O’Brien, to the extent that they can easily catch him for his thoughtcrime.
Winston states that O’Brien was “ … the tormentor, he was the protector, he was
the inquisitor, he was the friend.”
Winston had seen O’Brien as a ray of hope, an escape from Party control.
Winston chose to simply believe him and follow him as it was the only hope.
O’Brien’s alleged Brotherhood was the only known alternative to the Party,
making Winston clasp on to anything he could to escape from the Party. This
made it easy for O’Brien to manipulate him. The party deliberately set out to
find thought criminals, and deeply rooted themselves in order to effectively
manipulate them. Winston and Julia even found themselves betraying each other.
Under intense physical pain, their love for each other seemed to crumble. Both
of them could only tolerate so much, and were both physically and emotionally
broken by torture, to the extent that they betrayed each other to try and save
their own lives. (Pathos)
6.) What is the role of Room 101 in the plot?
Why would such a concept exist?
Room
101 solely functions to inspire fear in the prisoners in the Ministry of Love. As
described by O’Brien, “the thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the
world.” Each person is subjected to their worst fear, making them do anything
to end their time in Room 101. One of the prisoners even stated, “I’ve got a
wife and three children[…] You can take the whole lot of them and cut their
throats in front of my eyes, and I’ll stand by and watch it. But not room 101!”
This man was willing to give up his entire family in order to avoid room 101, a
repulsive fact, indicative of the Party’s successful use of Room 101 to beat
down their prisoners. The terror expressed towards the idea of Room 101
illustrates the maltreatment of the prisoners by the Party. With the idea of
their greatest fear in mind, prisoners are willing to confess to anything to
end their pain, a psychologically terrifying fact. (Pathos)
Level 3 Questions (x3)
1.) Why are power and corruption so often
directly linked?
As stated by
Lord Acton “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” As seen in 1984 and in
history, human beings enjoy exercising power over others. This is seen on a
number of scales, but the acquisition of power often leads to the desire for
more power. If people go through great measures to obtain power, the chances
are they will go through even greater measures to maintain power, and
corruption is a means of maintaining power.
2.) To what extent is torture effective?
Ethically
speaking, torture is viewed as immoral in many societies who believe that deliberately
inflicting pain on another to extract information is a horrendous act. The
truth about physical pain is that it can be increased to the point that
individuals would rather die than have to endure another second of pain.
Torture physically and emotionally weakens people, to the point that they are
ruined. (Pathos) Though it may be effective in obtaining information, it also
must be considered that innocent people can be tortured. Torturing victims
either know information, or do not. The scary fact is that innocent people who
do not know anything can be tortured for information they do not have. Multiple
factors must be considered, for example, if the person is actually telling the
truth, or a lie, whether the information is relevant, if it is possible that
the truth changed over time. Considering all of these factors, torture can
largely be ineffective. Individuals have been severely psychologically damaged
by torture, and would be willing to say anything to end the pain. It is unknown
as to if the information is true, or relevant. (Logos)
3.) Can torture change personalities and
behavior? Can emotions, such as love, be driven out by torture?
Torture can
definitely change behavior. For example, a dog that has been severely beaten is
likely to be more reserved. They shy away from humans, and are very weary of
new people, and sudden movements. Torture could have the same effects on
humans. The psychological imprint of torture can lead individuals to become
more reserved, or fear that it might happen again, and allowing this fear to
run their lives (Logos). Torture can
make people stop caring about the world, and simply want death. The degree of
physical pain that is inflicted upon them may be so severe that they do not
want to feel anymore. Experiencing intense pain may make people forget about
other feelings, as they would be focused on the moment. Torture would create
feelings of helplessness, desperation, and if the pain would not end, many
would rather die and not have to feel it any longer. I believe that emotions
such as love may still exist; however, the immediate feelings may override
these emotions. (Pathos)
Quotes
1.) “We are not content with negative
obedience, nor even with the most abject submission. When finally you surrender
to us, it must be of your own free will. We do not destroy the heretic because
he resists us; so long as he resists us we never destroy him. We convert him,
we capture his inner mind, we reshape him.” Pg. 210
2.) “There were times when his nerve so
forsook him that he began shouting for mercy even before the beating began,
when the mere sight of a fist drawn back for a blow was enough to make him pour
forth a confession of real and imaginary crimes.” Pg. 199
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