1984- Part III

1984- Part III

Feb 16th.2012
page: 237~287

         In the previous part, Winston suspects that O’brien is opposing the party secretly and they eventually plan revolt against the party. However, when Winston is arrested, he finds out that O’Brein is actually entirely loyal to the party. Winston’s torture starts in real earnest and is presided over by O’Brien himself. He sits in a bright, bare cell where the lights are always on(the place where there is no darkness). He is monitored by four telescreens. O’Brien forces him to betray Julia by exerting sheer physical pain. As he shares the cell with a variety of fellow prisoners, he finds out the existence of Room101 which is the final stage of the torture and rehab at the ministry of love.
          In the torture sessions, O’Brien tells Winston that his crime was refusing to accept the party’s control of history and his memory. As O’Brien increases the pain, Winston agrees to accept that O’Brien is holding up five fingers, though he knows that O’Brien is actually holding up only four. Winston starts to love O’brien when he stops torturing him and he starts to believe O’Brien’s philosophy and what he says. Eventually he betrays Julia. In the last stage, Winston asks what waits in Room 101, and O’Brien states that everyone knows what waits in Room 101. Room 101 symbolizes the fearfulness and helplessness each person experiences when faced with his greatest fear.

          O’Brien is an antagonist against Winston. He is a powerful and cunning man, and he tricks Winston into believing that he is a member of the anti-party brotherhood. And then, he leads Winston to commit thought crime and arrests him. By torturing he changes Winston a totally different person who now completely obeys Big Brother.

          In my opinion, I hated the Book three of 1984. I was so upset when I was reading the last part of the book, because I just couldn’t bear with torturing people because of such a ridiculous reasons like thought crime. The party is so powerful so that no one can really oppose it. However, I think the party is quite systematic and logical. I recommend this book to people who like to read books about dystopia. 

1984-PartII

1984-Part II
 Feb 13th.2012
page: 111~234

          O'Brien approaches Winston at work under the pretense of discussing the Tenth Edition of the Newspeak Dictionary (Newspeak is the official language of Oceania, and its goal is to reduce and simplify vocabulary). O'Brien gives Winston his home address, supposedly so he can come and pick up an advance copy of the new book. Winston takes the slip of paper with amazement. He knows that O'Brien has approached him because he is part of the underground movement. His true path towards rebellion has begun.

     After some time, Winston and Julia visit O'Brien, an Inner Party member who has a lush apartment, a servant, and the freedom to turn off his telescreen. Winston renounces the Party and discusses his belief in the Brotherhood. O'Brien welcomes Winston and Julia into the Brotherhood and tells them that they must be willing to do anything to work towards its cause. They agree, but say that they will not do anything that would prevent them from seeing each other ever again. O'Brien tells Winston that he will give him a copy of Goldstein's book, and outlines a complicated version of events that will lead toward the exchange. Winston leaves after a final toast with O'Brien, in which Winston finishes O'Brien's statement, saying that they "will meet in the place with no darkness."

<Meaning of  "The Place Where There Is No Darkness">

       Throughout the novel Winston imagines meeting O’Brien in “the place where there is no darkness.” The words first come to him in a dream, and he ponders them for the rest of the novel. Eventually, Winston does meet O’Brien in the place where there is no darkness; instead of being the paradise Winston imagined, it is merely a prison cell in which the light is never turned off. The idea of “the place where there is no darkness” symbolizes Winston’s approach to the future: possibly because of his intense fatalism (he believes that he is doomed no matter what he does), he unwisely allows himself to trust O’Brien, even though inwardly he senses that O’Brien might be a Party operative.

        When I read this section where O’Brien reveals himself as a “traitor” against Big Brother, I felt relieved and was full of admiration that there is a big supporter for Winston and Julia. I myself was so frustrated, imagining innocent people suppressed by the government. When O’Brien says “the place where there is no darkness,” I thought it symbolizes no suppression and freedom, because darkness usually means evil and bad side of the world. Compare to part I, the atmosphere of part II is brighter and it is more loving scenes.

1984-part I

Brief Background Information & Part I

Feb 10th.2012
page: ~107

          1984 was written by George Orwell who also wrote the famous fictional novel, Animal Farm in 1948. He predicted the dark future which people are completely controlled by the government of which the governor is Big Brother. According to Orwell’s imagination, world is divided into three different parts: Oceania, East Asia, and Eurasia. Everyone in Oceania is monitored by telescreen and their voices are all recorded. People don’t have freedom to speak their opinions and to have a sexual relationship. They marry people who the government chooses and marrying is only for reproducing babies. They are not allowed to love each other. The protagonist Winston Smith is a member of the Outer Party from Oceania which is a fictional state representing both England and America. In all visible ways, he seems he is a good party member who obeys the rules; however, he keeps his loathing for the workings of the party. He secretly hates the party and decides to rebel by starting a diary in which he reveals his rebellious thoughts. Through keeping a diary, he commits thoughtcrime and knows that some other day he will be discovered by the Thought police and killed. Actually the beginning part of this book is really boring. It is all about explaining the laws and philosophies of the government of Oceania which are hard to understand. As I went through the book I started to understand those little details of the laws and philosophies. However, I was quite shocked and surprised about how George Orwell set the setting. I couldn’t believe that he actually predicted telescreen and other technologies in 1948. Also, I imagined myself in the fictional state, Oceania in 1984. If I were Winston Smith, I might have committed suicide. How can a person be totally controlled by other people?

"Big Brother is Watching You."

The Party's three slogans are: "War is Peace," "Freedom is Slavery," and "Ignorance is Strength."