The End

I found the ending to this story very depressing.  Winston's last four words - "he loved Big Brother" - just suggest the complete and utter control that Big Brother has over all of Oceania.  Winston comes off in the story as one of the most intelligent, rebellious, strong-minded characters -  the one character the least likely to give in to the Party.  I never believed that Winston was going to survive till the end of the story, but I felt sure that he would protest the Party until his dying breath.  He believes to strongly in the freedom of man and the irrationality of the party.  Surely he could never agree with Big Brother let alone love it? No way, and yet the ending suggest otherwise.

Early in the story, Winston talks about the most frightening thing about the Party.  He says that the most frightening thing is not that the Party lies, or alters the past, or employs this contradictory principle of doublethink, "the frightening thing is that it might all be true. If the party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event -- it never happened -- that surely was more terrifying than mere torture or death."

I'm going to have to disagree with Winston on this one and take it one step further.  I think the most frightening thing about the party is not that they lie, nor that their lies may become truths, but that the Party can convince you that their lies are truths even when you fundamentally disagree with them.  And this is what happened to Winston in the end. After his torture, he was convinced of the beauty and the righteousness of the Party.  He loved it, even though he knew that party was wrong and it was doomed to failure.  That's why this book is so frightening and depressing. 

Faith and Belief

Winston talks a lot in 1984 about how it is so difficult to argue with O'Brien and Big Brother.  Winston says that he cringes at "the enormous power arrayed against him,  the ease with which any party member would overthrow him in debate, the subtle arguments he would not be able to understand, much less answer" (81).  In a twisted and ironic turn of events, the Party has all the evidence on its side because of their alteration of the past and their control over the people of Oceania.

And yet Winston knows that the party members are wrong.  Despite all of their evidence and cleverly crafted arguments, Winston knows that "they are wrong and he is right" (81).  Winston believes with all his soul that "the solid world exists, its laws do not change" (81).  "Truisms are true" according to Winston (81).  Winston has no evidence to the contrary except the "mute protest in his bones."  Deep down, Winston believes in reality.

This idea really intrigued me.  It seemed to me that Orwell was contending that the only way to fight the 'logical' and 'reasoned' arguments of the Party was to have faith.  Winston states that he knows the party will fail because of "something in the universe - some spirit, some principle." He goes on to call this principle the "spirit of Man." That is what Winston has faith in, despite all evidence to the contrary, and that is why he believes the Party will fail. 

And I found this idea really intriguing because it seemed to me like Winston was using this principle of doublethink against the party.  The only way too fight irrational logic is to have faith in humanity.   The only way to fight the doublethink of the party is to employ the principle of doublethink in your own arguments - faith versus irrationality.  I'll take faith any day.

Doublethink

I think one of the most interesting ideas in this book is this principle of doublethink implemented by the Party.  Without doublethink, I believe that the party would fail.  For example, one page 263, O'Brien states as he is torturing Winston that "Power is not a means; it is an end.  ... The object of power is power." 

Now this statement, if you stop and think about, it is absolutely ridiculous.  Power is a completely abstract idea.  Power itself doesn't do anything for you.  Its what you do with that power that people crave.  Power is the ability to influence others to get what you want.  Therefore, power is by definition a means, not an end.

So O'Brien's statement is inherently contradictory.  And yet this idea that power is obtained for power's sake is essential to the basic philosophy of the party.  That is why Big Brother and the Party were established, it is why all the thought criminals were arrested and tortured, and it is why all the people in society live such terrible lives - even the Inner Party members.  In their strive for power, the Inner party members have actually made their lives worse for themselves - we find that they can only enjoy the most basic privileges (wine, butter, etc.).  They have starved themselves all in the name of Power.  The only way to justify these actions is through doublethink.

I just finished the novel and I have to say, Orwell's prediction of the future is definitely one of the most chilling I have ever encountered.  In the end, Winston is broken down completely, and his ultimate betrayal of Julia seems like it was inevitable and unavoidable.  The whole novel explores the possibility of what could have happened had the Nazis or the Soviet Union taken over.  It's especially chilling when we realize that Orwell's world could have come close to being a reality, and it's even more chilling to think about the fact that there are similarities between Oceania and our world today.
The book overall captured me from start to finish, and when I read the last four words, "He loved Big Brother", I think I realized for the first time how much power the Party actually has over people (298).  Winston tries to resist, but in the end he can't, and his entire way of thinking is turned around.  The scariest part about it, though, is that the way he is tortured and made to think seems completely feasible.

Our group has currently read up to page 239 and we have learned quite a lot about Winston and the society in which he lives.  I actually read ahead almost to the end of the book *spoiler alert* and what I find most interesting and chilling is the torture which is inflicted upon Winston.  O'Brien is actually a government worker who sets Winston up and is put in charge of his torture when he is captured by the thoughtpolice.  There are too many fascinating details to go into on a short blog, but the moment that really got me was when Winston is finally convinced that 2+2=5.  The party wears him down and actually proves itself right.  They control the past and the present and therefore they control the future.

1984 so far

One of the elements in 1984 that I have found most interesting so far is Winston's cautiousness and attention to detail. He seems very suspicious of everything around him. One would think that he would have gotten used to life forever under the watchful eye of the government and the thought police, but he seems to be constantly on guard when the governments' presence becomes known. His first reaction to Julia is particularly intriguing, as he knows practically nothing about her but assumes that she is a part of the thought police because he got a "dark feeling" when she passed him in the hall. He seems almost paranoid, yet he has very little to be paranoid about. He is not a part of any active resistance force, and he has hidden his journal entries well. This paranoia is seemingly dissonant from what his mindset perhaps ought to be.

After reading up through page 105 I feel like I now have enough information about the world of 1984 and the main character to begin analyzing it.  Winston lives in a dystopia set in London in 1984.  Every aspect of his life is controlled by the government.  People can be killed in this society for thoughtcrime (or thinking against the government) and are constantly watched for signs of it.
What I find most interesting so far is that even though the book was written in 1949 about the year 1984, it is becoming increasingly relevant as time goes on.  The propaganda that is constantly shown to the people is comparable to the media and the messages that society is constantly forced to watch today in advertising.  Also, the monitoring the government does in 1984 reminds me a lot of the NSA.  I am interested to see how many of Orwell's predictions hold true as I read more.