Next, they'll be saying "2 + 2 = 5"...Oh wait, they already did.
Am I feeling depressed today? Why, yes I am. Thanks to George Orwell's 1984, I'm feeling very, very depressed (this means you can assume that there will be majorly-extreme (yeah, obviously that's not proper grammar...I think...) SPOILER ALERT, aka you'll know the ending of the book by the end of this post). Considering I had a weird feeling after reading Animal Farm, this really is no surprise to me.
The contradictory phrases shown in the picture above compose the slogan of the Party. Let's start out with "War is peace". In Oceania, that is somewhat true. In the beginning, there is a "war" (this is what the Party tells everyone) between Oceania and Eurasia (the enemy shifts to Eastasia later on, which shows how unreliable the Party is). This war unites all of the people against their enemy, so there is less fighting between "Oceanians" (just to clarify, I made that word up and I'll use it when I'm referring to the citizens of Oceania). Not only that, the Party forces the Outer Party Members to watch the Two Minutes Hate. During this time, the face of Emmanuel Goldstein, who is supposedly a traitor and the dominant enemy of Oceania, appears on a telescreen. Everyone watching is allowed to scream and curse at his face. In my opinion, this is genius. It's a great way for Oceanians to vent their emotions, so they won't feel the need to go against the Party, and to unite everyone. Next, "Freedom is slavery". All Oceanians are slaves to the Party, and because of this, they are free from the dangers of choice and free will. Other than that, I don't have much to say about this phrase. The Party probably incorporated it into their slogan in order to trick Oceanians into thinking that the way they were scrutinized and controlled by the Party was acceptable and tolerable. Lastly, "Ignorance is strength". Since Oceanians tolerate the Party's ruthless hold, this ignorance has strengthened the Party's rule.
While Animal Farm portrayed Communism in Russia, I felt that 1984 was symbolic of Nazi rule. Big Brother, the dictator of Oceania and ruler of the Party, symbolizes Adolf Hitler. Revisit the picture in the second post of Big Brother, and the mustache gives you a definite feeling of recognition, doesn't it? Not only that, the Party blames all of Oceania's troubles on Goldstein while Hitler blamed
Germany's troubles on Jews. This rallied all of the people against a common enemy and united them (just as I explained above in "War is peace"). It gets even better. Just as the Party has propaganda posters with Big Brother's face plastered everywhere, Nazi propaganda was just as prevalent. Whenever Hitler gave a speech (look it up on YouTube), the Germans were completely hypnotized by his voice, just as Oceanians love and cherish Big Brother.
In the climax (here is the majorly-extreme SPOILER ALERT as I said I would include earlier), just as I predicted in the second post, Winston and Julia are caught by the Thought Police. An old man, Winston thought he could trust, turned out to be a secret-Thought-Police-agent. And not only that, O'Brien, who Winston thought was a member of the Brotherhood (rebels against Big Brother, supposedly led by Goldstein), was actually a loyal Party member. Part of O'Brien's job was to trick Oceanians, who wanted to join the Brotherhood, into thinking he was a member of the Brotherhood, then stabbing them in the back by capturing them. In a world where the government spies on all of its citizens and preys on their every move, everyone must wear masks and hide their inner and true selves. The following quote is an example of how Winston keeps his cool when telescreens are nearby:
"Winston turned round abruptly. He had set his features into the expression of quiet optimism which it was advisable to wear when facing the telescreen." (Orwell 7)
Sure, lots of websites say that 1984 depicts the consequences of a totalitarian government in the future, but it depicts our society too! Just as Winston must portray an image, the "good and obedient" citizen, we reflect a certain image of ourselves to others. It's purely human nature. We pretend to be someone we're not in order to impress others and hide our inner selves. While Oceanians do it so that they are not vaporized, we may hide behind our faces in light of a social and/or life-or-death matter.
After he is captured, Winston is thrown in a cell for a long time and tortured by O'Brien. O'Brien's goal is to alter Winston's mind into loving Big Brother and make him become an obedient slave. Although Winston tries to hold it out and tries to stick to his gut, he fails to stand up against O'Brien, especially when he is experiencing an enormous amount of pain. In the end, Winston succumbs to the dark side. This quote, from the last page of the book, exemplifies his love for Big Brother:
"[Winston] gazed up at the enormous face [Big Brother]. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother." (Orwell 375-376)
Time for a Kurt Vonnegut story arc! This is what I believe represents 1984:
In the beginning, everything's just dandy. Winston goes to work, comes home, writes in his journal, etc. Then, things get better bit by bit when he meets Julia and begins to have a secret relationship with her. Winston is happy with her, but wait--there's more! Winston and Julia visit O'Brien in his apartment and tell him that they want to join the Brotherhood. Finally, they have hope that the world can be better when O'Brien "enlists" them and Winston receives the book...but oh no. O'Brien is actually a secret agent working for the Party. The story plunges down into a deep hole as Winston and Julia are captured by the Thought Police. What's even more depressing (as I've mentioned before), is that the book ends with Winston loving Big Brother.
Quote Source and essay about Orwell: http://www.theorwellreader.com/essays/sedlak.html
How soon could a loveless and heartless world of totalitarianism come into existence? Sooner or later we could all be under the rule of a ruthless dictator, Orwell forewarns in the quote above. But is this true? I have doubts that the United States will become a totalitarian government any time soon, since we Americans love to pride ourselves in our "democracy" and "republic". Additionally, we love to get our hands dirty with the doings and affairs of other countries, especially if it involves a dictator, a Communist party, the oppression of the people, a lack of human rights, etc. Although 1984 was a serious good-mood killer, there are deep lessons hidden among the pages. If only Orwell had written an allegory about Communist China...I would read that.
Picture (at top of page) Source: http://affordablehousinginstitute.org/blogs/us/wp-content/uploads/1984_2_2_small.jpg
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