1984

"Only the disciplined mind can see reality, Winston. You believe that reality is something objective, external, existing in its own right. You also believe that the nature of reality is self-evident. When you delude yourself into thinking that you see something, you assume that everyone else sees the same thing as you. But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else" (205). O'Brien's conversation with Winston makes it clear as to why the people of Oceania are blinded by the madness of the Party. The Party has instilled a certain way of thinking that forces the citizens of Oceania to believe every single word that the Party says no matter how crazy it may sound. This is why O'Brien says that reality exists only in the human mind and not externally because the Party ingrains their philosophy in the minds of the people of Oceania and this is why they must only believe what they know in their mind and not wha...

"The terrible thing that the Party had done was to persuade you that mere impulses, mere feelings, were of no account. When once you were in the grip of the Party. what you felt or did not feel. What you did or refrained from doing, made literally no difference. Whatever happened you vanished, and neither you nor your actions were ever heard of again...They were governed by private loyalties which they did not question. What mattered were individual relationships, and a completely helpless gesture, an embrace, a tear, a word spoke to a dying man, could have value in itself" (136). This particular quote stood out to me because it highlights one of the main aspects of the Party and the people of Oceania. The Party wants its citizens to live their life without any emotions, while the people of Oceania allow them to do this because they do not know any better. If anyone from Oceania does try to rebel against the Party, eventually the Party will vaporize them. The only people wh...

"She had already turned to go, but she did rather fretfully come back or a moment. She even leaned out over the cliff face to see where he was pointing. He was standing a little behind her, and he put his hand on her waist to steady her. At this moment it suddenly occurred to him how completely alone they were. There was not even a bird awake. In a place like this the danger that there would be a hidden microphone was very small, and even if there was a microphone it would only pick up sounds. It was the hottest, sleepiest hour of the afternoon. The sun blazed down upon them, the sweat tickled his face. And the thought struck him.." (112). From this passage about Winston wanting to kill his wife Katharine, and a previous passage about how Winston wanted to rape and kill Julia makes me believe that Winston is truly a terrible person. Even if the government does instill a hostile way of thinking towards women, Winston can control his thoughts and even has thoughts that are co...

"His heart leapt. Scores of times she had done it; he wished it had been hundreds-thousands. Anything that hinted corruption always filled him with a wild hope. Who knew? Perhaps the Party was rotten under the surface, its cult of strenuousness and self-denial simply a sham concealing iniquity. If he could have infected the whole lot of them with leprosy or syphilis, how gladly he would have done so! Anything to rot, to weaken, to undermine" (104)! Julia's revelation of how she has had sex with members of the Party hundreds of times excites Winston because this is something that he needs to show that the Party is not as "picture perfect" as they claim to be. This detail is what makes the Party is hypocritical because they try to set the example that sex is reserved only for having new members of the Party; however, Julia reveals that this is not the case at all. The Party puts on this very pristine demeanor to show its citizens that this is the way they must c...

"How could you tell much of it was lies? It might be true that the average human being was better off now than he had been before the Revolution. The only evidence to the contrary was the mute protest in your own bones, the instinctive feeling that the conditions you lived in were intolerable and that at some other time they must have been different. It struck him that the truly characteristic thing about modern life was not its cruelty and insecurity, but simply its bareness, its dinginess, its listlessness" (63). As Winston read the children's history textbook to find out more about the past, he is aware of the fact that it is not a reliable source because the Party has tailored it to be in their favor. The book claims that the Party built remarkable cities, but according to the picture that Winston has painted for us, it is anything but lavish. Orwell's use of personification when talking about how Winston feels that his circumstances prior to the Revolution we...

"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten" (46). As I read what Syme said, I was appalled by his intentions of hindering a person's range of thoughts by not allowing them to learn any words that are related to thoughtcrime. Syme wants to take away one of the most important things that makes a person unique: a person's distinct way of thinking. If everyone thinks the same way, it is almost as if everyone is an immature child who follows everything his or her parent does because the child does not know how to think for himself or herself. This reminds me of the movie Tangled,  because the protagonist, Rapunzel is locked away in her home because her ...