Thursday, May 9, 2013
Power
After reading the last few sections of the novel, while I was not really surprised by the Party's actions, I thought the party's actions were pointless. O'Brien explains that the Party "cannot permit any deviation" from the Party, even when a person is about to die (255). He believes that only by twisting one's thoughts to match the Party's ideology, even before he or she dies, is necessary to maintain power. While I understand that it would not be beneficial to the Party if people were seen as martyrs, I still think that torturing people did nothing to help that. The Party could just as easily kill the people it captured and maintain its power. O'Brien declares that "power is not a means; it is an end," and that "the object of power is power" (263). While Orwell is clearly saying that people seek power for no reason other than power, I would disagree. I agree that it is human nature to want power, but I think that people want power in order to have things that make them happy. Out of all the books and movies that we have studied in this course, 1984 seems the most hopeless and the most oppressive. People have no freedom at all, unlike the other novels we have read, and the ending clearly shows that Winston is controlled by the society. Overall, I thought that this novel was especially depressing, and almost too extreme to be plausible.
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I also thought that torturing all of the rebellious individuals to make them believe the Party's ideas was unnecessary when in the end, the Party would kill them, although it makes sense in the context of the Party's desire for complete power over everyone in Oceania. The third and final part of the book only proves how the Party only wants power for the sake of having power. They could have easily shot Winston and Julia as soon as they were caught, but then Winston and Julia would have "won," as they were still themselves. They would have died maintaining their beliefs, hating Big Brother and the Party, and loving each other.
ReplyDeleteOne of the many steps the Party takes to maintain their power is preventing people from forming personal relationships. Party members are assigned spouses rather than choosing their own to ensure that members will not form loyalties with other individuals. While parents are stilled allowed to raise their own children, the Party educates them. Through school and other various Party organizations such as the Youth League, the Spies, and the Junior Anti-Sex League, the Party essentially turns all of the children to spies for the government. After many successful torture sessions, Winston accidentally exclaims, "Julia! Julia! Julia, my love! Julia!" (280). At this point, Winston has been partially brainwashed by the Party through the consistent torture, but evidently, his subconscious emotions haven't been changed. Winston is then taken to Room 101, where death by his greatest fear awaits. When faced by this, Winston finally completely submits to the Party and loses his previous identity.
The Party recognizes that allowing people to die while still in control of their own minds is a loss on their part, as their only aim is to have absolute power. By torturing Winston, the Party can fully eradicate Winston's rebellious ideas and replace them with those of the perfect, obedient Party member.
I don't know if I agree with you that torture is unnecessary - in both 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale, torture is definitely a means for control. Death is a fairly temporary experience, if that makes sense, while torture is prolonged anguish. Most individuals would strive to protect themselves from harm, and the fear of pain makes one more vulnerable than a fear of death.
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