Orwell’s “1984” --Response 3 of 4

Independent Reading #2

Orwell’s “1984” --Response 3 of 4

Pgs.132-197

This particular section contained a lot of information and a lot went on in the course of a few chapters. One particular part that I surprisingly enjoyed was when Winston read the book that O’Brien gave to him to read after Julia and Winston visited his flat. The complexity and the amount of knowledge that the book held is astonishing.

It’s quite amusing how I read this entire section in one sitting while waiting for my doctor to arrive. That’s how tedious the whole waiting period was. There were moments where I would have to stop, reread and then brood about a particular paragraph or conversation in the book. Some of the other patients would stare at me in complete curiosity because of my perpetually creased brow. That’s just how fascinated I was. I finally understood more of the operations and functions of previous societies and how Oceana came to be. I especially found pleasure with Orwell’s reference to the classes (i.e. low, middle and high classes). The book written by Goldstein claimed that every society had their Low, Middle and High. For Oceana, the Low would be the Proles, the Middle being the Outer Party and the Inner Party would be the High. Everything stated in this book is true. There was this particular quote in the book that I can’t quite locate that states that if you keep the society ignorant of what they could have, then they won’t want it and believe that what they have is the best that they could ever obtain because they wouldn’t know any better. Of course that’s common sense, but the blatantly wise statement of such an idea is both horrifying and amazing.

Also, the part about having constant war so that the society can keep the peace was amazingly exhilarating. That statement is a paradox, but in Oceana, it is found true. If the society is in constant war with no one really hurting each other and just constantly depleting supplies that your nation manufactured, then that society would be frozen from progress. A perpetual war is just like perpetual peace (which, by the way, never really occurs.) With no outcome, everyone in the society would be kept in constant routine motions and they would be forced to not think otherwise than their common goal.

Another wonderful statement would be when the book states that whoever has control of the past has control of the present and future because if you think about it, it’s quite true. If you had all documents of the past re-written to fit your present, you can control the outcome of the present, therefore creating your future. The “they” who want to hold this power is the High. The problem is, which is stated in the book, is that the Low, Middle and High are in constant changes. The Middle would want what the High have and would rebel with the Low calling it a rebellious act for freedom and “liberty.” Once the Middle have won and have succeeded in throwing the High off their thrown, they become the High and proceed to toss the Low back to where they belong, so really, the Low just stay where they’re at while constantly wishing for a change. Then, the cycle repeats itself.

Doublethink is a newspeak word where you would have to hold two contradicting thoughts and accept both. As a very logical person, I had a hard time comprehending how this is done. Another part of that rule is that if another thing comes up and replaces that of which you accepted already, you just accept it without hesitation. I ask how this is even possible. It’s just wrong. That just goes against everything I was brought up to believe in. It goes against reasoning. If two things are contradicting, it obviously means one is wrong and the other is right; unless both do not supply enough information to discredit the other and both are correct.

I apologize with the jumbled thoughts, but like I asserted earlier, there was a significant amount of information and my mind is recovering from shock. I seriously was mind-blown with all these epiphanies. One thing I’m sure of: I would never survive in Oceania. I’m too opposite; different. I do not conform and I don’t bode well with incompetent, bigoted authorities. I'm glad I live in this society. How would you feel if you were forced to even think a certain way and you would be immediately annihilated if you do otherwise?