I had previously asked: "What is INGSOC?" Well, after some research, here is what I have found:
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The fact that Winston might be one or THE only one in his society to doubt Big Brother (he might not be the only one, but it certainly looks like it though) makes me think of some song lyrics... Here they are:
Why did I pick these lyrics? How does it have anything to do with 1984? I will be more than happy to answer these questions. You see, when I read 1984, these lyrics are ALWAYS coming back to me. I just think that they represent what Winston must be feeling towards the citizens of the society.
"Look at these people, amazing how sheep will show up for the slaughter"... Look at these people, amazing how they will play with danger and go get killed, metaphorically speaking. It is their souls that are killed by the government. They will eat all the lies, they will let the propaganda replace their reason. But when they are caught and reported they disappear. As far I know, they might be dead. "You lined up like lemming you led to the water"... They'll line up to be the first ones to get anything, whether it be water, pots and pans, razor blades... And they're willing to fight to death to get them. They're condemning themselves. It is pathetic to see that, but we have to remember that they own almost nothing. It's amazing how people can turn into animals when it comes down to survival (like when the women were fighting for the saucepans). And Winston, well he has to watch all of this. He had been so hopeful when he had first the screams of the women, thinking it was a riot, but nope. Not even close. "Winston watched them disgustingly. And yet, for just a moment, what almost frightening power had sounded in that cry from only a few hundred throats! Why was it that they could never shout like that about anything that mattered?" (page 73) Winston hoped so much for a riot, for a rebellion, for them to open their eyes and see what the world has become, which brings me to the third line of the song... "Why can't they see what I see? Why can't they hear the lies?"... To me, this line is the most powerful. When I hear it, read it, or sing it, I am actually able to feel the pain of the protagonist, understand what it must feel like never to be heard or seen, to be alone in this world. When Winston witnessed the fighting women, he had hoped so badly that it was a rebellion. But then he realized... If I were Winston, I would have probably screamed this line at the top of my lungs. I would probably get caught, but it would have been worth it. Through this line, I can understand Winston's sickness of people so gullible they can't make the difference between a truth and a lies. "Why can't they hear the lies?" Because they are slaves of the society, they are puppets controlled by they master. Book title: Morgane, Starlette américaine Author: Annie Lavigne Getting in context: Morgane is a French girl who, with her best friend, came to America to find freedom. They meet an American boy, James, who tell them that America's democracy is not exactly what they were thinking...
James is connecting totalitarianism to the situation they are presently living in the States, and he is right about it too. Now, I am not an American citizen, and neither is the author of this book, so I have no idea of how if must feel to be an American. But with those few lines I can get a basic idea of their current situation. Even though the United States says it represents ideas of rights and freedom and all that, it really isn't. James may be exaggerating about the fact that the States might become totalitarian, but he is trying to get a point across. And what better way to make a statement than to reference 1984, THE most totalitarian book ever?
I think that James is right because, well, here's why: The Thirteen Colonies fought to be free from Great Britain, which caused the American Revolution. They have succeeded in getting free, and it became a democracy. Now we have many new things like technology, which would make the people more dependent, right? In a way, yes, because people have the liberty of doing what they want. They can express their opinions, they can enjoy watching videos of other people expressing their opinions, they can get all the answers to their questions in a matter of seconds... But more technology also means that more control from the government. There is a lot of censorship and supervising systems. Take for example security cameras. With those, any criminal can be caught, yes, but that also means that people have a lot less freedom. "The freedom of Americans being threatened" said James, and if he is right, then the system ha chances of becoming totalitarian. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but in many years from now. Ever heard of "Uncle Sam Wants You for the U.S. Army"? Kinda makes me think of "Big Brother is Watching You". Uncle Sam is a personification of the U.S. government that is often used. It would come from a man named Samuel Wilson, a meat packer during the war of 1812. Anyway, my point is that this poster was used to get people join in the U.S. army to fight the war. In a way, it could be considered as propaganda because the government is trying to get people to do something. "Big Brother is Watching You" has a similar function, except that the government threatens the population about what they are doing. "It was a refrain that was often heard in moments of overwhelming emotion. Partly it was a sort of hymn to the wisdom and majesty of Big Brother, but still more it was an act of self-hypnosis, a deliberate drowning of consciousness by means of rhythmic noise." (page 18) These words are what Winston thinks about the people chanting "B-B..... B-B", and I couldn't agree more with him. These people are hypnotising themselves into thinking that Big Brother is worth worshipping, the one, the almighty Big Brother. After years and years of being told over and over again that Big Brother is always right, that he is the supreme authority, that he is the greatest leader, people start believing him. People start believing all the lies. Even the most obvious ones, like the fact that the party had invented aircraft. Speaking of lies, Winston later reads a children history book he borrowed from Mrs Parsons. Here is an excerpt of the book: Now, Winston says that he doubts any of this is true. For some reason he seems to be the only one in the entire society who actually doubts the party's lies and propaganda. However, now he starts to wonder if their ENTIRE past is just a lie. He wonders about the past, what it must have been really like back then. He starts to doubt the existence of things that we, the reader, actually know have or still exist, like top hats. Imagine if everyone would think like Winston, imagine if everyone would wonder about the truths they have lost. This reminds me of when Equality, from the novella Anthem, asks: "what are the words we have lost?" speaking of the words that characterize individualism, mainly, "I". It must be extremely frustrating and emotionally difficult for someone to know that a secret is kept away from them, but not just any type of secret, a secret of the past. Because the past is erasable, if not transformable, so without proper proof we can never really know the secrets of the past. All there is left to do, is to believe the lies. "Whether he wrote "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER", or whether he refrained from writing it, made no difference. Whether he went on with the diary,or whether he did not go on with it, made no difference. The Thought Police will get him just the same." (page 21) For some reason the first thing that pops into my mind when I read these sentences is the first line of the book Anthem by Ayn Rand. The line is "It is a sin to write this". After all, both Equality and Winston have committed a crime, the crime of writing their thoughts. The difference is, if Equality puts down his diary, return to work and never come back to his secret tunnel ever again, he will probably never be caught. Winston, however, stated that he will be caught no matter what. And I think he is right. I am only 80 pages in the book and for now he is still safe, but his add up of mistakes will probably get him sold out. This passage (page 25) clearly demonstrates the effect of propaganda on children. Kids are called "child heroes" for reporting THEIR OWN PARENTS to the Thought Police, and I find that's just horrible. The children don't understand the gravity of the situation or the consequences of one's act. And I don't mean just the Parson children. I mean most of the children in this society, if not all of them. To them, the hanging is merely a show. To them, killing people with fake guns and calling them traitors is all just a game. In their world, everything will be fine by the end of the day. They take great pleasure in seeing people getting caught for their mistakes because it isn't real. Not to them. But sometimes though, they seem to grasp the idea of what is going on, and, as shown above, "it was not altogether a game".
Game or not, nothing is more real to their parents, who watch their babies grow up into murderous adults with slogans of Big Brother as their only reason to live. In this case, the Parson parents have very different ways of interpreting their children's ambitions. Mrs Parson, the mother of the children in this passage, is an exhausted from their tormenting. She has to take care of these little monsters, and she can't control them and tell them to stop being so... excited about traitors. And why would she? After all, the government ENCOURAGES children to report anyone suspicious, so I guess all that Mrs Parson can do about it is sit and watch. Winston describes her as "a colourless, crushed-looking woman, with wispy hair and a lined face" (page 22), and later observes that she has dust in the lines of her face. Probably from being harassed by her own children. I may be exaggerating but Mrs Parsons is a slave of society. Worse, even, she is a slave of her own children, who are slaves of society. Mr Parson, the father, is a completely different person. Winston describes him as a "tubby, middle-sized man with fair hair and a froglike face. (...) His whole appearance was that of a little boy grown large," (pages 58-59) and the description goes on and on. Basically, that he was a fat man with the spirit of a child. Mr Parsons actually encourages his children to be suspicious, to run after the bad guys. He would probably even come hunt spies down if it weren't for his working hours. He'll gladly take his children to the hanging, when he can. Mr Parson is exactly the type of "model" the government would like the public to follow. All in all, the party's propaganda does not only affect the children, it also affects the adults. And those who are not affected by it, or at least, not in the desired way, are in danger of getting eliminated. The Party's brainwashing is so good, it gets the citizens confused. Let me explain: the Party can make any lie come true, any truth become lie. It can claim to have invented something or came up with a certain idea without anyone batting an eye. The citizens are gullible and will believe just about anything... The Party is very strong so it will be very hard for Winston or anyone else to take it down or even try to figure out the puzzle... Telling what is real from when isn't, knowing what is true and what is invented... Even the date of the year is uncertain, so trying to solve this mystery, well good luck with that. And even if you can, "You could prove nothing". The Party can erase all traces that could lead to the key of bringing it down. And even if Winston DID find this key, how could he convince and show the population that the Party is lying to them? He has something against them! He holds a very valuable piece of information... I want to know what he did with it!!! He could blackmail the Party, he could lead a revolution against the government! Finished with the Totalitarian era! What did he do with it?
Just like in Winston's dream, can "Big Brother and the Party and the Thought Police be swept into nothingness by a single splendid movement of the arm"? Just like they don't matter, just like mud is washed away by rain...
"A single flicker of the eye could give you away"...I was right... this is actually a line I have used in one of my poems BEFORE I even read it in the book...
Winston's a rebel! Of course, opening the diary in the first place is a crime so he can't get into any more trouble that he already is in... But writing in this diary is his only way of expressing his feelings openly... Then again, he could probably be killed if it is found... However he was brilliant to put a speck of dust on a corner of the book to see if someone had touched it!
Kind of random but I recently noticed that if I rearrange the numbers of the date on my Smithsonian sweater, it makes "1984".... I was pretty freaked out when I found out but I think it's pretty cool.
When you Google images of Totalitarianism, the first picture that pops up is this one. No surprise there, This book is so totalitarian, it's as though the word was created FOR THIS BOOK.
On page 33, Winston wakes up with the word "Shakespeare" on his lips. WHY???Propaganda... trying to convince people that peace can only be found at times of war, that you are a slave of your freedom, so the only way of being happy is to be controlled, and ignorance, rather than knowledge, makes the strength of the people. Knowledge is bad, and can only weaken people and lead to horrible things...
All that is done so the Party and The Thought Police and Big Brother can keep their secrets without anyone trying to find out what is really happening and starting a revolution. The countries have been at war for so long, it is barely possible for the characters to remember a time of peace. It is practically impossible to know the year they're in, much less their age... Damn.
Right from the beginning of 1984, we learn about something called "The two minutes of hate". This could not have been a clearer message of Totalitarianism and how it uses propaganda to control people. Let me explain: It is a daily event that is optional to attend, yet it is impossible to avoid. During these two minutes the goverment or whoever is in charge uses the media to persuade a message of hate in the people's mind.
These are just some examples of Totalitarianism: where the government controls all aspects of public and private life. In this book, we clearly see that the authorities (Big Brother and the Thought Police) are constantly spying on the citizens, ready to arrests anybody who commits the slightest abnormal act. This leaves the population in fear, where everyone has to make sure he/she follows the rules (though everyone seem to be breaking them so they are NO rules). In other words, they have to appear as "normal" to the Thought Police. One false step or word could get them arrested. By watching the citizens 24/7, the government controls the public and private lives of the people. They control them with fear. Fear of what would happen to them if they disobey.
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