Alla inlägg den 31 maj 2010

Av 1984 - 31 maj 2010 22:57

I decided to look more at the recurring Party slogans, this time at “WAR IS PEACE”. My father and I had a discussion about dictatorship contra democracy. We along with Winston found out that in order for BB (or the dictator) to maintain a leading figure he must have control of the media (as mentioned in “IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”) and thereby controlling the inhabitants. My father and I concluded that in a group or a country where the individuals have disagreement(s) or problem(s), a quick way to unite them would be to make them fight for a common cause and thereby making them forget their own fight momentarily. Everybody in Oceania believes that the war is more important than their conflict(s). Take a look at Nazi-Germany; Hitler managed to unite (almost) every German man and woman against the Jews blaming the Jews for all bad things in Germany. That was one factor which made him such a powerful leader; everyone believed he was right!


In summary, instead of fighting against each other or fighting against the dictator with the opportunity/risk of overthrowing him, the individuals are united and support the dictator in his/her choices. After all, they are at war and losing a war no one wants.


If you’ve seen “Wag the Dog” (1997) you realise the importance of independent media and even more the importance of the people looking at the media censoriously. I believe that Orwell wants the people of the 50’s, when the novel was published, and modern readers that just because a nation is at war the inhabitants must not go with the flow but to do the right thing; fight for their rights.


“Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.” Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

 

/Martin   

Av 1984 - 31 maj 2010 17:18

”The easiest way to control a human mind is through fear and pain”


Winston and Julia are being arrested for their sexual activities, thinking they had excess to a room without a telescreen. They are finding out the opposite in the very moment of the arrestment, and are both being brought away for torture. As a long painful torture on the rack possesses, O´Brien is trying to “re-build” Winston’s mind and forces him to forget the past and his own believes. He tries to make Winston believe that his mind is playing tricks with him and that he is only going to make it right again.


Having read the book “Shutter Island,” one realizes how easy it can be to be fooled into madness. If someone tells you that everyone around you is perfectly normal, while you are the one who is strange, you will eventually fail to resist the “facts” yourself. The same strategy is being used by O´Brien as well, and in the end of the book Winston seems to be brainwashed to a great extent, due to the fact that he truly seems to love Big Brother. It may be, that he had become happier living in a lie, eluding the doubt and the “doublethink.” Maybe, in the society in 1984, it is easier and more harmless just to follow the stream and not your own mind. It is indeed a nightmare-society, where people no longer own their souls, or their minds. In a society where your own mind and intellect will become your biggest enemy, would you choose the easy way and close your eyes for the obvious?      


It is frightening to read about how Winston disappears more and more, and is eventually turned into some sort of “mind-robot.” As for example, O´Brian convinces him that if the government tells him that 2+2 equals five, then that is the right answer. After repeated torture procedures, Winston seems to accept the fact that the answer must be five. I share Winston’s feeling of despair throughout the entire process, and keep wonder why Orwell did not write a happy conclusion. It may be that he simply did not see a happy future, or perhaps, he just wanted to enlighten the brutality in the world, which he predicted. He possibly also wanted the reader to leave the book with a feeling of despair and sorrow, as well as filled with thoughts concerning freedom of the press and speech, supervision and authority. Maybe Orwell was hoping that his readers would never become those who just stand aside, watching the world move in the wrong direction.


Sanna

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