1984

1984 was based on a society in which the only thing people could do was what was allowed, or acceptable in the Party’s eyes. The worst part about the Party was that it was so unknown, no one truly knew what they were capable of. The main purpose of the society was to maintain an oligarchical collectivism. The Party wanted to be in total control of all the citizens they could except the proles of course. I feel as if they did this because it made it possible for them to control those whole lived in this society however they pleased. Oligarchical collectivism was able to exist because the people in the society didn’t disagree with the Party or attempt to rebel against Big Brother. They were too afraid of what the outcome would be because they somehow knew it wouldn’t or couldn’t be anything beneficial. Winston Smith, the book’s main character never had a chance to decide fate for himself, the Party controlled him before he even knew he had a choice.

O’Brien is a powerful member of the Inner Party who tricks Winston into believing that he is a member of the revolutionary group called the Brotherhood. Winston is intrigued by O’Brien because he believes that he isn’t brainwashed like everyone else but that he is somewhat like Winston himself. Winston however was very wrong, O’Brien is the person who deceives Winston by the end of the novel. O’Brien says to Winston, "When you delude yourself into thinking that you see something, you assume that everyone else sees the same things as you" (pg. 205) and I think that he means the ways in which he viewed O"Brien and the brain washed society he lived in. Winston truly saw the people who no longer had thoughts of their own, even though he knew he did. He then related himself to O’Brien. In real life however, O’Brien was the complete opposite of Winston because he was a Party member. By trusting O’Brien, Winston set himself up for failure without even knowing it. He let his guard down which was exactly what the Party was waiting for and did not realize what was really happening to him. He really began to believe that everyone thought like him, when in reality he was alone in his thoughts and feelings. Winston also trusted Julia which helped to lead to his downfall. Winston began to think that no one really could catch him and Julia and he got a thrill out of rebelling against the Party secretly.

O’Brien also says, "It needs an act of self-destruction, an effort of the will. You must humble yourself before you can become sane" (pg 206) I felt like he was telling Winston that he needs to fully devote himself to the Party in order to survive. Trying to be different and hate the Party won’t get him anywhere but make him insane. However, according to O’Brien if he just accepts society and does what he’s told he’ll be a normal man. Winston already knows something is wrong and he clearly doesn’t agree with anything the Party does so he’s sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place. He can not come to terms with his life and the demands of the Party until he is comfortable with himself. How is Winston truly supposed to be comfortable with himself when he knows the Party is wrong? He has denied the society for so throughout most of the novel, which ultimately helped him to seal his fate. Rather than putting up the fight against the society, he must realize that it is easier to just agree to disagree. He will never win his battle with the Party no matter what he thinks or believes. At the end of the book Winston finally realizes he only has one option. "Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother." (pg 245) The closing lines of the book describe Winston’s choice. He had to give himself over to the Party, he lost his identity and became just like everyone else. He finally allowed himself to be a part of the society he so strongly hated.